Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Noel Gifts uses QR codes to increase efficency


Noel Gifts, a Singapore based firm that sells Chinese New Year hampers to Asian markets, recently found themselves short of workers and thus unable to operate efficiently. As a result, the company implemented a logging system which uses QR codes in order to ease burdens on employees. As a result of the QR code system, the company has been successful in reallocating employees to different tasks within the company that previously weren’t receiving enough attention.  
            One major advantage with their newly implemented QR code logging system is that customers can easily check their order statuses online. Each time the product is scanned by a QR code throughout the various stages of processing, an online data base is updated with the status of that order. As a result of this, Noel Gifts has less of a demand for customer service representatives who typically would answer these questions for customers. Instead, these employees can devote an increased amount of time performing other tasks for the firm.
            As a result of the technology, Noel Gifts has been able to handle more customers and has since seen their sales increase thirty percent as they now are more capable of meeting demands from the market. The technology has reduced processing time within the firm, and could potentially allow for the firm to gain market share as a result of their new found efficiency.
            A third advantage of the QR code logging system is the potential reduction in human error. So long as the proper label is placed on each individual product, any employee handling it at any stage of the processing should have a clear understanding of what they’re working with, where its destined to and where its been before. This has the potential to reduce human error as the system provides a clear and easily accessible record of each individual product.

            While the implementation of this technology has proven successful to the company, the article may have overlooked alternative solutions or potential problems with the technology. Noel Gifts operates out of Singapore; a high cost, developed country. It may be cheaper for them either currently or in the future to outsource the entire operation to places like India or China where there is an abundance of low cost labor. Also, if there is not a backup to the QR system and the QR system fails, the company may face havoc until the problem is resolved. The article also fails to discuss any cost associated with the implementation of these technology such as the cost of the technology, training, subscriptions, etc.


http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/gift-companies-turn-to/2473936.html

1 comment:

  1. With technology booming companies are looking for everything and anything to make their production cheaper and more efficient. For Noel Gifts it appears that these QR code are a perfect solution to a lack of employees. I think a large majority of companies will be switching to either robots or some form of technology to replace humans and reduce costs. The fact that these QR codes would allow customers to track their product every step of the way is huge. Rather then just knowing the location of the product, you would know exactly what stage the product is in while it is at that particular location. Since customers will know where their product is every step of the way I believe it will bring more customers to Noel Gifts just in the fact that they know they are a reliable company and Noel Gifts is a company that wants to make it’s customers happy. As a result, Noel Gifts will not need as many customer service representatives, therefore saving the company money.

    I also think it is really important to stress the idea that QR codes will reduce human error. I personally have received several products from various companies that were either the wrong product, size, or damaged. The QR codes would hopefully eliminate any human error so things like receiving the wrong product or size of something would never be an issue for Noel Gifts. One thing that the article failed to talk about was the cost of these QR codes. What if the cost to maintain and buy these QR codes was more than it cost to employ humans to do the same work? Then there would be an issue of whether QR codes are even worth using if they are really expensive and difficult to maintain. If the article had talked about the pricing of these QR codes and mentioned that it would cheaper to use QR codes than to employ humans to do the same job, then the information would be more a lot more valuable.

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