If you’re new to the retail industry and setting up your process for the first time, you may be a little confused about all the different types of scales available for your store.
Knowing your process requires a scale and knowing which type of scale you need are two vastly different questions. You’ll find that there are a wide range of scale types available, each with different features and each suited to different needs. Here are some tips to help you choose the right industrial scale for your retail application.
It’s likely that you’ll choose a platform scale for your business, unless you are using a scale to portion food as well as weigh it. Platform scales are very common in the retail industry, as well as in many other industries. This is a common type of scale that you see used to weigh boxes at the post office, among other common applications. Platform scales fall into two primary categories:
- Bench Scales – Bench scales are smaller platform scales. As the name implies, these are designed to sit on a bench or counter. This is the kind of scale you find to weigh produce at the grocery store checkout counter. Like all industrial scales, these are extremely accurate. A bench scale is designed for ease of use, but has a lower weight capacity than floor scales.
- Floor scales – These look just like bench scales, only much larger. Floor scales sit on the floor, and are designed to weigh much heavier items. This is the scale you want if you are weighing heavy boxes for shipping, pallets, or machinery.
Integration of Your Scales
In most applications, it is important that your scales are integrated into your business systems. For example, the scale may work with your point of sale system to automatically calculate the price of a product based on weight or the cost of shipping based on the weight of the package. All major brands of industrial platform scales come with this capability. In addition, the scales can be integrated to systems that collect data about what’s been weighed, as well as diagnostics about calibration.
Your industrial scale choice is an important one as you start your retail business. Your scale should be applicable for the items you’re weighing, as well as easy to use. These should be seamlessly integrated into the rest of your point of sale process.