Quick Reason Codes are barcodes for the 21st Century (well ok they were devised in 1994). Because they work in 2D where data is stored horizontally and vertically like a crossword, they contain a lot more information than a standard barcode and as a result have a greater range of application.
Because QR codes can be read with a camera this makes them more accessible than the standard barcode. Many people now have phones and tablets with a built-in camera and web connection. All you need on top of that is a barcode reader app. These are free, can read both QR codes and standard barcodes, and are easy to use. Simply placing the QR code in the frame will activate the QR code’s function. This can be anything from opening a website to picking an item out of stock.
So why all this talk of QR codes? The clue is in the title. Microsoft have released an add-in for Dynamics NAV that allows it to create and use QR codes. A quick update to your NAV implementation will enable QR codes to be placed almost anywhere in the NAV environment – pages, forms, reports, you name it. So once you’ve got the ability to show and print QR codes, how are you going to use them in a way that improves your business? Here are four ideas we’ve come up with:
1. Warehouse Stock Tracking
- Items can be scanned in and out of locations around the warehouse as usual. The twist is QR codes carry more information enabling additional traceability.
2. Point of Sale
- Customers with a loyalty card printed with their own QR code, can wave the card under a webcam at the point of sale. From this action a discount could be applied to their purchase, trading details brought up on the screen, loyalty points added to their account etc.
3. Track and Measure Trends
- By allowing your customers to vote for products you can track and measure what they’re thinking and plan for the future. This can also work internally to see which systems your colleagues are using the most.
4. Promotion
- So you send out an invoice to a customer. Payment is made. End of transaction. Well what if you put a QR code on the invoice that will take your customer to your company website? As an example, scan the QR code at the top of this blog post and see where it takes you.
- Notice that the code has our company logo on it? Another exciting feature of QR codes is that they can be customised. As long as 70% of the black/white pattern remains visible the code will scan accurately.
If you have Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 SP1 or R2, or Microsoft Dynamics NAV 5.0 SP1, then this is a simple update that opens up all sorts of opportunities for improving efficiency in your business. If you’ve been holding back from upgrading then this may just be a good enough reason for you to make the jump. The ideas above aren’t the only way to use QR codes. Take a little time and think how QR Codes can improve your business.
I added a QR code containing our Company website details to our Quotation and Sales Acknowledgment documentation early last year, but to do so I had to create it with a seperate piece of software and then add it to the NAV docs as an 'image'.
This functionality will be much more useful, and I dare say we'll convert more of our standard Code128 barcodes.
Posted by: Darren | 01 February 2012 at 02:21 PM