Traditionally, inventory has always been done using paper and pen. In the past, an employee would correctly reflect transactions involving inventory or supplies by using paper and a clipboard to write down the material number (or item and or lot number) along with the work order or cost center to properly charge the material out and ensure that a replacement quantity was ordered. When SAP business software came along, a data entry clerk would need to manually take this information and ensure that it was entered and posted properly into SAP.
While this method is somewhat effective, there has always been a high error rate associated with pen and paper, including mistakes in material and item numbers, cost calculations, and quantities. Manual data entry into a computer program comes with its own share of errors, as well.
If you have unsupervised SAP managed material storage rooms or locations where inventory and supplies are being received and/or taken, I would suggest veering away from pen and paper methods. Why risk errors when inventory management can be completed quickly and accurately?
A batch store and forward scanning solution can reduce errors in this process by recording each transaction completed when the items are removed from the material storage rooms or remote location inventory. The scanner stores these transactions to be uploaded at a later time by a supervisor and automatically posted into your SAP system. No more paper, no more errors, and no more data entry!
If this sounds appealing to you, feel free to contact L-Tron today. We’ll be happy to provide more information on this SAP solution.
