Shopify is great — it comes with the tools you need to sell online and quickly integrates with many other services, giving you the flexibility you need to grow your business.

But as more and more orders come in, relying on just counting inventory by hand starts to expose cracks in this inventory checking method:

• Stock levels become inconsistent
• Incorrect information is saved
• Items become lost

This is why e-commerce manufacturers turn to Shopify barcode scanning to manage sales and manufacturing orders as well as inventory. In this article, we explore Shopify barcodes, why you need them, how to use Shopify’s barcode scanning app, and more.

Why manufacturers will need a barcode app for their Shopify inventory

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. 

But once you do adopt a barcode scanner into your workflow, you will see benefits like:  

• A reduction in the number of human errors made
• Data readily available and updated in real-time
• Optimized inventory control and handling
• Low-cost implementation
• Improved decision-making

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.

Activate Shopify barcode scanning in 4 steps

Shopify has developed dedicated apps to achieve barcode scanning. However, it’s not preinstalled within the native Shopify account and has to be downloaded from their app store.

We’ll talk more about the actual app later, but within the app store, you can search for and find an app called Retail Barcode Labels and set it up after downloading by:

Step 1

Within your Shopify account, go to Apps.

Step 2

Select Create template to create templates for your items. Select Get started and selecting one of the two options:

• Skip – Which will skip creating barcodes and head straight to template
• Create barcodes – which will allow you to create barcodes for your products

Step 3

Let’s assume you’ve chosen Create barcodes. You can now:

• Write the template title
• Select a label type
• Choose a paper brand and code

Step 4

Under the Label attributes section, you can begin to include the information you want 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. 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.

Why manufacturers use Katana to manage their Shopify barcodes

As we’ve already mentioned, as a manufacturer looking for an app for Shopify barcode scanning, you’re going to need to find a tool that can smoothly integrate with your selling and manufacturing operations for a seamless workflow between your different processes.

Manage your Shopify barcode inventory with Katana

Unlike the other apps listed below, Katana’s barcode inventory management platform gives manufacturers the live insights they need to optimize and manage their inventory, including products and materials, sales and manufacturing orders, and shop floor operations.

However, Katana also comes equipped with barcode scanning for Shopify users, which allows them to:

• Scan, receive items, and simply stocktaking
  Using a barcode scanner or smart device, you can improve how you receive and count items from suppliers by avoiding accidentally inputted figures.
• Scan multiple types of barcodes
  This includes your supplier item codes, any internally registered barcodes, and your batch barcodes.
• Improve pick lists
  Allows you to improve accuracy and item handling within your business.
• Export and print barcodes
  Printing barcodes will allow you to make your physical machine-readable items.
• Track and monitor batches and items
  Shopify barcode inventory allows you to use batch tracking with a unified barcode inventory system
• Autogenerate barcodes
  Automatically generate Shopify barcodes within Katana for your items and batches using internal barcodes to track them on and beyond your shop floor
• Quickly and easily locate items
  This will help you find items across your business, from the shop floor to one of your warehouses, in real-time using accurately stored data.

Best of all, Katana integrates with your Shopify account. You can also take advantage of introducing Shopify barcodes to your business. You can also create a bridge between your sales and manufacturing to get total control over your different inventory types from one easy-to-understand dashboard.