Walking the Lot with Your Scanner
Once your scanners are set up in inventory mode and your zones are assigned, it is time to walk the lot. The goal is simple: scan every vehicle in your assigned zone. ScanIt Vehicles tracks which vehicles have been scanned and which are still outstanding, so you will know exactly when your zone is complete.
Scanning Each Vehicle Efficiently
Speed and accuracy are both important during a lot walk. Follow these steps for each vehicle:
- Approach the vehicle — Walk to the driver's side lower windshield area where the VIN barcode plate is located.
- Point and scan — Aim the scanner at the VIN barcode and pull the trigger. You will hear a confirmation beep when the scan is successful.
- Check the display — The scanner screen will briefly show the vehicle details (year, make, model, stock number) confirming it was read correctly.
- Move to the next vehicle — Proceed systematically to the next vehicle. Do not skip around — work row by row to avoid missing any vehicles.
An experienced scanner operator can process 60-80 vehicles per hour, depending on lot layout and vehicle spacing.
Handling Vehicles That Will Not Scan
Occasionally, a VIN barcode will not scan. This can happen for several reasons, and each has a solution:
- Damaged or faded barcode — If the barcode on the VIN plate is damaged or faded, try scanning the barcode on the driver's door jamb sticker instead. If that is also unreadable, manually enter the VIN using the scanner's keypad.
- Obscured by stickers or tinting — Window tinting or stickers over the VIN plate can block the scanner. Try different angles, or scan the door jamb sticker.
- Vehicle locked and inaccessible — If you cannot access the door jamb and the windshield barcode will not read, note the stock number from the stock sticker and enter it manually after completing the zone.
- No barcode present — Very old vehicles or some specialty vehicles may not have a scannable barcode. Use manual VIN entry on the scanner.
Tips for Covering the Entire Lot Systematically
The biggest risk during a physical inventory is missing vehicles. These tips help ensure complete coverage:
- Work in rows, not random paths — Start at one end of your zone and work row by row to the other end. This prevents accidentally skipping a row.
- Scan vehicles in service bays — Do not forget vehicles that are inside the service department, detail area, or body shop.
- Check all overflow areas — Vehicles sometimes get parked in overflow lots, behind buildings, or in employee parking areas. Walk every area where a vehicle could be parked.
- Look for vehicles on lifts — Vehicles on service lifts are easy to miss. Check every bay in the shop.
- Scan demonstrators and loaners — These are still in your inventory and need to be counted. If they are offsite, note them as "in use" and add them to the count manually.
- Do not skip duplicates — If the scanner says a vehicle was already scanned, it may have been scanned in another zone. This is actually useful information for the variance report.
- Complete your zone before helping others — Finish your assigned area first, then assist with other zones if needed.
Pro Tip: On large lots, some teams find it helpful to place a small marker (like a cone or flag) at the end of each completed row. This visual indicator prevents double-scanning rows and gives you a sense of progress.