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3 Ways to Lower Food Distribution Costs with Intelligent Product Identification

It is estimated that 40% of the entire US food supply is wasted every year due to visibility breakdowns in the storage and transportation process. Missed temperature changes, idle wait times, and overlooked expiration dates can all jeopardize product integrity while slipping under the radar, resulting in mass product recalls and contributing to approximately $161 billion lost in food waste annually. Between fluctuating shortages and increasing last-mile costs, distribution centers have no money -or time- to spend on excessive food waste.

 

That’s where Intelligent Labels Come In

 

As stated so many times before: Manual data entry leaves room for error. Despite this, many businesses still employ pen-and-paper systems due to its simplicity and low cost. On the other hand, the cost of recurrent recalls and damaged brand identity greatly outweigh the savings. To mitigate errors while lowering costs, intelligent labeling systems employing automated data capture and digitized reporting have been shown to increase accuracy up to 99.99%. At its core, a proper labeling system should include…

  • A printer that matches your throughput volume
  • A label that matches application and storage requirements
  • A scanner capable of reading your barcodes regardless of size and location

 

Once these factors are in place, companies can start taking a look at different label types to create a tailored solution. Regardless of which labels are selected, your identification system should aim at…

 

  1. Reducing errors before items progress through your facility – By tagging inventory straight at the receiving dock with long-lasting labels, you prevent early mis-identification and improper storage. Zebra’s Certified Consumables assist with this by leveraging strong adhesives tailored for the application and storage environment. RFID tags take this a step farther by enabling teams to track multiple identifiers with one tag, providing real-time verification through your mobile device.
  2. Accelerated identification with less wait time – Needless to say, automatic data capture is much quicker than manual logging; however, intelligent labels like Zebra’s freeze indicator labels provide at-a-glance temperature monitoring. Moreover, pairing intelligent labels with mobility solutions specifically built for cold chain operations like Zebra’s MC9300 help reduce costs and cycle times to increase sales and sustain easier data sharing even within the cold storage environment.
  3. Simplifies team communication by making track and trace easier – A smoother flow of information and less downtime play a critical role in simplifying track and trace operations. Intelligent labeling solutions streamline track and trace and equip your workers with important data they can use to respond to demands and each other faster. Furthermore, because data is stored digitally, audits become easier to perform, and data can be retrieved from anywhere in the facility between your secured devices.

 

While intelligent labeling sets a strong foundation for maximized visibility, it is only one part of the equation when it comes to lowering operating costs. Before selecting a label match, experts recommend meeting up with a labeling specialist to evaluate your environments and customize a solution that grows alongside your business. In addition to finding your best match, a proper workflow evaluation can also uncover more optimization areas hiding within your operation, giving you the upper hand to overcome challenges before they affect productivity.

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3 Ways your printer will thank you for using better labels

As your inventory moves down the supply chain, product identification remains crucial to avoid bottlenecks and delays. Enterprise labels have proven indispensable as they remove the probabilities of errors stemming from manual data entry. However, as consumer demands continue to rise for faster and accurate order fulfillment, printers must process many more labels within a short time frame. Reports indicate that U.S.warehouses are shipping nearly 36 million packages per day. If improper consumables are used to print labels for all +30 million parcels, even the most rugged printers may fall prey to early damage and failure, resulting in costly downtime. Fortunately, the right label will not only protect barcode legibility but also printer performance by:

  1. Mitigating printhead scratches – When labels are made from subpar materials, the label’s surface may become porous and sandpaper-like. While this surface-type may not harm a printer initially, continuous use will eventually scratch the printhead, creating faded gaps on the barcode. For high-volume operations, this could hold up entire workflows and leave room for scanning errors since the altering printhead may change the barcode’s legibility.
  2. Reducing debris build-up – In addition to scratching printheads, porous labels may also leave back small paper particles each time they pass through the printer. Moreover, tightly-wound labels may also leave residual adhesive, which combined with paper particles will create bigger build-up jams that impede the printing process.
  3. Eliminating roll slack – Lastly, when liner rolls are not at an optimized orientation, such as inward facing label rolls, they may create additional label slack within the printing mechanism, disrupting the barcode upon printing as the mechanism may tug on the roll. For a real-life demonstration of this issue, see our video.

 

Skip on your next printer jam with Zebra Certified Consumables

It’s widely established that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all labeling solution.Environmental differences and varying compliances may require different sorts of labels to maintain efficiency. Regardless of the requirement, Zebra’s wide portfolio of certified consumables offers multiple and customizable labels that…

  • Undergo rigorous testing for consistent quality
  • Meet ISO and additional compliance requirements
  • Employ pre-tested materials that minimize adhesive and debris build-up

 

Empower your operations through high demands with a labeling solution that supports more uptime and less worker stress. Contact Avalon to learn how you can take the first step towards intelligent modernized printing

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3 Ways to Implement Sustainable Labeling in the Warehouse

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The rise in consumer demands for sustainable and environmentally conscious warehousing has skyrocketed within the past years as more consumers grow concerned with the environmental impact of their preferred brands. While recycling and trade-in programs can reduce e-waste in the warehouse, there are other efficient small-scale solutions to reduce environmental impacts. Despite accounting for less than 10% of your operation’s total expenses, enterprise labels significantly contribute to warehouse waste over time. Labels and other paper waste contribute to the 85,000,000 tons of paper waste hitting landfills per year, and product packaging is usually first in the most disposed paper products. Although reducing paper waste may require more effort than label optimization, your consumables are still a good place to start when creating a sustainable warehouse. 

