6 Benefits of a Professional Labeling Solution

In today’s competitive environment, a company’s success rests squarely on the effectiveness of its supply chain. An effective supply chain requires fast transactions and accurate inventory, making a complete professional-grade labeling solution a must‑have. A complete professional labeling solution means the company has hardware that suits its environment, the right type of labels it needs, and software that makes printing the right labels effortless.

You might ask, “why is the labeling solution such a critical component?”  The answer is simple.  In order to be successful today, you simply must have an extremely efficient operation.  From a competitive standpoint, it’s critical; if your competitor can get product out the door fast and efficiently, then you need to be doing the same.  If you’re not using barcode automation in the warehouse, distribution center or manufacturing floor, you’re already a few steps behind.  To take that first step, find a solution provider who understands your business and has proven success in your industry.  The next step is to educate yourself on the benefits of implementing a labeling solution like a pro:

1. Simplified Compliance. A professional labeling solution makes label changes easier and helps ensure compliance. Centralized management portals and remote maintenance make it easy to update label formats or add newly required information. This helps the company avoid costly recalls and expensive fines. Don’t risk losing business due to non-compliant labeling.
2. Greater Supply Chain Efficiency. Accurate and fast transaction processing are keys to supply chain efficiency, and clearly-printed barcode labels are the cornerstone of any transaction processing system. Using barcode labels increases accuracy by preventing data entry mistakes, incorrect picking or shipping mishaps. Barcode scanning is a much faster and accurate alternative to manual processes, so worker productivity benefits from an automated process as well.
3. Branding Standards. A professional labeling solution has a better chance of producing clearly-printed, correctly issued labels; companies often rely on pre-printed labels, which can be quite costly and unreliable in terms of supply.  You want your labeling to properly reflect your brand – which means you want the label to look the same every time it’s printed.  This includes your logo, certifications, trademarks, patents and critical information about the item being labeled. This ensures consistency from unit to unit and makes in-house transactions faster. It also helps supply chain partners become more productive since they know what to expect from your label. Professional-grade labels also help make counterfeiting harder and more visible if it occurs, so it is easier to identify and stop.
4. Business Continuity and Risk Mitigation. A professional-grade labeling solution allows you to shift production from one location to another without excessive downtime or reconfiguration. Label templates can be loaded remotely to printers in other locations in the plant or even in another plant altogether, ensuring that production and shipments continue and that product continues to be labeled properly regardless of any interruptions.
5. Better Flexibility and Responsiveness. Professional labeling solutions offer multi-language capabilities and simple label changes that workers can make easily—even on the fly. This allows you to offer customized labels to customers in other regions or to customers with unique branding requirements of their own.
6. Enhanced Collaboration and Communication. Your entire supply chain depends on the accuracy of your labeling, so centralized label control and professional grade printed labels help to ensure supply chain efficiency and accuracy as your goods move from node to node. This prevents rework or shipping errors that may occur due to labeling errors, and it reduces the risk of counterfeit goods entering the supply chain. As a result, your company enjoys lower costs and higher potential revenues.

You don’t have to invest a lot in order to gain the operating efficiency and productivity benefits of a complete labeling system.  If you’re spending a lot of time and money on labeling logistics in your business, consider speaking with a solution provider who is an expert in the industry.  Not sure who to contact?  Try us! We can give you plenty of examples of the improvements businesses have made by making the switch to a solution that best suits their needs.