Although bar coded products account for only 5 percent of Frank Higbee's sales, it's a niche the sales rep prefers for one main reason: "It takes you out of the mainstream," says Higbee, who works for distributorship Profile Printing & Graphics, Hauppauge, N.Y. "A lot of distributors shy away from bar coded products because they don't understand them." Higbee enjoys this competitive edge, but argues most distributors could become bar coding experts by turning to manufacturers and trade publications for education.
While some of his peers dodge bar
coding, Higbee has had great success marrying the high-tech offering to a
traditional product. He sells a 4-part bar coded unit set to a pharmaceutical
firm. When its sales reps leave drug samples at doctors' offices and other
medical facilities, they record the transactions on the unit sets. The 8 1/2 x
8-inch carbonless unit sets include four copies: one each for the data
processing department at the pharmaceutical company, the doctor receiving the
drug, the sales rep and the sales rep's regional manager.
The unit sets feature Code 3 of 9 bar
codes on the copy the data processing department stores. The bar codes are
encoded with consecutive ID numbers, which identify the medical facility
receiving drug samples. The remainder of each form includes space for
handwritten information, such as the doctor's name and ID number, the sales
rep's name and ID number, the date, and a checkbox listing the drugs supplied by
the pharmaceutical company. Higbee provides the customer approximately 100,000
unit sets at a time.
This is the second rendition of the form. About 10 years ago, Higbee supplied the document in a continuous format. The pharmaceutical company would print forms that included basic information about the sales reps' scheduled sales calls, such as doctors' names. Today, all sales reps carry laptop computers and enter information for scheduled visits on screen. They use the bar coded unit sets only for unscheduled visits or as backups when the company upgrades its software.
Striking a Chord
Bar code technology allows users to record highly accurate data through the use of scanners. The patterns of alternating dark bars and spaces in a bar code represent characters in a message. Scanners (or readers) translate encoded messages into computer-readable data by measuring the amount of light reflected during the scanning process. The black bars in a bar code absorb light, and the white spaces reflect it.
The different types of bar codes are called symbologies. Although more than 250 symbologies exist, the ones used most frequently are Code 39, UPC, Code 128 and Interleaved 2 of 5.
Businesses of all sizes rely on bar codes for tracking and other operations. The most basic way for distributors to break into this market is to sell preprinted bar coded forms and labels. Another way is to supply blank labels and tags to clients that print bar codes on demand.
The good news about selling bar codes is that they require a system sell, a process most distributors pride themselves on. The basic question that needs to be answered when selling bar codes is, "What's the most efficient system for transferring and capturing the end user's data?"
Singing the Blues
Distributors can avoid bar code frustration by recognizing that sales require large time investments. Selling a total warehouse system can take many months. Sales cycles for simpler systems such as asset tracking and file tracking can take up to two months.
Even the most basic bar code applications such as labels and tags require substantial knowledge about bar code technology. To avoid promising a system your company can't deliver, you have to understand what the products can do and know what your clients expect. Distributors say it's wise to attend seminars and read publications to learn more about bar code software, printers and scanners. It's also important to learn the differences, capabilities and limitations of each.
Some distributors predict radio frequency identification (RFID) technology will displace bar codes in the future.
Thanks to PRINTSouth Corp., Atlanta, and Rowan Business Forms, Salisbury, N.C., for assistance.
* Learn the difference between the
lines.
"People assume bar codes are all the same," says Frank Higbee, a sales rep for distributorship Profile Printing & Graphics, Hauppauge, N.Y. Although they may look alike to the untrained eye, bar code symbologies are very different. For example, Code 39 is a variable length symbology and can support any data length, from one character up to the maximum dictated by the reading system used. Conversely, some bar codes are fixed-length symbologies, where data elements must be a specific length.
In addition, Higbee says, it's critical to know whether markets you serve have industry-specific standards for bar codes. Two examples include the LOGMARS standards for the Department of Defense and the Automotive Industry Action Group standards for labeling automotive parts.
* Consider an alliance.
Some distributors partner with other companies that understand bar codes and can benefit from a distributor's marketing insight. Distributors can use a team-selling approach until they're more familiar with bar coded products.
* Apply forms design principles.
In order to design the best bar coded labels, distributors suggest a forms design approach. Learn as much as possible about the client's work environment and operations. Develop bar coded labels that simplify clients' processes. Provide the best automated and human readability.
* Teach by example.
Distributors can ease into the technology by installing a stand-alone printer in their offices or warehouses to print bar coded labels. After experimenting with that, they can install printers that link to their companies' computers.
* Offer add-on products.
In addition to bar coded products, distributors can sell printers and printer accessories and offer maintenance services for thermal printers.
