A Cooler Way of Tracking Temperature-Controlled Freight

H&M Bay turned to Barcoding, Inc., a leader in supply chain efficiency, accuracy, and connectivity. The Baltimore-based systems integrator helped H&M Bay to implement a barcode scanning system consisting of Zebra LS3408er handheld scanners, Honeywell PX6i printers, Zebra rugged vehicle mount computers and Honeywell barcode labels. While Barcoding also provides RFID systems, the company understands the importance of matching the solution to the use case. In some instances—for example, if pallets were moving through a threshold one at a time on a conveyor belt— RFID may be the best-suited technology. However, for H&M Bay’s specific application, barcodes fit the bill.

The barcode system works the same as the previous system, but provides greater pallet control: When a truck arrives at one of H&M Bay’s four receiving stations, pallets are unloaded one at a time. A worker reviews an electronic copy of a pallet’s load sheet, verifies that it is in an acceptable condition, clicks on the order and enters the number of cases on the pallet into a custom web-based software application. A barcode label identifying the pallet is automatically printed and attached to the pallet, which is then moved into cold storage by a lift. From the lift, a worker scans the pallet’s barcode and the location barcode, sending the pallet’s location information to the software application. Then, when trucks come in to pick up freight, H&M Bay can quickly locate the appropriate pallets through the system and verify that they are the correct items with a simple scan.

Notably, Barcoding not only provided the necessary hardware, but also guided H&M Bay throughout the hardware selection process, making sure that devices worked with the application and server until IT created a working prototype.