Dependable Tracking Solutions in Many Forms
Material handling solutions are needed more than ever in today’s environment, where impacts from labor shortages and supply chain challenges are spread far and wide. With every industry and sector seeking efficiency in how they handle their inventory, distribution, and warehouse management, effective answers are needed as organizations fight to meet demands despite the circumstances.
The Kennedy Group, an Inovar company is the material handling partner that provides a wide range of solutions tailored to your specific needs. Whether it is high-quality barcode labels, emerging RFID technology, or rugged and dependable container and warehouse ID labels, we have the experience of many market-tested solutions to offer.
Today, we’ll examine some of the many options available to help you manage inventory, streamline warehouse operations, and more.
The Kennedy Group, an Inovar company Difference: From food and beverage to retail distribution, we cover nearly every industry with innovative solutions.
The Rise of RFID in Warehouse Management
In the realm of warehouse management, the development of RFID tags and labels has become a popular tool in maintaining control of inventory and adding speed and efficiency to the process.
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags and labels attached to objects. The tags and labels can contain large amounts of electronically stored information. Passive tags or labels collect energy from a nearby RFID reader’s radio waves. Active tags and labels have a local power source (such as a battery) and may operate hundreds of feet from the RFID reader. Unlike a barcode, the RFID tags or labels don’t need to be within the line of sight of the reader, so they may even be embedded in the tracked product or container.
In warehouses, distribution centers, and facilities that have deployed automated inventory management technology, barcode labels are the standard for operating procedures. However, RFID tags are quickly becoming a larger part of the equation. The ability for RFID tags to track products at the pallet, case, and even item-level in the warehouse is a real benefit, capable of shaving valuable time off all inventory tasks.
RFID tags can be used in any industry. They can track a product or container during its time in a warehouse, or as it moves through the supply chain. The ability to tag reusable containers, get real-time updates, and keep accurate inventory are all major factors in the increase in the use of RFID in warehouse management.
The Kennedy Group, an Inovar company Difference: Get a complete look at all the custom RFID products we can provide, from Buddy Tags to Smart Nameplates and much more.
Learning to Layout with ID Labels
Barcode identification (ID) labels have helped change the efficiencies of the modern warehouse. But they are only as effective as your layout.
ID labels, including RFID smart label solutions, have changed the way companies manage products. Inventory management is easier, product identification is simplified, locating the product is quicker, shipping the product is easier, and shrinkage has been minimized due to barcode technology and systems. But the technology works only when warehouse racks that rack identification labels are attached to are organized in ways that make sense.
Here are a few tips and considerations to remember when planning an efficient warehouse layout.
Preplanning is Your Friend
Figuring out where you’re going to put each rack, part, and container is an important process. Here’s a common warehouse hierarchy that defines product location and identification:
- Aisle Number
- Vertical Section Identification
- Level Number
- Pallet Position (if storing multiple pallets on a given rack position)
Think of your product positioning as if each item is a treasure and you are trying to make it as easy as possible for someone to locate it. This is the foundation and reason for product positioning in your warehouse.
Optimize for Speed
How about two seconds? Warehouse management best practices state, if optimized correctly, every rack ID label in your warehouse should be in a position to be scanned in two seconds. Height of the racks, the width of the aisles, and the positioning of the operator all factor into lagging scan times. Position the items where they make the most sense for productivity, but also keep ergonomics in mind.
Choose the Right Supplier and Material
Choose a label product supplier that has experience with barcodes and RFID tags and vetted processes for testing the system. Make sure your label provider can confirm they can produce the highest quality barcode (ANSI Grade A). Finally, some label materials (substrates) have higher resistance to heat and cold, some are engineered to handle humidity and moisture better than other materials, and some are designed to retain a sharp image over an extended period of time. Choose a label material that will ensure maximum scan life or have laminates for added protection.
The Kennedy Group, an Inovar company Difference: Learn more about The Kennedy Group, an Inovar company’s complete line of material handling identification labels and products.
Durable Placard Label Holders Hold Up in Tough Environments
Dependable, proven, and reliable, container placard label holders remain a steadfast material handling identification solution for many organizations. With the pressures put on every industry for increased production, and the still prevalent struggles with supply chain issues plaguing many, the need for streamlined, cost-effective organization of manufacturing facilities and distribution centers has never been greater.
Placard label holders provide spaces for key information needed in the workplace — be it an assembly line, a distribution center, warehouse, or restaurant freezer. By providing reusable and easily accessible points for labels of many types, including barcode labels, placards are essential for efficiently tracking assets, managing inventory, and simplifying warehouse operations.
The Original Kennedy Container Placard Label Holder is a permanent label holder that features Hold & Release® Technology to allow for easy application and removal of single-use labels. Our placards adhere to a wide range of surface types and through an array of temperatures. They can be customized to nearly any shape, size, and color to either blend in seamlessly or stand out in the environment as needed. Our placards will accept most standard permanent labels easily.
The ability to provide a durable and reusable space for labeling of material handling totes, cartons, boxes, pallets, and other containers of virtually any shape and size leads to a host of benefits, including:
Less labor-intensive — There will be no sticky residue, and no required scraping of containers in order to add a different label.
Organization — You‘ll get a clean, streamlined appearance for your containers. This means no messy overlap or multiple labels competing in the same space.
Confidence — Because of the neat and clean appearance, and durability of the placards, you’ll be able to rest easier knowing your containers are much less likely to be misplaced.
Security — The Kennedy Group, an Inovar company guarantees our placards will perform correctly. With a 99.9999% success rate, these labeling products undergo extensive independent testing.
The Kennedy Group, an Inovar company Difference: In this video, see illustrated examples of how our Original Container Placard Label Holder can impact your shipping and handling.
Aim for an A-Grade with Your Barcode Labels
An ANSI Grade A barcode label is critical to the flawless operation of warehouse and production processes for businesses. But, barcodes are only as effective as the quality of the printed label product.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting the U.S. voluntary standards and conformity assessment system and strengthening its impact, both domestically and internationally. Encompassing practically every industry, the Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide.
A barcode grade is used to determine whether a barcode label will scan easily as read by a barcode grader or verifier. The grader or verifier will look at a number of different factors or parameters to determine its Grade. ANSI barcode grades are categorized on an A to F scale and are graded in 10 individual cross-sections of the barcode, with the overall grade being a guide to the readability of the code.
Barcode label products requiring an ANSI Grade A verification are the highest quality barcodes and provide the best performance. The “A” grade symbol is appropriate for systems when the barcode reader crosses (scans) the symbol only once or is limited to a single path, meaning that there is only a single chance to read the barcode with no opportunity to re-scan — such as on high-speed conveyor systems or automated process.
The Kennedy Group, an Inovar company Difference: Get a clear look at all the different symbologies you can incorporate into your barcode labels.
Trust The Kennedy Group, an Inovar company for Your Material Handling Solutions
The Kennedy Group, an Inovar company has provided innovative labeling and packaging, material handling and identification solutions for nearly 50 years. From barcode labels to industrial nameplates, we design and create ways for you to more efficiently manage your warehouses and distribution centers, and track vital assets.
