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Scan an item and file it in one motion

Goal: put a thing away and record where it went without opening a form. Scan the shelf, scan the bin, scan the item, done.

Modules: Inventory, Locations, and QR labels. A 2D barcode scanner helps; a phone camera works too.

Steps​

  1. Build your locations tree to match the real space: rooms, shelves, bins. A community bike kitchen might have Front room -> Cable wall -> Bin 7.

  2. Print QR labels for the locations and stick them on. Each label carries a code tied to that one place.

  3. Get a 2D scanner (it reads QR codes as well as product barcodes) or use Pair phone so a phone camera feeds the same inbox. See Barcode & QR scanners.

  4. Now file by scanning, working down the tree:

    • Scan a room's label and you're working in that room.
    • Scan a container's label and that container becomes where things land.
    • Scan an item's product barcode and it drops into that container, its name and details filled from the catalog lookup.

  5. Keep scanning items into the same bin, or scan a new location label to move the funnel somewhere else.

Result​

Putting stock away is a run of scans instead of a run of forms. Each item ends up with a name, a location, and a photo, and scanning that location's label later opens exactly what's in it. The same labels double as instant jump-to links: scan a bin and you're at its record.