In a relatively short period, The National Lottery has become one of the UK’s most well-known institutions. It’s a massive and complex operation but it’s imperative that everything always runs as smoothly and seamlessly as possible. To help with this, Camelot uses handheld devices for scanning barcodes on the company’s products. Camelot recently upgraded its scanners with the help of Spirit Data Capture, an independent consultancy specialising in data capture and mobile computing. Spirit recommended Honeywell 3820 devices, which have helped to boost productivity.
Camelot has been running The National Lottery operation in the UK for the past 19 years. During this time, the lottery has created over 3,500 millionaires and has generated more than £31 billion for good causes. Some 70% of adults in the UK take part on a regular basis, producing annual sales exceeding £6.5 billion. Indeed, sales have increased by 45% in the last decade.
Data capture plays a key role in such a massive operation, particularly in Camelot’s Distribution Centre, which distributes all consumables, point of sale items and scratch cards for the entire estate. The barcode readers that were being used by Camelot until recently were over five years old, so were due for replacement. Camelot therefore started to look at newer models of cordless imagers.
Making the choice
Camelot consulted Spirit Data Capture, a consultancy that had been supporting its existing barcode readers for several years. Spirit recommended the Honeywell 3820, a wireless linear imaging scanner that incorporates Adaptus 5.0 imaging technology and Bluetooth capabilities. The scanner is cordless, giving a longer working range for users. It is also very durable.
Rob French, General Manager at the Distribution Centre, explains: “We were looking for quick and reliable barcode scanners.
They also needed to be both fast and accurate as part of our commitment to excellent service levels. The Honeywell 3820s seemed to meet all of these needs. We also chose them based on their weight, ease of use and design. As an added bonus, the operators liked them better than any of the other options!”
Spirit sourced the Honeywell devices and helped Camelot with their initial configuration in line with the company’s SAP system and main gaming system, along with quick changes for scanning into Excel. The consultancy explained the process stage by stage and provided configuration charts so that Camelot employees could configure the units themselves, using a programme utility. Spirit also loaned Camelot units on trial and offered a trade-in on the old devices.
The new imagers are now being used in the Distribution Centre to scan barcodes on products for despatch to retailers and for scanning returned products that are going back into stock.
Rob French concludes: “The Honeywell imagers have been performing very well. There have been no issues and they have proved to be very easy to set up. They have been very reliable and faster to use than the previous imagers, which has led to a slight increase in productivity, less downtime and fewer scanning issues. Spirit have provided a good service throughout and will definitely be our first port of call the next time we need help with our mobile enterprise.”
Spirit Data Capture Limited
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