5 Signs It’s Time to Evaluate Your Labeling System

5 Signs It’s Time to Evaluate Your Labeling System

BY: DOUG NIEMEYER / DATE: 05/25/2023 / TOPICS: MANUFACTURING, SHIPPING & RECEIVING, WAREHOUSING & DISTRIBUTION, LABEL DESIGN, ENTERPRISE LABEL MANAGEMENT

You wouldn’t wait years to go to the doctor for a check-up. We go to the doctor to make sure we're healthy, to prevent future illness, and to ask questions about healthy living habits. Your labeling system needs that same kind of attention.

Technology, regulations, and consumer demands continue to evolve. These pressures drive the need to re-evaluate systems and processes to ensure expectations are able to be met on a consistent basis.

Looking for help from the experts to see where you may be able to improve? Request a free assessment of your labeling environment - we'll help identify what's working well, what needs improvement, and what specific steps you can take to improve your labeling environment.

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When it comes to labeling, we all know that the label needs to include the necessary data with a quality barcode to ensure product movement and traceability. Part of our mission at TEKLYNX to help companies Barcode Better is getting in front of manufacturing companies to educate and guide on the best ways to design labels, populate data on labels, print labels, and implement quality controls. 

Most companies today have a labeling solution in place. Is it the right solution for the job? Is your labeling process optimized for speed and quality? Let’s look at a few areas that trigger the need to re-evaluate your labeling process.

Is Your Business Experiencing Any of These Signs?

1. Business growth, industry consolidation, or changes in the market
2. Changes within your current technology environment
3. Business initiatives that affect your labeling
4. Ever-changing labeling regulations (internally or externally)
5. New demands from your customers and suppliers

If you answered "yes” to any of those signs, you’re not alone. In a study, we asked our customers when the last time was that they evaluated their labeling system. 30% have waited over 3 years, and another 20% have never evaluated. To prevent labeling emergencies and implement healthy habits, we recommend evaluating your labeling system every 6-8 months. Read on to learn about five common signs that it's time to evaluate your labeling system.

1. Business Growth

The goal of running a business is to make money, right? A great way to make more money is by expanding your company. When you’re at the heart of experiencing growth, it makes sense to evaluate your current labeling process to identify if it will support your future business needs.

Common business growth events that impact labeling:

• Merger or acquisition: When two companies become one, they each bring their own unique labeling systems and processes with them. Reconciling these systems may take some time and effort, but it’s worth it in the long run. Disparate labeling systems lead to wasted time and labeling errors. Instead, use this opportunity to evaluate the labeling needs of the entire combined organization and choose a system that increases efficiency and improves labeling accuracy.
• Entering new markets: Expanding sales to a new region can be a great way to increase revenue, but expansion often brings new challenges, including new labeling requirements. When expanding sales into a new country or state, be sure to research labeling requirements for your products. Labeling requirements may include specific information, safety warnings, color graphics, translated content, and more. Make sure your labeling software is equipped to help you meet these requirements.
• Opening new locations: Whether your new location is a storefront, a manufacturing facility, or a warehouse, you must consider how labels will be printed there. For companies expanding from one location to multiple, invest in a labeling system that supports label file sharing, limits user permissions, and includes native printer drivers. For companies expanding from a few locations to many, discover the benefits of browser-based label printing, cloud-enabled labeling, and print automation. 
• Introducing new products: When adding a new product or product line, it’s clear you’ll need to design a label for it. What’s less obvious is how to ensure efficiency in your label design and management processes. Here are a few tips:
  • Does the label template match existing products? Create one template with variable data pulled in from your business system.  
  • Follow a clear label approval process that prevents unauthorized edits to your label templates. Store label files in a central repository and implement version control to prevent label file storage from becoming unorganized and unmanageable.
• Expanding production lines: Growing the capacity of your production lines can strain the capabilities of a basic label printing system, relying on repetitive manual steps to print and apply more and more labels. Take advantage of this opportunity to implement labeling automation. Trigger label print jobs from your business system, eliminating the need for workers to interact with software and enter data. Invest in in-line print and apply technology to speed up production and get products out the door faster.

