Scanning for Sales Order

Savatage

We are getting interested in buying some scanners
for our sales team can:
go into stores
scan products
create orders

then send the info to us so I can import the orders probably thru a dataport.

Anyone using one of these scanners out there and what kind do you prefer
-PDA scanners
http://www.barcoding.com/wireless/pda-b ... nner.shtml
-Handheld computers
http://www.barcoding.com/wireless/wirel ... ners.shtml

if you are how are you getting the data (format)
all I really need is a cust #, barcode & qty - I guess I can do the rest.

I've seen the http://www.gointegration.com/happs_MS_NE.htm
but it looks oldish but if it works I'm there.

Just curious on different scanners, battery life, etc.

All suggestions, comments or your experience welcome.

thanks!

ara3n

It makes a different if you are buying scanners for warehouse management, since some scanners scan from far, others within a feet etc. For sales people I guess any scanners will work as long as they don't break. I think some scanners out there have a waranty that if dropped from sertain hight, they garanty that it will work.
As far as applicatin goes, assuming they are running pocket PC. If they are scanning within your network you can setup wirelss network and termianl services on those scanners and they can connect to navision and you can create mini navision forms. Or If you have experience with visual studio, you can create your own app that can run on those scanners. It's pretty simple and they once they sync with PC, the file will be uploaded, and you use dataport to load the file.
I have done it both ways and they both work fine.

Savatage

it's not for our warehouse (yet) - these guys go store to store all over NY, NJ & CT. right now they have a huge order book that each individual order is written in and they either drop their order books off at the office every day or fax the pages in. at that point we need someone to manually enter all these orders.

i need a scanner that can hold multiple orders - a decent battery life and i guess went they get home at night they can send the info to us - at the same time I can email them any updates (prices, a/r info, new items) so they can sync up and update their scanners.

Torben_R.

Take a look at http://www.expandit.com

I know that they have some mobile solutions.

ara3n

I would then go the other way and build the app yourself if you have experience with .NET. It's a lot more interesting and you learn a lot by doing your own way. If buy a ppc solution, you won't be able to modify it cause they won't share the code.
What ever you get, make sure it has external keyboard with buttons, any LCD keyboard thing won't work and will be time consuming, and the users won't use it.