Questions from real pharma operations teams.

BarqScanner mounts any Android smartphone on a standard desk arm to create a scan station. Place a pharmaceutical carton under the phone, pull one trigger from your WMS app, and BarqScanner decodes every DataMatrix barcode in the carton simultaneously — typically 50+ items in under 5 seconds. It returns parsed GS1 data (GTIN, Lot, Expiry, Serial) directly to your WMS or ERP via API, Webhook, or Keyboard Wedge.

A handheld laser scanner reads one barcode at a time — it takes 30–60 seconds to scan a single carton of 48 units. BarqScanner captures all 48 barcodes in one image in under 5 seconds. That's a 20–30× speed improvement per trigger pull. It also automatically parses GS1 data (GTIN, lot, expiry, serial number) and pushes it to your system — all things a laser scanner cannot do.

No. BarqScanner works on any modern tablet with a rear camera (iPad Air/Pro, Samsung Galaxy Tab S-series, Zebra ET-series). If you already have ruggedised tablets at dock stations, you just install BarqScanner. The only requirement is a camera capable of 12MP+ and good ambient lighting or an optional ring light for consistent results.

Most distributors are fully operational within 1–2 weeks. Week 1: ERP integration and user setup. Week 2: operator training and compliance credential setup. We provide a guided onboarding checklist, video tutorials, and a dedicated onboarding call on Professional and Enterprise plans.

BarqScanner supports GS1 DataMatrix (the primary format for pharmaceutical serialization), QR Code, GS1-128 (linear), PDF417, Code 128, and Code 39. DataMatrix is the standard format required by GS1-compliant medicine serialization programs across the GCC, Europe, and Asia.

Accuracy exceeds 99.3% on standard pharmaceutical packaging under normal warehouse lighting. For damaged barcodes, BarqScanner flags the item for manual review and highlights which specific unit could not be decoded. The session cannot be confirmed while unresolved items exist, ensuring no barcode is silently skipped. Manual override is available with full audit logging.

Yes. Duplicate detection runs in real time. If a serial number already exists in your inventory or has been previously scanned in the same session, it is immediately flagged with a yellow 'DUPLICATE' status. The system prevents the session from being confirmed until all duplicates are resolved.

The BarqScanner AI model reliably detects up to 64 DataMatrix codes in a single frame on standard tablet hardware. For larger cartons or displays, you can do two overlapping scans which are merged automatically. Multi-scan aggregation is coming in v2.0.

BarqScanner performs well in typical warehouse lighting (≥200 lux). For very low-light environments, we recommend the optional USB ring light accessory. The AI model is trained on real-world pharmaceutical carton images including slight blur, glare, and label crinkle scenarios.

BarqScanner fully parses all GS1 Application Identifiers from DataMatrix barcodes: GTIN (01), Lot/Batch Number (10), Expiry Date (17), and Serial Number (21). These four fields are the core requirement for serialized medicine compliance in all major pharmaceutical markets worldwide.

Yes. Every dock session automatically produces an EPCIS 2.0 compliant XML document with the correct business step (receiving, shipping, etc.), event time, location GLN, and full epcList. This document can be submitted to your region's national track-and-trace authority and a signed copy is stored in your evidence archive.

The submission is automatically retried 3 times with exponential backoff. If all retries fail, the compliance team receives an email alert and the session is flagged 'Pending Submission'. The original EPCIS XML is preserved and can be manually resubmitted from the compliance dashboard. No data is lost.

Expired products are flagged immediately based on the expiry date decoded from the GS1 barcode. Recalled products are flagged if their GTIN/serial appears on your uploaded recall list. Both types trigger a red QUARANTINE status — the items cannot proceed to dispatch until resolved by a supervisor.

BarqScanner's EPCIS adapter is validated against GS1's official conformance test suite. Our infrastructure is ISO 27001 compliant. We provide a full Validation Package (IQ/OQ/PQ documentation) for customers in regulated markets upon request on Enterprise plans.

Natively supported: SAP S/4HANA (via RFC/BAPI), Oracle NetSuite (SuiteScript), Microsoft Dynamics 365 (BC & Finance), Odoo (XML-RPC), and Infor WMS. Any other system with a REST API or webhook endpoint can be connected using the Generic Webhook adapter — available on all plans.

When a dock session is confirmed, BarqScanner calls your ERP's API to create a goods receipt document, update inventory levels, and write serial numbers to the serialization module. The integration is configured once during onboarding — no ongoing developer work required. Field mapping (BarqScanner fields → ERP fields) is done via a drag-and-drop mapping UI.

Yes. BarqScanner can pull open purchase orders from SAP, Dynamics, NetSuite, or Odoo when starting a dock session. The operator selects the relevant PO, and BarqScanner uses the expected line items to validate what is being received — flagging missing, excess, or substituted items in real time.

You can use BarqScanner standalone. Scanned sessions, serial records, and compliance submissions are fully functional without ERP integration. You can export data as CSV or JSON at any time, and connect an ERP later when ready.

Data is stored in encrypted PostgreSQL databases hosted on AWS (Frankfurt region by default for EU/MENA customers, US-East for American customers). You can request data residency in a specific region on Enterprise plans. All data is encrypted at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.3).

Only users within your organization with the appropriate role (Owner, Admin, Supervisor, Operator, Viewer). BarqScanner support staff can only access your data with your explicit written consent for a support case. We do not sell or share data with third parties.

Yes. We act as a data processor under GDPR. Our Data Processing Agreement (DPA) is available on request. We support data deletion requests, data export, and processing records. Personal data (employee operator accounts) is kept separate from serialization event data.

Yes, on Enterprise plans. We provide a Docker Compose deployment package that runs the full BarqScanner stack on your own servers. All data stays within your network. Compliance submissions still go out to authority APIs, but no operational data leaves your premises.

Yes. Each dock station operates independently. You can have 10 tablets scanning simultaneously at 10 dock doors, all reporting into the same dashboard in real time. User roles ensure each operator only sees their assigned sessions.

Yes. BarqScanner has an offline-first mode. If the dock station loses internet connectivity, scanning continues locally and data is queued. When connectivity is restored, all queued sessions sync automatically. Compliance submissions are sent once online. The maximum offline queue is 10,000 scans.

Trial plans: best effort. PRO plans: 99.9% uptime. Enterprise plans: 99.95% uptime with a dedicated incident response SLA. Contact us if you need a formal SLA agreement.

Upload the recall GTIN/serial list to the Recalls module in the dashboard. BarqScanner will immediately flag any matching items in your live inventory and in all future scanning sessions. A full inventory impact report shows every location and session where the recalled product appeared.