Label Printer Applicators Increase Productivity While Cutting Cost for Book Distributor
PREVIOUS PROCESS:
A book distribution facility for large "warehouse" style retailers was manually applying UPC and EAN barcode labels over ISBN numbers to meet individual customer specifications for distribution.
A laser marking printer printed form labels for small orders while large orders were sent to third party fulfillment houses. The company needed to lower their label printing costs and start processing all orders in house.
ID TECHNOLOGY PROPOSAL OR SOLUTION:
ID Technology proposed creating a database of all book titles and unique ISBN numbers.
Customer specific fields were added to store all variable information. The database linked to Label Matrix via the Text ODBC driver. A Percon Decoded Scanner with wedge cable connected to a PC and scanned the ISBN from each book and recalled the individual book record and all preset label variables.
A justifying conveyor was used to align and guide the different size books through the application process for consistent label placement. A smart tamp compensates for the varying book thickness'. The new label covers the original ISBN code allowing point of sale equipment to use the retailer's code.
COST SAVINGS:
The book distributor's productivity was increased from 6,000 books per day to 36,000 books per day. Cost of label generation and application was cut from $0.06 per book to $0.028 per book.
PRODUCTIVITY GAINS:
Third party fulfillment houses are no longer needed for large labeling projects and they are fulfilling all orders much faster. By integrating the database, label software and scanner input device, large and small orders can be run quickly and efficiently. The conveyor side aligns various size books without the need for adjusting guide rails. Customer specific information can be easily added or changed in database.
