Choose a QR inventory system by specifying what the code identifies, which stock operation the scan belongs to and what happens when the code cannot be read. Test the complete receipt or issue workflow with representative labels. A successful camera scan is only the beginning of that acceptance exercise.
What should the QR code identify?
Write the intended identity in ordinary words before generating labels. Does a label represent a product type, a particular serialised unit, a batch or a storage location? Give each category a separate example. Ask the person preparing the catalogue and the person receiving goods to explain what a scan should select in each case.
GS1 identifies GTIN and batch or lot number among the application identifiers these 2D barcode types can encode. Documentation. Use those distinctions to frame your data design. For a batch-managed product, record the product identity and batch reference in separate worksheet columns. For an individually tracked asset, add a unit-specific reference. Decide which fields must be present before the operator can finish the proposed stock task.
The visible square pattern does not by itself settle how the payload should be interpreted. GS1 DataMatrix uses GS1 element string syntax. Documentation. QR Code and Data Matrix can use GS1 Digital Link URI syntax. Documentation. Ask your implementation partner to provide the decoded payload alongside a printed sample. Keep the sample with the configuration notes so that a later scanner replacement can be assessed against the same expected input.
GS1 describes Digital Link syntax as a web-compatible format that can also support supply-chain applications. Documentation. For inventory acceptance, therefore, name the receiving application and expected screen. A code might be intended to open information or identify a record within a stock workflow. Ask the demonstrator to show your intended result on the intended device, then identify the separate action that confirms the quantity and completes the movement.
Use a stable internal identifier in the worksheet and keep descriptive names alongside it. When a product description changes, rehearse finding the same intended record. Treat changing an existing identifier as a controlled catalogue decision, with a note about labels already attached to goods and the records that still refer to them.
How should receiving and issuing differ?
The Odoo examples here use version 18 documentation as a concrete implementation reference. Odoo 18 requires tracking by lot or serial number to be selected for each relevant product. Documentation. Begin the demonstration with a product whose tracking setting has been checked, rather than assuming every catalogue item has the same configuration. Record the product, the chosen tracking approach and the person who approved it.
The Odoo 18 guide says GS1 lot and serial barcodes require a 2D-capable scanner. Documentation. Include scanner capability in the equipment brief. Use the actual proposed label size, print material and device for the exercise. Record the scan result and the decoded value separately. This lets you distinguish a reading problem from a case where the application received a value but selected an unintended record.
Odoo 18 can configure serial or lot requirements separately for operation types such as receipts and deliveries. Documentation. Prepare one receipt and one delivery scenario for the same product. Define who selects the operation, when the product is identified, how the batch or serial reference is entered and who confirms the final quantity. Compare the resulting stock records with the worksheet rather than judging the demonstration by how quickly someone scans.
For a proposed receiving workflow, require the operator to explain how they distinguish an expected delivery from a new unscheduled receipt. For issuing, ask how they confirm the destination and the requested quantity. Use deliberately similar product descriptions in the exercise so staff have to rely on the intended identity and operation reference.
Keep the broader inventory control guide as the owner of reorder levels and general stock movement design. The QR brief should concentrate on the identity-to-operation handover and its exceptions. That narrower scope makes the demonstration easier to assess and keeps label decisions connected to the movement they are meant to support.
Decide the damaged-label route in advance
Odoo 18 optional scanning allows manual barcode entry when necessary. Documentation. Decide whether that option suits each operation in your proposed process. If manual entry is permitted, define who checks the entered value and what evidence accompanies the exception. If it is not permitted, write down how an unreadable item will be held and resolved before the operator encounters one.
Avoid instructing staff simply to “try again” indefinitely. Give the exception a reference, a responsible person and a next action. Proposed categories might be unreadable print, unknown identifier, unexpected lot, wrong operation or quantity disagreement. Keep these categories short enough for staff to use while preserving the detail needed by the person investigating.
Odoo 18 offers PDF or ZPL output when printing selected lot and serial barcodes. Documentation. Include the intended print route in your label specification. Retain a sample from that route, with the printer settings and the decoded value. If a replacement label is needed, require the operator to identify the existing stock record first and record why a new physical label was produced.
Odoo 18 can generate lot and serial numbers from a scheduled receipt before products arrive. Documentation. If you choose that approach, add a pre-arrival check between the scheduled receipt and its printed labels. Ask the receiving colleague to compare the planned identifiers with the goods that actually arrive. Record what should happen when a supplier’s delivered references differ from the preparation sheet.
An original scan acceptance worksheet
Use the following worksheet to assess one proposed workflow from start to finish. Fill in expected values before the demonstration. Record observed results only when the exercise is performed, and attach the exact sample label used. Keep the same samples for a repeat after any configuration change.
| Sample | Expected identity | Intended operation | Exception to rehearse | Record to inspect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product label | Chosen catalogue item | Receipt | Similar product name | Receipt line and quantity |
| Batch label | Item plus batch | Receipt | Unexpected batch | Batch reference on receipt |
| Unit label | Individual serial reference | Delivery | Previously selected unit | Outgoing unit record |
| Damaged label | Existing known identity | Receipt | Unreadable code | Approved exception note |
| Replacement label | Same authorised identity | Relabelling exercise | Wrong source record | Label issue record |
For a hypothetical spare-parts store, prepare two visually similar components in different batches. Receive one batch, then propose an issue from that received stock. Ask the operator to show which reference they scan at each step and which record they confirm before completing the movement. The exercise is designed to expose ambiguity in the proposed process, not to represent an observed result.
Repeat with an unreadable batch label. Have a second colleague follow only the written exception instructions. If they cannot determine whether to hold the goods, enter a value or contact a supervisor, revise the instructions. Record the unresolved decision against the relevant operation rather than adding a vague note that training is required.
Finish the exercise by comparing the starting stock record, the receipt and the proposed delivery. Ask the reviewer to trace every identifier in the worksheet to its corresponding record. Keep discrepancies open until their cause is explained and the affected sample is rerun. This gives you a practical basis for accepting the workflow.
Where a website or portal initiates stock requests, include that handover in your web development brief. For checkout-related movements, use the separate POS inventory integration guide. Take your payload samples, equipment details and exception worksheet to get started to discuss the intended integration clearly.
By Spout Team. AI-assisted drafting by Codex using the linked primary documentation.