Using WholeCell's Scanner App
WholeCell's Scanner is a progressive web app (PWA) designed to be used with an Android scan gun or a Bluetooth barcode scanner paired to any Android or iOS phone/tablet.
This frees your warehouse team from being tied to a desk -- letting them receive, grade, move, and update inventory from anywhere on the floor with just a scan. Set up a workflow once, hand a scanner, and they can update hundreds of devices in minutes.
This article covers how to:
Pair a phone or tablet to your WholeCell account
Create scanner workflows that chain one or more actions together
Use a workflow on the scanner
Pairing a Scanner
The Scanner App lives at https://scanner.wholecell.io. To pair a device to your WholeCell account:
From the WholeCell website on your desktop, go to Settings > Scanner
Click Pair new scanner in the top right of the Active scanners section
On your phone or tablet, open https://scanner.wholecell.io in your browser
Use the device's camera through the scanner page to scan the QR code shown on your desktop
The QR code expires after 60 seconds, so make sure your phone is ready before generating it. Once paired, the device will appear in the Active scanners list along with when it was paired and last seen.
If you ever need to sign a device out -- for example, if a phone is lost or an employee leaves -- click Revoke next to that device on the Active scanners list.
We recommend installing the PWA to your phone's home screen for faster access. On iOS, tap the Share button in Safari and choose "Add to Home Screen." On Android, use the "Install app" option in Chrome's menu.
Creating a Workflow
A workflow is a saved set of actions that will run every time you scan an inventory item. Workflows are managed from Settings > Scanner, in the Workflows section.
To create a new workflow, click New workflow. You'll be taken to the New Scanner Workflow page where you can:
Give the workflow a Name (this is what appears in the workflow picker on the scanner)
Check the boxes for the Actions you want this workflow to perform
For each action, decide whether the user should pick a value during the scan or whether the workflow should apply a fixed value
The available actions are:
Change status -- update the inventory's status (e.g. from Available to Receiving)
Change grade -- update the inventory's grade (e.g. to A Grade, B Grade, etc.)
Change warehouse -- move the inventory to a different warehouse
Change location -- move the inventory to a different location within a warehouse
You can chain as many of these actions together as you'd like in a single workflow.
User picks during scan vs. Fixed value
For each action, you have two choices for how the value gets applied:
User picks during scan: The scanner user selects the value from the workflow screen before scanning. Useful when the same user will be doing similar work in batches but the value may change throughout the day.
Fixed value: The workflow always applies a hardcoded value. Useful for a single task -- e.g. a "Receiving" workflow that always sets status to Receiving and warehouse to your main warehouse.
Require new selection per scan
Under each "User picks during scan" action, there's an optional Require new selection per scan checkbox. When checked, the scanner will reset that field after every scan and require the user to choose again. This is helpful when each item being scanned needs an individually-chosen value (e.g. grading a pile of mixed devices, where the grade is different for each one).
When unchecked, the value the user picks at the start of the workflow stays the same for every scan until they change it.
Once you've configured your workflow, click Create Scanner workflow to save it. It will now appear in the workflows list on any paired scanner.
Using a Workflow on the Scanner
Once a workflow is set up, here's how your team uses it on the floor:
Open the Scanner App on the paired phone or tablet
From the Choose a workflow screen, tap the workflow you want to run
For any "User picks during scan" actions, select the value you want to apply (e.g. Receiving status, A Grade, Brennan Office warehouse)
Scan an item with your Bluetooth scanner
Each successful scan shows a green confirmation card with the changes that were applied, along with the matched inventory item's details (ESN, hex ID, product info, current status and warehouse). If the scan didn't match an inventory item -- or if there's another issue -- you'll see an error message instead.
The user can keep scanning items in succession; the workflow will continue applying the same actions to each scanned item until the user chooses a different workflow or changes a value.
Tips and Best Practices
Build workflows around stations, not people. A "Receiving Dock" workflow with fixed values for status and warehouse is faster and less error-prone than asking each user to pick the right values every time.
Use Require new selection per scan for grading. This is the most common case where each item legitimately needs a different value, and the forced re-selection prevents the wrong grade from being silently applied to the next 50 devices.
Keep workflows narrow. Several small, purpose-built workflows ("Receiving - Put Away", "A Grade Sorting", "Move to Outbound") are easier to use than one workflow with every action enabled.
Revoke old devices. Periodically review the Active scanners list and revoke any devices that haven't been seen in a while.
Coming Soon
We're actively expanding what the Scanner App can do. Features on our near-term roadmap include:
Remote label printing via PrintNode -- print barcode and shipping labels directly from the scanner to any networked printer in your warehouse
Commit to order -- scan an item to commit it directly to an open sales order, no desktop needed
Scan on scan report -- run inventory audits by scanning items into a scan report from the floor
These actions are already visible (greyed out) on the New Scanner Workflow page and will become available as we ship them.
Troubleshooting
My Bluetooth scanner isn't typing into the scan field
Make sure the scanner is paired to the phone/tablet at the OS level (Bluetooth settings)
Make sure the Scan field on the workflow page is focused (tap it once if not)
Try toggling the scanner off and on
The QR code expired before I could scan it
Just click Pair new scanner again to generate a fresh code
I scanned an item but got "Not found"
Verify that the ESN or hex ID exists in your WholeCell inventory
Make sure you're signed in to the same WholeCell account on both desktop and scanner
My workflow isn't showing up on the scanner
Refresh the scanner page -- workflows are loaded when the page opens
Confirm the workflow was saved on the desktop side under Settings > Scanner > Workflows
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