2. Changes in your Current Technology Environment

Labeling can be a "set it and forget it" effort for a lot of businesses, but it shouldn't be. Change happens and it’s important to stay up to date with current technology to avoid compatibility issues.

Common technology environment changes that impact labeling:

• Implementation of a new server configuration
• Updating your current operating system (OS)
• Business system implementation or updates such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Warehouse Management System (WMS), or Supply Chain Management (SCM)
• Adding new label printers or hardware
• Introducing cloud-based technology and RESTful API
• Introduction of RFID labeling

The simplest way to protect your business is to keep your technology updated. For your labeling software, this means upgrading to the latest version at least once a year. Major version launches include new features to help your company improve labeling, and minor point releases include security improvements and bug fixes. 

When bigger changes occur in your technology environment, take the opportunity to explore better integration methods between your labeling software and your business system. Newly preferred technology, such as RESTful API, often provides significant benefits that create a ripple effect in your business. 

3. Business & Process Improvement Initiatives

There are always current trends to follow to keep a healthy and balanced life. The same is true for your business system.

Common business and process improvement initiatives that impact labeling:

• Sustainability: Sustainability is so much more than a “hot topic” in manufacturing these days; it is influencing the future of labeling. Sustainability is a movement, a critical area of focus, and a priority driven by consumer demand that is resulting in many companies rethinking their processes and materials and acting to be more sustainable in barcode labeling processes. Reduce waste in your label design and printing processes.
  • Automate steps of the printing process to save time and money 
  • Include more data (leveraging 2D barcodes) on your labels for consumer visibility
• Standardization: Technology standardization can help to improve productivity and minimize IT costs by reducing the number of tools you have in your environment. Standardizing to the same brand, edition, and version of labeling software across your business is a good first step.
• Automation: With labor shortages, many companies are looking for ways to automate processes. Many manufacturers are re-evaluating their labeling system to reduce manual data entry and create more centralization and control:
  • Leverage label templates and database connections with business systems to eliminate manual data entry errors, reduce the amount of label file storage, and to improve label quality. 
  • Implement a print automation software solution to automatically trigger print jobs from actions taken within a business system, a scan of a work order, or other defined workflows.  
  • Incorporate electronic approval and reporting software for who designs, approves, and prints labels leveraging label traceability software.

4. Regulatory Compliance for Labeling

Labeling regulations are often introduced to improve traceability or protect consumer and worker safety. Many of these regulations require your labels to follow strict guidelines so that you remain compliant across industries.

How might these affect your labeling system:

• Specific data required on labels: Use smart database-driven label templates
• Requirements to include more data: Use of 2D barcodes, or QR codes, for off-label information
• Color requirements: Implement a one-step on-demand color labeling process
• Serialization requirements: Use sophisticated counters to effectively serialize your product labels
• Labeling process traceability: Use label traceability software to document and audit your company's label design, editing, and printing activities

5. Customers Demanding More from Your Labeling System

Customers and suppliers can contribute to the complexity of your labeling system. The more organizations that your company works with, the more rules you must follow. Therefore, it’s crucial that your company is prepared to meet demands at every turn.

Not meeting these expectations could result in:

• Customer or revenue loss
• Brand equity degradation
• Dissolution of the relationship

Manufacturers who have multiple upstream suppliers understand that labels on incoming goods must be accurate. Supplier labeling is a critical component of an efficient supply chain, and a unified supplier labeling system can have a big impact on overall efficiency and the bottom line. 

Start Evaluating Your Labeling System Today

Give your labeling system the care it needs and evaluate your labeling system when faced with these five signs. Get started by requesting a free assessment of your labeling system.

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