Use QR Codes to Streamline Your Business

The Facts About QR Codes

The key thing to understand about QR (Quick Reading) codes is that they are an incredibly compact and robust form of packaging information. The common QR code symbol that is often found on retail goods can hold 4,296 alphanumeric characters, a mix of numbers and letters. Contrary to popular thought, the purpose of a QR code is to store a relatively small amount of data that connects the code or an activity to a much larger database. For example, in the grocery store, a QR code sticker might identify:

• Type: apple, red delicious;
• Quantity: one;
• Date in warehouse: Tuesday;
• Date purchased: Friday;
• Price each: $0.60

This string of five pieces of information is enough to connect to a warehouse management system that helps determine when to rotate stock, order more product and pass the price on to the register in order to be tallied. That is all the information needed regardless of the number of products being sold. The simplicity of the QR Code is its superpower and what lends it so easily to various uses.

History

QR codes were invented in 1994 to help track parts through the automobile manufacturing process. Automotive manufacturing is notoriously detailed and complex. But QR Codes manage to tame the logistics of the process. This solution was later offered to the public domain to allow for using these codes in business applications. These really got a boost when the pandemic hit in 2020 as people were looking for contactless ways to share visual or text information.

The first adopters were the high-contact industries of Hospitality, Healthcare, Education, Publishing and Government. These rapidly proved themselves by streamlining operations. QR Codes were links to help people follow through a complex process and also as a safety measure, particularly in the healthcare industry where it became a safety check on making sure the right medications were being given to the correct patient. As use of these codes became commonplace, uses grew in the business sector. Below are just a few of the applications that have grown to help smooth business operations.

Marketing

QR Codes have removed most of the friction of establishing initial contact with prospects. Anyplace you can make your code visible, during registration at a trade show, on a pamphlet, as an event sponsor, are all prime real estate. There is virtually no resistance to scanning a code just to get “a little more information”. The QR code can lead them to an intro to your web site where you may be able to capture more detailed contact info.

Sales

If you are in a retail sales business QR codes can go on the outside of a box for scanning to validate the correct shipment manifest without even having to open the box. If there is some assembly needed with your product, then the assembly instructions could be only a QR scan away.

Retail/Restaurants

There’s a reason that Amazon uses these codes regularly and they are the top retailer in the US. Of course “placing an order” with Amazon is not that different than placing an order in a restaurant. The processing is virtually the same. QR Codes are a great way for creating a contactless menu for restaurants. Especially during cold and flu season. QR codes are perfectly suited for use on order/out take/out. The customer can scan racks of boxed up meals and then just pick-up the one with their name on it without having to handle each one until they find the right one.

Transportation

The sheer simplicity of this application makes it almost transparent to its obvious use. These days, you don’t get on an airplane without a digital boarding pass – a QR code that makes sure you are on the right flight and have a seat.

Look around and you’ll start seeing more and more uses of QR codes. Try scanning a few using your smart phone and you’ll see the variety of ways that information can move quickly through a business and track orders and materials. There are plenty of places on the internet that will create QR codes for free. And you just might discover a new way to use these simple codes to help you move your business faster and with fewer errors.