Falling camera prices trigger a shakeup in auto ID world, with the old 1-D laser bar-code readers giving way to sophisticated image-based scanners. Recent leaps in technology have pushed prices for image-based code readers down in the last 18 months, making them price-competitive with laser scanners and expanding opportunities for data collection throughout the supply chain. Logistics managers can eliminate inefficiencies if they take advantage of these price reductions to upgrade to two-dimensional (2-D) image-based technology from one-dimensional (1-D) data capture devices such as laser bar-code scanners, industry experts say. For instance, mounting cameras instead of lasers to conveyors will enable DC associates to examine the entire package—rather than just the bar code—as shipments flow past an inspection point. The ability to analyze that flood of new information can help ensure customer satisfaction and improve vendor compliance, reduce shipping costs, and minimize chargeback fees from supply chain partners. "Laser scanners are equipped only for one dimension, but camera-based imagers can do much more," said Richa Gupta, a senior analyst for auto ID and data capture with VDC Research, a supply chain analyst firm in Natick, Mass. "They are not restricted to a certain type of symbology; they can take images of the product itself, as well as getting information off the bar code and seeing information imprinted on the package," Gupta said. "There is no limit to the amount of information they can capture. That is the biggest value proposition." The market has taken notice and pushed global sales of camera-based 2-D readers from $312 million in 2013 to an estimated $338 million in 2014 and $475 million in 2018, according to market research from VDC. The predicted 8.9-percent rise in sales of image-based readers between 2014 and 2018 comes in sharp contrast to a forecast 3.1-percent decline for […]