Lippert Components, Inc. & Kinro Inc. Improve Label Quality

Lippert Components, Inc. & Kinro, Inc. Enable Growth and Control Costs With a Scalable Enterprise Label Design and Printing Solution

TOPICS: ENTERPRISE LABEL MANAGEMENT, PRINT AUTOMATION, MANUFACTURA, AUTOMOCIÓN

A leading supplier of components for recreational vehicles (RV) and manufactured homes, Lippert Components, Inc. was established in 1956 in rural Michigan. Today, the company, along with its affiliate Kinro, Inc., have grown to become a multi-state, multi-facility organization, with a reputation as being both an industry leader and innovator in production and sales trends while maintaining the third generation of family leadership.

With rapid growth on the horizon, Lippert & Kinro knew the time to reevaluate its logistics and invest in new technologies was quickly approaching.

Without an integrated system, Lippert & Kinro were using standalone printers that lacked the ability to share files. This caused redundant regeneration of labels and consistency concerns. Lippert & Kinro needed to eliminate unnecessary and time-consuming processes and raise the bar on quality control. Lippert & Kinro also needed to maintain individual and personal relationships with their customer base, while incorporating logistical upgrades and processes to allow for growth.

Foreseeing these needs, the standardization and automation of label printing across the organization’s coast to coast manufacturing plants became a priority.

“The need for a standardized label design and automated printing process was becoming increasingly clear,” says Jim Archambault, the company’s project leader. “With our dedication to strategic acquisitions and new product innovation, we needed a tool that would enable us to adapt quickly and increase accuracy during the many changes we were facing as a growing organization.”

In order to accommodate the growing customer and labor demands, Lippert & Kinro had to produce more, and at a faster rate.

“Our increasing number of customers were also requesting customization to their labels with items such as personalized UPC codes or serial numbers,” says Archambault. “So we set out to find a solution that gave us everything—standardization, time and cost savings, increased accuracy, ability to adapt quickly, and easier tracking. We were asking a lot.”

Solution

“We had previously established a relationship with Strategic Systems and Technology, who suggested we consider TEKLYNX solutions,” says Archambault. “After some research, it was apparent that CODESOFT and SENTINEL were exactly what we needed.”

Lippert & Kinro worked with Strategic Systems and Technology to implement SENTINEL label print automation combined with CODESOFT label design into a 4 processor server running 2014 versions. This solution is designed for advanced label design and printing, along with barcode symbology technology. The redesigned solution can:

• Allow easy compliance with industry standards with support capability of over 100 barcode symbologies
• Provide the capacity to grow by enabling quick and easy client and printer additions and customizations
• Save time and prevent errors by eliminating unnecessary manual processes while requiring little to no IT support
• Give flexibility through a solution that’s easy to integrate with multiple ERP and database systems

To cover the wide range of products requiring labels, Lippert & Kinro specifically needed a solution that could be integrated with their ERP system and that allowed their designer to develop new labels in a variety of shapes and sizes. CODESOFT and SENTINEL allowed them to increase the amount of label printers and users, and seamlessly integrates with their ERP system, giving them real-time accurate labels. They are now able to label all of their inbound inventory for more efficient receiving, inventory management, and physical inventories, allowing them to maintain superior customer relationships by providing value-added processes related to receiving shipments. “We have increased our level of productivity due to the fact that label printing has now become a second nature in all of our locations,” says Archambault.

Results

“TEKLYNX did much more than sell us software,” says Archambault. “They worked with us to provide a solution that goes above and beyond our expectations, which is a service we can pass on to our clients.”

Cost savings were among the many benefits of adding SENTINEL and CODESOFT to their environment. “The reduced amount of labor needed for processes like pre-printing labels and manually entering data is exponentially beneficial. We’ve been able to reorganize our excess labor and increase productivity,” says Archambault.

“We asked for a lot from TEKLYNX and Strategic Systems and Technology. They stepped up to the challenge,” says Archambault. “We’ve cut down on labor, IT, and administrative costs across operations in more than 32 locations nationwide, and continue to add new facilities. We have increased our printers from 1 to 239, and the number of label printing users from 10 to 615 since we implemented TEKLYNX solutions. Previously, we could only print a small amount of manual “static” data labels, and now we can print over 55,000 labels per day with 270 unique label options. This growth is a testimony to how SENTINEL and CODESOFT fosters progression in an enterprise.”

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