Using Barcodes in Manufacturing Inventory

Using barcodes in manufacturing: label raw materials, WIP, and finished goods; scan issues to jobs; and keep BOMs accurate without paper travelers.

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Using Barcodes in Manufacturing Inventory

By Tibeau De Grauwe, FounderUpdated July 2026

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Key takeaways

  • Barcode raw materials at receiving and scan issues to work orders to keep WIP honest.
  • Finished goods labels should match shipping and inventory SKUs to prevent mis-ships.
  • Start with A-items and one production cell before plant-wide labeling.

Barcode flow on the shop floor

Receive and label components. When a job starts, scan materials to the work order so raw stock decreases and WIP increases. At completion, scan finished goods into stock and close the job.

This reduces 'tribal knowledge' shortages where parts disappear into production without a record.

Manufacturing barcode best practices

Use durable labels, encode lot numbers when traceability matters, and print travelers that match system job IDs. Pair barcodes with BOMs so backflushing or guided issue lists stay accurate.

StockFlow is free inventory software with phone barcode scanning, multi-location stock, reorder alerts, and real-time counts built for small businesses that outgrew spreadsheets.

  • Label locations and totes, not only parts
  • Scan scrap and return-to-stock explicitly
  • Cycle-count staging areas weekly

Rolling out barcodes without stopping production

A plant-wide relabeling effort rarely works on the first attempt, so start with a single production cell or your highest-value A-items instead of every SKU at once. Print labels for that cell, train the operators who touch it daily, and run it alongside your existing paper process for one full production cycle before switching over.

Once the pilot cell shows accurate WIP and clean job closes, expand the same label format and scanning steps to the next cell. Keeping the barcode structure (prefix, check digit, lot suffix) identical across cells avoids a second round of relabeling later.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I need industrial scanners?
Phone scanning works for many light manufacturers; rugged scanners help in oily or glove-heavy environments.
How do barcodes relate to BOMs?
BOMs list what should be issued; barcodes confirm what actually moved.
What should go on a shop-floor barcode label?
At minimum, the part or SKU number and a lot or batch code if you need traceability. Many manufacturers also print the work order number on travelers so a single scan ties material issue to the correct job.
How do I handle partial quantities or scrap during a job?
Scan the finished-goods quantity into stock when the job closes, then scan any scrap or unused material back to its own location or a scrap bin explicitly, rather than leaving the difference unexplained in the system.
Can I still barcode-scan on a phone if the shop floor has no Wi-Fi?
Not with StockFlow today it requires an internet connection to record a scan, and there is no offline queue that posts scans to work orders once you're back in range. If part of your floor is a dead zone, plan on logging those scans on paper and entering them once you have a connection.