Shopify Plus vs Shopify: what are the key differences?
As a manufacturer selling on Shopify, what is the right plan for you? Here’s everything you need to know about Shopify’s plans, pricing, and benefits when you manufacture the products you sell.

An easy way to take control of your inventory is through a Shopify barcode scanning app. Here’s a guide to the different software available to help you take barcode scanning to the next level as a Shopify merchant.
Shopify is great — it comes with the tools you need to sell online and quickly integrates with many other services to give you the flexibility you need to grow your business. But as more and more orders come in, relying on counting inventory by hand starts to expose the cracks in this inventory checking method.
Here are just a few:
These are just a few reasons why e-commerce manufacturers turn to Shopify barcode scanning to manage sales and manufacturing orders and inventory. This article explores Shopify barcodes, why you need them, how to use Shopify’s barcode scanning app, and more.
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While Shopify comes with an inventory management system perfect for merchants, it lacks the necessary features for manufacturers. If you decide to upgrade your stock-taking capabilities with a Shopify barcode scanner, you’ll need to consider these limitations. According to a study by FMI, the barcode scanner market is estimated to be worth $7 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow 7.6% over the next decade.
But once you do adopt a third-party barcode scanning system or app into your workflow, you will see benefits like:
However, third-party Shopify barcode scanners have different functions to help you perform certain tasks, monitor stock, and track items based on barcodes. But, the trick is finding the best one for manufacturers selling on Shopify. But before we look into that, let’s quickly explain how the free Shopify barcode version works and what the limitations are for manufacturers.
PRO TIP: Manufacturers using Shopify + Xero can take their business to the next level by learning how to:
Shopify has developed a few dedicated apps to enable barcode scanning for merchants. But they need to be downloaded from their app store and enabled manually. To start using them, you will need to search for and find an app called Retail Barcode Labels and set it up. Here’s how.
Log into your Shopify account, go to Apps.
Select Create a template to create templates for your items, then select Get started and selecting one of the two options:
Let’s assume you’ve chosen Create barcodes. You can now:
Under the Label attributes section, you can begin to include the information you want to be displayed by the barcode. Once you’re finished, go ahead and create a template. You can do this for groups of products or specific products. H
However, the Retail Barcode Label app is built for merchants and not those who need to track raw materials, WIP inventory, MRO inventory, and finished goods. So, let’s look into the different apps that are available on the market.
As a manufacturer looking for an app for Shopify barcode scanning, you’re going to need to find software that can smoothly integrate with both your selling and manufacturing operations. With a third-party solution built for manufacturing workflows, you can set up a seamless workflow between your different processes.
Built for manufacturers selling on Shopify, Katana’s barcode inventory management platform gives you the live insights they need to optimize and manage their inventory from products to materials. You can also sync your sales and manufacturing orders and monitor related shop floor operations.
As a Shopify merchant, you can use Katana to:
Best of all, Katana natively integrates with your Shopify account to bridge between sales and manufacturing in one visual platform.
PRO TIP: Here’s the secret formula for D2C manufacturers:
Shopify + Katana + Accounting tool = Success
Get your Shopify barcodes sorted and the rest of your business fully integrated for a smooth workflow with Katana.
Suppose you’re just looking for basic barcode features to help keep your business moving before upgrading to a full manufacturing platform with a Shopify barcode system. In that case, you can get started with one of the following apps.
StockSavvy Barcode Scanning by Savvison LLC provides Shopify users the tools they need to manage their Shopify barcode inventory. Shopify D2C manufacturers can use the app to:
Not only that, Stocksavvy comes equipped with tools for importing CSV lists of barcodes or exporting them, assuming your scanner has memory built-in, giving you flexibility when managing your Shopify barcodes to make better business decisions.
Developed by Shopify, Retail Barcode Labels allows users to generate and print Shopify barcode labels for their items. With the Retail Barcode Labels app, you’ll be able to make label templates to pair with your different item types. This feature allows you to create your templates and print labels with popular paper types.
3. Multi-Label Barcodes
Multi-Label Barcodes by The Resistance Marketing allows you to print Shopify barcode labels for your items with almost all Inkjet or Laser printers. Multi-Lebel Barcodes gives you the tools to customize your:
You can also use the app to show discounts, manage your brand, and automate workflows simultaneously.
Another tool developed by Shopify, Barcode Generator, allows you to create and print your custom barcode Shopify labels easily. Unlike the other apps in this list, there’s no need to download any software or tools onto your desktop or smart device. Enter your email address, the information you want to appear on the barcode, and select Submit to generate barcodes.
Wholesale/Retail Catalog Maker by Now In Store Inc. allows you to create catalogs for your Shopify store and create and print barcode Shopify labels for your business management.
Not only does this support Shopify users, but it can also integrate with other e-commerce platforms.
SKU Print by Pikes Peak Digital Marketing lets you control how you set up and use your custom Shopify barcode inventory.
Create custom layouts and include whatever product information you need, including:
GroovePacker Lite by Groove Industries helps you easily and accurately handle your shipments, keeping you on top of your inventory movements, scaling your business, and reducing your waste.
GroovePacker Lite was built to cater to small and medium-sized businesses looking for software to help them manage their order processing. It provides users a quick setup for users who need Shopify barcode inventory as soon as possible.
Power Tools by TT-MOKIT supports Shopify merchants during their day-to-day inventory tasks. Power Tools allows you and your employees to easily monitor Shopify barcode inventory changes, all from an Android or IOS phone.
SKU Labs by SKU Labs allows you to control your multichannel inventory management and shipping by giving you the tools to implement barcode Shopify management.
SKU Labs helps users achieve this by improving:
The tools listed above perform different functions when it comes to getting you set up with Shopify barcode scanning. These include a Shopify barcode generator, stocktaking and tracking functionalities, and many more features. But it’s important as a manufacturer to find a tool that can help you not only introduce Shopify barcode scanning to your workflow but also give you the tools to:
Ready to upgrade your Shopify inventory management? Get Shopify barcode scanning and more features to optimize your workflows and sign up for a free 14-day Katana trial.