If I were to invite you to an event, something that you’re passionate about (professional sports game, amusement park, boating, etc.), I’m guessing that you would accept. Though busy at work, you’d probably do whatever it takes to make time to go. If I were to ask you to do a physical count, remerchandise your store or clean up your journal entries, I bet you wouldn’t be so quick to find that time. Unpleasant business tasks most often rank high on the “I’ll do it next week” scale. Unfortunately, there’s a next week every week.
We often forget how technology has made things easier for retailers. Here’s a fun fact that I just heard: June 26th, 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the first commercial barcode scan, a moment that transformed retail and product management. In 1974, a pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum was first scanned at a grocery store in Troy, Ohio, forever changing the way we track products and handle data.
Barcodes are something we take for granted. I remember the days of doing a physical count by hand, manually counting everything. We would have to bribe people with food and drink to make it a “party”. It was about as much fun as a colonoscopy.
But barcodes have changed that. Once it becomes mainstream, RFID technology will practically do away with the traditional physical count. I’m waiting for that day.
In the meantime, Soft Intelligence now has a tool to help make your physical counts easier and more pleasant. SmartCount by Soft Intelligence uses an Android handheld scanner and our custom API to NCR Counterpoint to scan your counts right into Counterpoint. This replaces the need for manually uploading and downloading data to the scanner. It just happens. This is a game changer for Counterpoint. And for you.
Let us help you get at least one unpleasant task off your to-do list. Call or email today for more information.
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