Barcode inventory system for manufacturing: BOMs, work orders, lots and serials by plan

What a manufacturer needs from a barcode inventory system

A barcode inventory system for manufacturing must do three things a reseller's system does not: scan components in against a purchase order with their lot numbers, consume the right components against a bill of materials when a build runs, and label the finished goods so each batch can be traced to the customers who received it.

That means four features have to exist together on the plan you buy: barcode scanning, bills of materials (BOMs), production or work orders, and lot or serial tracking. Vendors price these very differently.

BOMs, work orders, lots and serials: which plan includes them

Fishbowl states that its cheaper Fishbowl Inventory plans do not include BOMs, work orders or MRP, so a manufacturer must look at Fishbowl Advanced.

How inFlow Manufacturing handles scanning on the shop floor

inFlow Manufacturing is inFlow Inventory plus manufacture orders, BOMs and operations. Per inFlow's documentation, a BOM is built on the Manufacturing tab of the product record by adding component products, and components can be scanned in to raise their quantity. The record then shows a cost to manufacture one unit, calculated as materials cost plus operations cost.

For traceability, a lot-tracked product gets its lot number when it is received or manufactured, and inFlow follows that lot through each order until it is sold. Lot tracking must be switched on before stock is received, and a product's type is permanent once saved. With GS1 QR codes, one scan at receiving can fill in the lot number and expiry date, and the Label Designer can print GS1 QR labels for your finished goods.

The team can pick components and update timesheets for each assembly step from the mobile app. The inFlow feature breakdown covers the rest of the product.

Worked example: a four-person food producer on inFlow Manufacturing

Take a small sauce maker with four staff, one site, and a need to trace every batch.

• Start Up plan, billed annually: $169 per month. It includes 2 team members and 1 location with no sublocations.
• Two extra team members at $29 each: $58 per month.
• Lot numbers add-on, which covers lots, batches and expiry dates: $39 per month.
• Running total: $266 per month, before the one-time onboarding package that inFlow lists at $499 and requires on most plans.

If the same business also needs serial numbers, add $39. If it needs sublocations for bins or more than one site, the next plan is Growth at $399 per month billed annually, with 5 team members and 5 locations. Work out your own figure with the total cost worksheet.

The limitation that matters, and the alternative for it

inFlow Manufacturing's limit for a manufacturer is depth of production control. Its documentation covers BOMs, manufacture orders, operations and labor timesheets. Work centers, work-in-progress accounting and process or variable-yield manufacturing are not among the features its pricing page lists.

For that edge case, look at SOS Inventory Pro, which lists work orders, work centers, WIP, process manufacturing and variable-yield manufacturing at $194.95 per month for 5 users, provided you use QuickBooks Online. For production tracking with a shop floor app, compare Katana, bearing in mind its manufacturing and traceability add-ons. The inFlow versus Katana page sets the two side by side.

Very small makers can start lower still with Stocksmith's Indie plan, which bundles BOMs with batch and lot tracking.