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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: [ Up ] [ Next ]
Selecting The Right Equipment Supplier
Question: How do I select the "right" equipment
supplier?
Answer: The "Right Equipment Supplier" has a lot to
do with how equipment is being purchased, who will be doing the implementation,
and what the system requirements are. The greatest challenge is to select the
"technology partner" that fits your needs. This has to do with your
own company’s level of integration capability.
 | Software / Hardware Solution |
If your company is going to be buying a software/hardware
solution, it is important that the system provider has experience with the
bar code related equipment that you will be using. Some suppliers have
selected one equipment set while others provide the bar code and/or radio
frequency data communications hardware provided by a variety of suppliers.
It is most important that the software capabilities meet your system
requirements and then that the bar code related hardware provides the human
interface to the system.
| Integration Services |
Other companies may be buying integration services and
will not be making modifications to the software. In this situation, it is
extremely important that the supplier is familiar with the host system and
the methods of interacting to it as well as having a functional
understanding of the bar code reading and related equipment. Here again,
some integrators have experience with a variety of bar code equipment
suppliers while others have selected just one.
| Self Integration |
Finally, some companies will take care of their own
integration and will be looking purely at the bar code related equipment as
an item to be integrated into their system. In these situations, it is
extremely important that the bar code provider, either a value-added
reseller, distributor, or the manufacturer, has the support and capabilities
to meet the requirements of your company’s integration team.
| Supplier Evaluation |
A good place to start on the supplier analysis is to
contact the bar code equipment manufacturers who appear to have the type of
equipment necessary for the system. If your company is going to be
purchasing a software solution, your staff should request information about
solution providers.
Next, it is important to identify and contact other users
of the equipment or service provider. The questions to be asked of the user
company will be based on the nature of the installation. Companies who are
installing the equipment themselves should talk to others who did the same
thing. They will want to know what level of support is available. Those
purchasing integration services, as well as equipment, will want to know how
the integrator performed in the delivery of the system and support during
installation. If an entire system is being purchased, then the company will
want to know the provider’s system design capabilities as well as
integration, installation, and training. Attached are worksheets that may be
helpful in analyzing your equipment and system supplier. It is suggested
that anyone purchasing this type of equipment or services start off by
having a clearly written statement of their own system concept and goals.
This is referred to as a System Description and an outline of
the items that should be covered is also included.
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