Inventory in the aisle
The BizTracker Portable Data Collector
Retail inventory work happens where the products are. A portable data collector takes that work into the aisle, so counts, receiving, price checks and orders are captured at the shelf instead of written down and typed up later. Which devices suit an Infinity system, and how each one is set up, is confirmed by BizTracker for the store rather than assumed.
Configured against your Infinity setup. Reviewed before anything is ordered.
What does a portable data collector actually change?
It is meant to remove the second pass. Today somebody walks the aisle with a clipboard, writes counts down, then sits at a back-office screen and types them in — and the typing is where the errors come from. A handheld collects the same information once, at the shelf, against the item file it is going to update. The saving is not the walking. It is the re-entry that never happens.
The same applies to the jobs nobody schedules: checking a price without leaving the aisle, noticing a gap and building the order there, confirming a delivery at the door rather than after it has been put away.
- Data is captured onceThe second pass is where errors and hours go.
- The work happens at the shelfThat is where the products and the questions are.
- It works against your item fileA collector is only as good as the records it updates.
- It is an Infinity workflow toolIt extends the POS rather than being a system beside it.
What a given setup supports depends on your Infinity software version, the device, the connection and the configuration. We do not publish device models, accessories or capabilities here — that is reviewed against your store before anything is ordered.
The workflows
What it is used for
Depending on how the store is configured, these are the jobs it takes over.
Stock takes and cycle counts
Stock takeCount on the shelf, review variances, and stop transcribing paper.
Receiving
Purchase orders and receivingConfirm what arrived at the point it arrives, rather than reconstructing it afterwards.
Price checks and product lookup
Answer a pricing question in the aisle instead of walking to the register.
Building orders
See the gap and record the order in front of it, not from memory an hour later.
Store transfers
Inventory managementFor multi-location retailers, scan what moves rather than tracking it on a list.
Shelf-label requests
Barcode scanning and labelsFlag the labels that need reprinting while you are standing at the shelf that needs them.
Signs a store is ready for one
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Counts are done on paper and typed up later
The count takes longer than it should and arrives with transcription errors baked in.
Collect the count once, at the shelf, against the records it updates.
Stock take -
Staff walk to the register to check a price
A walk per question, all day, and the customer is standing there for it.
Lookup happens in the aisle.
Inventory management -
Orders are built from memory
The store over-buys what it noticed and runs out of what it did not.
Record the order at the gap, while looking at it.
Purchase orders and receiving -
Receiving is confirmed after the fact
A short delivery becomes a discussion nobody can settle a week later.
Confirm at the door, against the order.
Purchase orders and receiving -
The item file is messy and everyone works around it
Duplicate items and inconsistent codes make every count and every report harder than it needs to be.
A collector makes the mess visible fast. Fixing the file first is what makes it worth having.
Item file setup
Portable data collector questions
What is it?
A mobile inventory and barcode workflow tool for BizTracker Infinity POS. It is used at the shelf for counts, receiving, price checks, lookups, orders, transfers and shelf-label work.
Does it work with Infinity?
It is designed for Infinity workflows. Exactly which of them are available depends on your software version and how the system is configured, which is part of what we review beforehand.
Which device does it run on?
That depends on the configuration chosen for your store, and it is not something to pick from a page. We review the store’s workflow, the network and the POS setup and then say what is appropriate.
Do we need wireless in the store?
Some setups require network access and some do not. It is one of the things confirmed before ordering rather than discovered on the first count.
Which stores get the most out of one?
Inventory-heavy stores: liquor, grocery, convenience, specialty retail and anybody running more than one location.
Can it fix a messy item file?
No, and it will show you exactly how messy it is. That is useful, but the file is fixed in the POS, not on the handheld.
What should we do before ordering?
Have the workflow reviewed first. The store workflow, the POS setup, the software version and the network all change the answer, and the wrong configuration is an expensive way to find that out. For a price, choose Hardware Pricing on the contact form.
Review the workflow before ordering anything
Tell us how counts, receiving and price checks are done today and what your Infinity setup looks like. We will say what a collector would change — and whether it is worth it yet.