With so much attention on RFID (radio frequency identification), don’t lose sight of the revenue you can earn right now on bar code printing applications.
Before beginning this article, I surveyed 19 VARs about what they would like to read in a bar code printer tech trends article. Wireless integration, remote management, and mobile printing were the most popular topics mentioned. You’ll note that RFID wasn’t listed. That was intentional on my part. Almost every month Business Solutions includes some type of RFID-related editorial, and many times those articles involve a bar code printer/RFID encoder solution. Yes, RFID is a burgeoning technology and an important topic to discuss, but there are a lot more bar code applications out there today than those requiring RFID.
According to Rick Bushnell, president of AIDC (automatic identification and data collection) consulting firm Quad II, RFID is, in many situations, a distraction that is taking energy away from companies that could benefit from the old standby — bar codes. Bushnell contends there are many companies:
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that could use bar codes to reduce operating expenses today with almost immediate ROI
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that produce carton ID and shipment ID labels that do not meet compliance label specifications and are causing real problems in the supply chain
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that spend more money than needed when printing high-quality labels because they could do a better job of administering label printing.
Therefore, there is indeed a lot more to learn about bar code printing than just how to use printers to create RFID labels.
Can Wireless Integration Earn You More Revenue?
If your client’s bar code printers reside within the four walls of a large building or warehouse, pulling cable for an additional printer is probably so much of a hassle and so costly that the customer may learn to live without that printer. Lucky for you, wireless technology has changed all of that. In fact, wireless printing is so prevalent that Zebra Technologies has found that more than 60% of new wireless installations are an upgrade of a frequency hopping (e.g. 802.11) or other wireless technology. “Because of this fact, it is important that VARs provide upgrade transition management services when installing devices like bar code printers on a WLAN [wireless LAN],” states Paul Vogt, Zebra’s global practice leader for retail.
Setting up wireless bar code printers should be no different from setting up wireless bar code scanners. As Steve Horrocks, director of product management at Datamax notes, you’ll still have to assess site composition (e.g. building materials, obstructions), access point placement, expected patterns of operability, and RF (radio frequency) interferences from other RF devices. If you’re designing a new WLAN, you have to make sure the type of wireless (e.g. Bluetooth, 802.11 a/b/g) solution you choose for your printers can provide the required bandwidth. And don’t forget about ensuring the new wireless/mobile printers you install work in conjunction with the client’s legacy wired printers. In fact, Alex Babic, global product manager at Intermec Technologies, says interoperability with the customer’s existing infrastructure is probably the most important question a VAR has to solve when installing wireless printers. “Some other issues a VAR must consider with wireless printer integration are data security, TCP/IP [an open computer communications language] protocols, and device management,” comments Babic. The latter, especially, is in greater demand these days and can earn VARs additional revenue.
Remote Device Management May Close The Deal
The concept of remote device management is no different for bar code printers than it is for bar code scanners. For your customers with a lot of printers, you want to offer a solution to centrally monitor and, if needed, adjust printers anywhere on a network. If you have a software update that each unit requires, remote device management gives you the ability to push that update out to all of the devices on a network. This functionality also allows your clients to remotely adjust a printer that is operating out of optimum performance, thereby saving money on the cost of consumables like printheads. “Device management software allows IT managers to remotely respond to printer conditions that normally would be only recognized by a printer operator,” Horrocks explains. “Centrally located IT managers responsible for enterprise label printing will appreciate the efficiencies afforded them with remote bar code printer management.” In fact, if the person you’re talking to at your client doesn’t immediately grasp the advantages of device management, you’re probably talking to the wrong person. As Zebra’s Vogt says, “All customers want to be able to manage an installation of many printers across multiple locations without increasing the technical support staff’s workload. Thus, all Web tools that enable this functionality are desirable. If VARs focus on after-sale network device management, they are talking the language that an IT staff appreciates. This can be the key to a sale.”
Hone Your Mobile Printing Selling Skills
Of course, offering wireless bar code printers, features like remote device management, and your own integration services will likely increase your chances of closing deals. So will understanding who to pitch and how. Vogt says IT management often makes the purchasing decisions for printers in industrial applications, but for mobile printers, the decision makers tend to be in operations. “This means it is essential for VARs to focus on ROI and the impact on the business when selling mobile printers,” he comments.
And while almost cliché, it can never be stressed enough that VARs should fully understand a client’s current and future printing applications/needs before recommending a solution. For example, for mobile printing, Phil Koch, marketing manager at SATO America, stresses seeking applications that demand real-time printing. He cites shipping labels and pick tickets in manufacturing, receipts in hospitality, and in-store ticketing in retail as examples. “Many retailers use portable bar code printers to print replacement shelf labels,” he says. “This is good if all of the labels are not being replaced, since portable printers hold a smaller label roll than the larger versions. However, several retailers are turning to placing larger bar code printers on powered, mobile, wireless carts so a large label roll can be used.”
I wasn’t surprised that my VAR survey indicated that wireless integration, remote management, and mobile printing are important bar code printing issues. After all, these are all areas where VARs can earn additional service revenue. So, while you’re learning about RFID technology and waiting for your first installation, don’t forget about the opportunities good old-fashioned bar code printing can afford you right now.
