Barcode Scanning App
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Overview | Samples | Accessing App | App Functionality | Best Practices & Tips | Related Alerts
Overview
Overview
The problem: physical inventory counts are where inventory accuracy usually breaks down. Paper count sheets and legacy scanning tools accept bad scans silently, so items get missed, quantities get keyed wrong, and nobody finds out until the variance report. Stock moves happen on the warehouse floor, but the system only catches up when someone gets back to a desk to key the transfer into eAutomate, if they remember at all.
The solution: a scanner in the warehouse that talks to eAutomate live. Every barcode scan is matched against the open countsheet or the item catalog the moment it happens. A good scan shows the item, description, and on hand quantity instantly. A bad scan is flagged on the spot and is never silently dropped. Counts and transfers are committed back to eAutomate with a per line success or failure, so nothing lands in EA without confirmation. Using the app is simple: pick a workflow from the home screen, scan with the phone camera or a scanner gun, confirm the match and quantity, and commit. See the App Functionality section for the step by step on each workflow.
Run Schedule: N/A
Type of Output: App
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Sample
Sample
The home screen offers the three workflows: Count inventory, Transfer stock, and Look up inventory. Screens below are shown with sample data.
A count in progress: two scanned lines are queued and ready to commit to the open eAutomate countsheet.
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Accessing App
Accessing App
1. The app is installed on your iOS or Android devices as part of setup with CEO Juice. It works on regular phones with the built in camera, and it also accepts input from dedicated scanner guns (see Best Practices below).
2. Each user signs in with their own Microsoft 365 work account. There is no separate password to manage, and every scan and commit is logged under the user who did it.
-Please see ID709, for instructions on setting users security access,
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App Functionality
App Functionality
1. Counting inventory
The problem: counts are slow, and mistakes are invisible until the sheet is posted.
The solution: enter the ID of the open eAutomate countsheet, then start scanning. Each scan is matched against the countsheet live: the app shows the item number, description, and current on hand quantity, so the counter knows immediately that the right item was scanned. Set the quantity with the stepper and tap Add to count. Serialized items are always counted as quantity 1 per scan, matching how eAutomate tracks serials.
Queued lines wait in the pending count until you tap Commit. The commit writes every line to the open countsheet in one batch, and each line comes back as committed or failed with the reason. Counts are written additively, so several counters can work the same sheet at the same time without overwriting each other.
2. Catching bad scans
The problem: in older scanning products a bad scan is not obvious to the user. The scan just disappears, and the count is short with no explanation.
The solution: a scan that does not match anything is called out immediately on screen, and the raw scan value stays in the on device scan history, so nothing vanishes silently. The counter can fix the problem at the shelf instead of hunting for it at month end.
3. Looking up inventory
The problem: answering "do we have this, and where is it" means walking back to a terminal.
The solution: the lookup workflow finds inventory by item number, barcode, or serial number, right from the floor. It is read only, so anyone can use it without risk of changing stock.
4. Transferring stock
The problem: stock moves physically, but the transfer gets keyed into eAutomate later, if ever, so bin accuracy drifts.
The solution: set the FROM and TO warehouse and bin, scan the items being moved, and commit. The app creates a real eAutomate transfer document using eAutomate's own transfer procedures, so the move is recorded the same way as if it had been entered inside EA, with a per line result for every transfer.
5. Matching the app to how your team works
The problem: every warehouse is different. Some label every product, others label the bins and shelves instead, especially for high volume, low value stock.
The solution: a scan mode setting on each device. "Scan product, key location" is for stock that carries barcodes. "Scan location, key product" (bin mode) flips the workflow: scan the FROM and TO bin labels, then key the part number and quantity for each line. Bin mode adds an optional part number validation check and a default warehouse.
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Best Practices & Tips
Best Practices & Tips
1. Print your own barcodes, and use Code 128 or QR. Both scan reliably with a phone camera, and Code 128 cleanly encodes alphanumeric item numbers and serial numbers. Avoid MSI Plessey shelf labels: phone cameras cannot read that format.
2. Scanner guns are fully supported. Bluetooth and USB wedge scanners type straight into the "Scanner wedge or manual entry" field on every screen. The gun decodes the barcode in hardware, so any symbology your gun supports will work, including legacy label formats the camera cannot read.
3. Commit early and often. Pending lines live on the device; committed lines are in eAutomate. Committing at the end of each aisle or section keeps the at risk window small.
4. Counts are additive. Two counters can work the same countsheet and their quantities accumulate rather than overwrite, so split large counts across the team freely.
5. Your eAutomate countsheet process does not change. The app writes counted quantities to the open countsheet; review and processing of the count still happen inside eAutomate exactly as before.
6. Set the scan mode per device in Settings to match each location. Bin mode is usually the right choice for parts warehouses where shelves are labeled; product mode fits equipment and toner stock that carries its own barcodes.
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Related Alerts
Related Alerts
ID709 - APP Security Settings by User
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