Labelling Solutions
The top five trends in enterprise labelling in 2017
I
n this article, Josh Roffman, VP product management, Loftware, expands on the top five trends found in enterprise labelling. Supply chains and the solutions used for
managing them have become increasingly important as businesses become interconnected and globally operational. This is why it is important to identify, understand and measure how labelling has a strategic impact on supply chains and companies’ business growth.
existing investments, and reduces the need for countless permutations of label templates.
LABELLING AT THE HEART OF THE BIMODAL SUPPLY CHAIN As the complexity of a global supply chain increases, so too does the need to track goods and products that travel through it. Gartner, an American research and advisory firm denotes: “Digital innovation will lead to a new approach to the supply chain.” Further stating, “The divide between what the supply chain provides and what the enterprise needs is widening. Closing that gap requires a new, agile approach to investment in technology, leadership and talent.” More than 63 per cent of respondents report
that they are currently combining digital technology with traditional practices to improve supply chain operations. This approach allows manufacturers to gain the best of both worlds by embracing digital technology and new business models while continuing to use established reliable physical processes. Labelling plays a key role in representing the bimodal supply chain considering the label is a physical representation of digital information, which is often encoded in a barcode.
LABELLING VIEWED AS A GLOBAL INITIATIVE Approximately 65 per cent of those surveyed in a recent poll claim that they recognise a need for labelling to be addressed on a global scale — more than half of which work for labelling companies that operate across a global setup. Therefore, labelling, which intersects the supply chain at all levels, has become an area where customers have a lots of requirements, involving regulations and creating the need to avoid disruptions from manufacturing line to warehouse. Companies looking at labelling on a global basis must consider how to effectively deploy and maintain their labelling solutions, how to support enterprise wide changes and how to scale effectively as businesses grow and enter new markets.
LABELS ARE CHANGING The barcode label is simply not what it used to be. As customer and regulatory requirements increase, companies have been forced to make a record number of label changes and add more and more content to their labels. Over 80 per cent of respondents reported that labelling requirements have become more complex in the last three years. To meet these increasing demands, labels must be flexible and data driven to support the nearly limitless variability of requirements. In many cases, the key is enabling business users to have a simple mechanism to make label changes as well as integrating with enterprise applications to automate labelling processes. This increases efficiency, leverages
16 December/January 2018
THE LABELLING MARKET EXTENDS BOTH UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM Companies that don’t attempt to connect business partners across the global supply chain are missing opportunities to meet new customer demands, grow into new markets, and increase competitive advantage. Over two thirds of those surveyed (67 per cent) see a value in suppliers printing labels using a shared solution that ensures proper labelling. This is because labelling plays an important part in generating value from the supply chain network to improve efficiency and meet customer demands. When businesses extend labelling to partners and suppliers, they are able to avoid downstream processing errors and eliminate the need for re- labelling. It also removes the risk associated with
shipping pre-printed labels and allows companies to apprehend savings from the cost of returns, improve brand consistency, and ensure label accuracy.
SUCCESS IN LABELLING IS MORE THAN JUST SOFTWARE Today, businesses are relying on labelling professionals for best practice, implementation consulting, training, and knowledge to ensure that they are successful. They understand that working with these
experts can help minimise or eliminate production stoppages, optimise supply chain operations, improve customer satisfaction and ultimately increase business. These professionals are able to help them deal with the many labelling requirements, to address dynamics of different industries, products, geographies, regulations and business models.
More than 92 per cent of respondents using
professional services found great value in those services. With this focus, expectations have increased for labelling professionals to understand and provide guidance on evolving industry standards and regulations, business processes, and regional nuances, along with expert around-the-clock support to enable continuous operations.
www.loſ
tware.com www.convertermag.co.uk
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