Find items fast in your godown with QR labels

The app says six pieces are in stock. The customer is waiting. Nobody can find them — so you say “sorry, finished” while the goods sit in a box on the top rack. Every shop with an almirah or a godown knows this moment. The fix is simple: give every storage place a name and a label, and write down what goes where.

Why things get lost

• Goods have no fixed place — they go wherever there is space.
• Boxes have no names, or names only one person understands.
• One person knows where everything is, and that person is on leave.
• New staff spend their first weeks searching.

Step 1: Map your storage

Think of your storage as levels, from big to small:

Zone → almirah → rack or shelf → box

Use short codes that anyone can read:

• A1 — almirah 1
• A1-R2 — rack 2 in almirah 1
• A1-R2-B3 — box 3 on that rack
• G-B — zone B of the godown

Keep the pattern the same everywhere. A code tells you where to walk before you even reach the place.

Step 2: Label every place

Stick a label on each almirah, rack and box, with both a QR code and the code in plain letters, so it works with a phone and with the eye. Put shelf labels on the front edge at eye level, and box labels on the side that faces out. In a damp godown, laminate the labels or cover them with tape.

Step 3: Record what goes where

When goods arrive, the last step is to put them away and record the place. One item can live in more than one place — a few pieces on the shop shelf, the rest in a godown box — and that is fine, as long as both are written down.

Step 4: Scan to find

• Looking for an item? Search it and see every place it is kept.
• Standing in front of a box? Scan its label and see what is inside — and what has run out.
• Opening an almirah for the first time? Scan it to see which kinds of goods it holds.

Step 5: Keep it up to date

A map is only as good as its last update. When you move goods from one box to another, scan both and update. Once a week, check one almirah against what the records say — it takes ten minutes and keeps the whole map honest.

An example: a stationery and gift shop

A shop with 6 almirahs, 30 racks and 120 boxes might map its storage like this:

If finding an item took about 3 minutes before the labels and about 20 seconds after, and the staff look for things 30 times a day, the shop saves 30 × 160 seconds = 4,800 seconds — about 80 minutes a day.

Your first day: a checklist

1. Walk the shop and godown with a notebook and draw a rough map: which almirahs, racks and zones you have.
2. Decide the codes and write them on the map.
3. Print the labels for one almirah and stick them on.
4. Empty one rack at a time, sort the goods into boxes by type, label each box and record what went in.
5. Ask a staff member to find five items using only the labels. Where they get stuck, the labels need work.

Tips that make it work

• Do not over-split. A box per product type is enough; a box per item gets messy.
• Label both the shelf and the box, so a box put back in the wrong place is noticed.
• Keep a few blank labels near the godown door for new boxes.
• Use the same codes in your records, on labels and when you talk (“it’s in A2-R1”).

ApnaInventory’s Places gives every almirah, rack, shelf and box — and godown zones — a QR and barcode sticker printed on A4 sheets. Scan a box on any phone to see what is inside and what has run out; scan a rack or almirah to see which kinds of goods it holds. Places record where goods are kept and never change the stock count itself, which only moves with bills and purchases. For counting and reordering, see how to manage stock in a shop and the reorder point. The same phone also reads product barcodes — see barcode billing.

FAQ

Should places have a QR code or a barcode?

A QR code scans quickly from any angle with a phone, which suits racks and boxes. A printed code in plain letters next to it helps when someone reads it by eye.

Can my staff scan with their own phones?

Yes — any phone with a camera that can open the app with their own login.

Does moving goods to another box change my stock?

No. Places only say where goods are kept. Your stock changes with bills, purchases and recorded adjustments.

How long does it take to set up?

Plan an afternoon for each few almirahs: map, print, stick and record. Start with the place where people search the most.