The One Tip That Changed Our Label Supply Chain Efficiency

Manufacturing and production being in an age, improving supply chain efficiency can drastically alter the bottom line of a company. For us one such revolutionary tip changed our label supply chain: the marriage of automation with selective supplier consolidation. Read further to know how we made our operations better and more streamlined through two strategic approaches: automating tracking of material inventory and consolidating essential substrate suppliers.

Automate Material Inventory Tracking

In today's busy supply chain management environment having real-time insight into levels of inventory can make a huge difference in your operations. By using high-tech tools like barcode and RFID management systems we made a huge step ahead with our tracking of inventory.

Use Barcode Management to View Label Inventory in Real Time

Barcode management systems have been a standard feature in manufacturing facilities for many years because they are efficient and precise. Through the use of barcodes for our inventory of labels we could monitor usage trends and levels in real time. This type of inventory tracking gave us the option to view consumption rates which, in turn, allowed for better forecasting and replenishment planning.

The automation reduced the human errors inherent in manual counting thus minimizing wastage and discrepancies. It also ensured that our production lines never came to a standstill because of inventory stockouts since the system automatically signaled low stock levels and initiated replenishment orders where required.

Use RFID Management to See Label Inventory in Real Time

For a more comprehensive overview we adopted RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology alongside barcodes. RFID offers the advantage of non-line-of-sight data capture meaning we could track inventory without manually scanning each item. This technology enabled us to monitor label inventory in real time across multiple locations providing true end-to-end visibility of our supplies.

RFID technology assisted in the simplification of our warehouse process considerably. Since we were able to accurately place every SKU in a known location at any given moment we reduced the time looking for materials that enhanced productivity. Also, through the integration of RFID information into our enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, we attained accuracy in managing stock that was unimaginable before.

Consolidate Your Core Substrate Suppliers

One more game-saver in our label supply chain effectiveness was strategic consolidation of our major substrate suppliers. By narrowing down our list of suppliers we not only streamlined our procurement process but also our negotiating power that ultimately decreased delivery times.

Reduce SKU Count Through Centralized Purchasing

By careful examination, we found opportunities to consolidate suppliers and minimize the number of SKUs we handled. This was done by centralizing our buying decisions and choosing a few reliable suppliers who could serve us effectively.

Having fewer suppliers to deal with made our logistics easier and lowered administrative costs. It also allowed us to streamline our inventory because we had less varying items to monitor and hold. As a result, we noticed an increase in efficiency on our production line and a decrease in overstock holdings.

Improve Bargaining Power and Shorten Delivery Time

Consolidation among suppliers not only promised to enhance logistics but also strengthened our negotiating power. By raising the buying volume with key suppliers we acquired bargaining power to negotiate improved terms and conditions such as price reduction, preferences and perks like priority service.

Moreover, working closely with fewer suppliers accelerated our learning and communication channels. We were able to process orders quicker and any problems that occurred could be solved immediately which in turn resulted in shorter lead times. The rapport we established with these suppliers allowed them to be more attuned to our requirements and be able to respond elastically in case of sudden demands or shifts in our production calendars.

Conclusion

In short a multi-faceted strategy to optimize our label supply chain resulted in incredible gains in efficiency. By automating tracking of materials in inventory using barcode and RFID systems we gained unprecedented accuracy and speed in managing our inventory. In the meantime consolidating our key substrate suppliers gave us greater purchasing power and streamlined operations.

The path to maximum supply chain efficiency is one of ongoing analysis and adjustment. Yet our revolutionary tip—taking advantage of technology and strategic supplier relationships—has put us ahead of the curve. We are now more able to fulfill our production target requirements, react to changes in the marketplace and ultimately provide greater value to our customers. We hope that our findings will encourage others to look to similar strategies as they seek operational excellence.