Evaluating your operations to ensure environmental sustainability is crucial to make sure you are getting everything out of your labels. A proactive label evaluation can help establish visibility and cut down on unnecessary costs by pinpointing areas where better labels can be implemented. The goal should be to create a labeling system that empowers:

  • Waste reduction – To accomplish this, many businesses are now turning to linerless labels, thus removing the additional paper waste from the adhesive backing. Another way to avoid paper waste is by preventing labor jams through purpose-built printheads and easier media loading.
  • Easy reutilization– For businesses reusing labeled containers, new tag options like dissolvable labels allow businesses to easily wash away adhesives without leaving behind any residual glue that can prevent new labels from sticking. Paper fibers are environmentally friendly to prevent water pollution. 
  • Seamless recycling at the end of the supply chain – Evaluate how your labeled items are entering and exiting the market. If labeled items are received by another facility within your business, you can maintain control of the handling or disposal of these items.

Streamline high performance with certified printing supplies

Building on a long history of warehouse optimization, Zebra’s certified labels continue to provide a scalable and adaptable way to improve supply chain workflows and meet customer demands. Designed to retain legibility even in the harshest conditions, the following three labels prioritize sustainability and decreased environmental impact while protecting maximum uptime: 

  1. Take sustainability a step further at its face with adhesive that readily dissolves under running water, further reducing waste and pollutants with the 8000D Dissolvable Label. These labels provide a more efficient means to removing disposable labels for seamless reutilization of containers and bins. 
  2. Eliminate the need for a liner with Zebra’s Linerless Labels. To reduce extraneous amounts of paper waste, Zebra’s linerless labels do not need a thermal printing ribbon and gives workflows more labels per roll along with a scratch-resistant and smooth surface for maximized printhead performance.
  3. Enable easy recycling to lower the amount of packaging that hits landfills with the PolyE 4000D Label and Z-Perform 1000DF Label. Made from consistently tested materials, these labels are engineered to comply with environmental standards for easy recycling. 

When it comes to driving sustainability in the modern warehouse, every small detail can create a long and lasting impact. Contact us today to being your comprehensive label evaluation and see how you can reduce costs and waste in your operations.

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This is the real cost of using inferior enterprise labels

In the modernized supply chain, value should outweigh cost. Although cheaper modernization routes can initially diminish expenses, inadequate solutions usually end up being more costly than their expensive counterparts. In no place is this more accurate than inventory labeling. Cheaper enterprise labels can save operations a great deal of money at face value, yet they also impact:

  • Scan speed – If operators take more than 5 seconds per order, they can spend over 3 hours per day scanning barcodes. Fading and peeling labels increase scan time since employees must rescan, increasing wait time and risks of delays.
  • Printing speed – Quality labels with smooth surfaces tend to leave less build-up on the printhead, mitigating future jams and slow printing speeds. On the flipside, poorly made labels often sport a sandpaper-like surface and tightly wound rolls that slow down printing speeds with more leftover debris.
  • Printer performance – Not only do sandpaper-like printers slow production, they can also directly contribute to premature printhead failure, resulting in downtime averaging $10,000 lost per hour.
  • Media loading time – Labels rolled outwardly create slack, which impacts printer performance if not installed correctly. As labels require more time to be properly installed, they take away from assembly time, further contributing to inefficient workflows.
  • Order accuracy – Incorrect shipments are the second most cited reason customers return products, adding to the increasing return costs that already surpass $350 billion since 2017 in the U.S. alone.
  • Inventory tracking – When inventory isn’t accurately accounted for, warehouses risk out-of-stocks, which drive customers to seek services elsewhere. Inaccurate inventory counts also lead to overstocking, which has led many retailers to markdown over 70% of their products.

Whether in the warehouse or in the storefront, inferior printing supplies dramatically impact productivity and profitability. To prevent these issues and more, Avalon recommends feeding your printer quality consumables such as Zebra’s Certified Printing Supplies.

How Zebra’s Certified Supplies Eliminate the Costs of Inferior Enterprise Labels

Developed to secure maximum uptime, Zebra’s certified consumables are subjected to a stringent 23-point inspection to certify dependable performance in a myriad of application and storage environments. As a result, every label is built to…

  • Secure printhead performance with smooth surface that prevents printhead scratches and adhesive build-up.
  • Survive in extreme environments such as high heat, condensation, and cold storage without peeling or fading, ultimately reducing the need for rescans.
  • Easily fit into your printer with loading complications for minimized wait times.
  • Meet compliance requirements to ensure your inventory moves smoothly from the warehouse to the retail shelf to the checkout lane.

Contact Avalon’s labeling experts today to discover a Zebra label that best matches your application and storage requirements to see how you can integrate the best value into your operations for the best return of investment.

 

 

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