Video: MicroVention Case Study

MicroVention is a global medical device manufacturer based in Aliso Viejo, California, with production facilities around the world. They experienced rapid growth and needed to re-evaluate their labeling process.

Frank Carranza: Hello, my name is Frank Carranza. I'm responsible for all the labeling that goes on all the medical devices here at MicroVention, as well as in Costa Rica and China. Previously we were using an older version of TEKLYNX software called LABELVIEW. And that solution was okay for a small company. But as we grew, we knew we had to oversee it on a larger scale.

Bob Lenski: Users were walking around from workstation to workstation, they were opening the label design application, they were saving the label onto those machines, and then having to go from workstation to workstation to do all of that.

Frank: Before we were literally taking one item and hooking it up with a template. And if you imagine, we have thousands to do, we'd have to do it manually by hand. There's just no way. It would take too much time.

Bob: I think you'll find in a lot of organizations that users will go what we call the fixed, or static route. What that means is you're designing one label in the interface and you're putting 1-2-3 on a field, and it's always 1-2-3, it's never dynamic, it never changes. The problem with that in companies such as MicroVention and other larger organizations around the world is that you're not printing one product all day. So when you have a label per product, but you have 15,000 products you have to get out the door, you have 15,000 labels you now have to make in the label designer. Once you have the label made, you have to think about how you're gonna manage it, who's gonna say that that label's good, who's gonna print that label, and then you're also gonna have an administrator on the back end of that that has to manage to that in the day to day.

When Frank realized that MicroVention was quickly outgrowing their current solution, he knew TEKLYNX CENTRAL CFR was the solution they needed. TEKLYNX CENTRAL CFR is a centralized label management system, installed and managed out of MicroVention's headquarters in Aliso Viejo.

Bob: The idea behind centralized label management is having one location that you can do everything you need to. So if you wanna go in and update a label, or if you wanna approve a label, or if you wanna just print a label, it's having one application installed on a server somewhere in the environment and then making that the central point of use. So, with the TEKLYNX CENTRAL enterprise solutions, it becomes easier not only to design a label, but to get a label approved, to make sure that it's good, and then also gives you an easy to use interface in which an administrator doesn't feel the pain.

Frank: So now, when there's a change that is necessary, all you have to do is really just open up the template, save it as a draft, make your changes, and check it back in as final, and those changes are done. We've reduced the amount of time and resources it takes to deal with all the template and database changes, significantly.

Bob: One of the biggest things that MicroVention has been able to take advantage of is our web-based printing functionality. Having the printing interface available in a web browser really makes it accessible from anywhere. They have a cleanroom, so they can't have workstations installed down there, but they can have monitors that can access a web browser.

Frank: Our particular web interface is customized for MicroVention. It's very simplified to make it easier for the people in the cleanroom to use. So we've established a workflow with the minimal amount of things on the web interface that the cleanroom operators need to use to print out the label. The workflow we established, they just basically have to scan a lookup code and the lot number, and hit Enter. And then basically, the label comes right out. We simplified it to make it the easiest way possible for the cleanroom operator. So with the minimal amount of training, they can get the label out quickly and efficiently.

Frank and his colleagues at MicroVention found that TEKLYNX commitment to their customers went above and beyond the sale and implementation of TEKLYNX CENTRAL CFR software.

Chris Ramby: We really appreciate when we have an opportunity to have such a strategic partnership with a vendor. I think that more often than not, you have a service, and then that service is provided, and then it goes away. And I think with TEKLYNX, just being on the periphery of it, it's apparent to me that it's a complete commitment.

Frank: If it wasn't for their help, none of this would've gotten done. They were absolutely critical in this implementation. And they were so helpful and so positive about everything. It was a good experience.

Jenna Wagner: For us, what we really feel sets us apart is everything leading up to that point you get ink on paper. It is about us uncovering problems and looking at how we can offer the best solutions, and really being able to create more efficiencies in how you go about getting that ink on paper. And that's what we're in the business of doing, and that's why customers like MicroVention continue to work with us. Because we find those solutions, and we just make that whole process better.

Chris: We need vendors that are collaborators, and not a group that offers simply a service, but offers a partnership. Because we need that. And as we continue to grow, I'm sure we're going to identify different pain points and different things that we need support on, and TEKLYNX has already stepped in and provided such a wonderful solution to an area of need, I can only imagine that's going to continue as more production facilities come online, as Frank's team increases, as we get more products. So it's really, it's a great opportunity to have your organization come in at a relatively early stage of intense growth and be able to support that moving forward.

TEKLYNX CENTRAL CFR eliminated labeling bottlenecks, ultimately making labeling at MicroVention a more lean and efficient process. As MicroVention continues to grow, TEKLYNX CENTRAL CFR will scale up to meet their needs. If you'd like to learn more about how TEKLYNX can help eliminate your labeling bottlenecks, get in touch through our website, or give us a call.