Lincoln Electric Becomes First Welding Equipment Manufacturer to Add Tag Codes
Company implements mobile 2D technology that aids consumers in the re-sale distributor showroom with product selection and customers in the post-sale environment with operational tips and support resources.
Posted: August 9, 2011
Company implements mobile 2D technology that aids consumers in the re-sale distributor showroom with product selection and customers in the post-sale environment with operational tips and support resources.
Lincoln Electric (Cleveland, OH), a well-known innovator in welding technology, has adopted the latest mobile technology to become the industry’s first international welding equipment manufacturer to add 2D Microsoft® Tag barcodes to its welding products. The Tag codes appear on the product nameplates of some of Lincoln Electric’s most popular equipment.
With just a quick scan from a web-enabled camera phone, these codes aid consumers in the pre-sale distributor showroom environment with product selection and customers in the post-sale environment with operational tips and support resources.
The new Tag codes – two-dimensional barcodes that encode text, URLs or other data and are readable by most camera phones – allow consumers to access information without ever leaving the showroom, garage or shop. Users can immediately pull up operational help tips and videos, product specification sheets and competitive product comparisons, instruction manuals, related articles and company contact information on their web-enabled phones. This new tool is also ideal for distributor personnel assisting customers in the showroom to access details regarding products on display.
The company uses Microsoft® Tag codes on some of its most popular machines, including the POWER MIG® 140, 180 and 216 models, as well as the Square Wave™ TIG 175 and Outback® 145 and Ranger® 225 engine-driven welder/generator machines. The codes link users to a mobile-ready landing page for each machine. “We have always been known as an innovator in the welding equipment business by developing equipment with the latest technology to benefit our customers,” says Bruce Chantry, Lincoln’s portfolio manager of welding equipment. “Now, by adopting 2D Tag codes onto the equipment’s nameplate, we provide customers and distributors with a single access point to all the information they need, both pre- and post-sale, to a device they carry in their pocket and can access anywhere, at any time.”
“The past few years have already shown that many consumers are doing online research and now using their mobile devices to aid them in the decision making process, so Lincoln Electric is getting ahead of the curve by adding a new method for providing information right at their fingertips as they interact with our machines,” adds Chantry. The manufacturer is looking to eventually implement its 2D code program across all product lines.
Additionally, the first few products available with 2D codes are part of Lincoln Electric’s Money Matters™ promotion, which provides customers a choice of a cash rebate or free product. To learn more about the program, review the program rules, locate a participating distributor or submit a claim, customers should visit www.lincolnelectric.com/moneymatters.
To get the Tag Reader mobile app for your phone, visit http://gettag.mobi on your mobile phone browser. Or, search for ‘Tag Reader’ in the Apple® iTunes® App Store, Android Market® or Blackberry® App World.
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