MOBILE LABEL PRINTING
Transforming operational efficiency in peak season with mobile label printing Jay Kim, managing director at BIXOLON Europe GmbH, explains how using linerless mobile printers to print labels can help to organise warehouse operations, support with last mile delivery and communicate with consumers.
As we have recently seen, peak season is a chaotic and profitable time for most retailers and the wider value chain. But to ensure that businesses involve make the most of these times, websites and ecommerce engines need to be fully functioning, able to accept orders and fulfil deliveries – and warehouses and fulfilment centres need to be ready to meet customers’ delivery needs fast. Alongside this, last mile delivery operators need to ensure they have the right processes and systems in place to ship goods on time. In contrast, instore retail must make sure that its warehouses are operationally capable of picking, packing and sending goods to stores in time for shoppers to buy their products. Therefore, for many retailers, third-party logistics operators, warehouses and last mile shipment providers, organising logistics operations effectively with packaging labelling forms a crucial part of their success through and beyond the peak season. Its value, as part of the process, is understated. Within many warehouse and fulfilment centres there are often stations placed around the distribution centre where printing takes place. This is because many sites and their operational processes have been designed for stationary label printers. While traditionally effective at printing labels, it means processes were designed around the location of printers – meaning that warehouses and staff duties were created with this in mind. It is not uncommon, for example, to see printing stations that have parcels taken to them by warehouse staff to have labels printed and stuck onto goods. In many instances, labels printed come with liners too. This is problematic How mobility is refining warehouse operations
because when the liner is removed from the label – often a backing – it needs to be disposed of correctly in additional bins. These bins take up a lot of space and liners can end up on the floor by accident, causing health and safety slip hazards. This becomes important to review across the supply chain too. When you consider some ecommerce retailers are shipping hundreds or thousands of goods daily, and many last mile delivery and shipping operators like DHL, UPS and Fedex are responsible for managing and delivering even higher volumes of goods than that.
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