High efficiency carton labeling system

Gadzooks, based in Carrollton, Texas, delivers youth-oriented apparel products to its 433 stores from its distribution center. For a long time, the company printed the shipping labels that met FedEx's standards and then manually affixed them to the packaging. Paul de Freitas, logistics and logistics manager, said that this manual labeling method is so dependent on workers that they look at the cartons on the distribution system as if they are taking care of babies.

Now, these corrugated cartons do not have to be taken care of like babies. The automatic labeling system that began operation in June 2002 will automatically complete the labeling work. Before the packaging cartons reach the labeling system, they are affixed with pre-printed product labels. After reaching the labeling system, the system will begin to scan the label on the carton. Based on this, it will generate a shipping label that meets FedEx's standards and pastes it on the packaging box. Then, this new generation will be generated. The shipping label is verified by a second scanning reader. Moreover, between these two scans, the carton is automatically weighed and packaged.

The hardware part of this 44-foot-long system was provided by Texas Barcode Systems. This includes two Datalogic barcode readers, a Weigh-Tronix dynamic weighing scale, and a Model 5200 print labeler with a Zebra print engine from Weber Marking Systems. The system runs on a ready-made network through a new Dell personal computer. The conveyor belt is manufactured by Hytrol. The entire system is mounted on a 9-foot-high platform that is actually part of the building's architecture.

Start with the scan first
Packed cartons containing clothes, handbags, belts, shoes, or other apparel are lined up in a labeling system. Prior to this, they have been labeled with printed products. This tag uses a unique product identification code and Code 39 barcode to record the company's internal tracking information. According to De Freitas, the product identification code and Code 39 barcode on this label cannot be used by FexEx.

At the entrance of the labeling system, a Datalogic DS4600 scanner was installed, which reads the pre-printed label information on the carton. De Freitas stated that the scanner used to confirm the FexEx tag at the end of this scanner and distribution system was a "verification scanner." The scanner at the entrance reads the data on the pre-printed label and transfers it to the PC. The latter generates the data for the new label. Then the data is sent to the rotary printing labeling unit. . Hytrol's conveyors are 12 feet long and the scanner is mounted on three-fourths of the conveyor belt. This conveyor consists of two parts, one is the slower conveyor and the other is the faster, faster conveyor. The latter is four times faster than the former. This allows the exact transport of the container to the scan. Position in front of the device.

After scanning, before labeling, the box is also weighed by a Weigh-Tronix CVC 4824 dynamic weighing scale. The resulting weight is also transmitted to the PC and added to the FedEx tag's data, although this tag does not require weight information.

The 6-inch by 4-inch pressure-sensitive label produced by TBS is supplied as a tape. All FedEx-required data information is printed on this label. When the package is stopped at the detector position, the label is attached to the middle of the package by a pressing roller. This position is about 16 inches from the front of the package and about 8 inches from the bottom of the package. The typical conventional box is 30 inches long. However, Gadzooks regularly uses irregular packing boxes, but this does not affect the operation of the system.

If the scanner does not recognize the bar code on the pre-printed label, it will generate an error signal and the wrong package will be sent to an endless conveyor behind the second scanner, waiting for the re-adhesion of the pre-printed label.

Next, a Japanese-made baler in the installed Samuel sealing system will complete the sealing work. De Freitas said that because Gadzooks average weight of the box is 45 pounds, too heavy for ordinary tape, so these boxes also need to be packed with extruded polypropylene packaging tape. In addition, the packaging tape is cheaper than the tape. The tape is used to close the top of the box. To ensure safety, a cross-shaped box is used. In addition, a monitor is installed to ensure that the next package will not be transported until the next sealing process is completed. "This packer is really a good machine," De Freitas said.

The packaged box then passes through a Datalogic DS2100 scanner that verifies that the FedEx shipping tag is correct and valid. According to De Freitas, after scanning the shipping label, there are two situations that will cause the system to automatically stop running: one situation is that the FedEx shipping label has not been pasted, and the other is that the barcode on the label cannot be read. When a monitor detects that a box has passed, a scanning action is triggered. The scanned package is sent to an external conveyor or to a defective conveyor for further processing.

A good start
In the past, Gadzooks workers manually scanned the box and then hand-labeled. De Freitas said that he originally needed five full-time workers, but now only two or three workers are needed. “Saving the labor force is also saving us a lot of money,” he said. “This is a great improvement. We no longer need workers to look after every box as a baby.”

At the same time, the packing efficiency of Gadzooks increased from 4 to 5 boxes/minute to 7 to 10 boxes/minute.

One of the more obvious data is production efficiency. Gadzooks use box/person/hour to indicate production efficiency. Before adopting the new system, when the production efficiency was 24 to 28 cases/person, the production efficiency of Gadzooks increased by nearly 50% to 46 cases/person on the first day of operation of the new labeling line. ·Time. "It's a surprise to see that productivity has increased so much," De Freitas said. Since then, work has become better and better: now Gadzooks' production efficiency is stable at 50 to 60 cases/person.

Of course, De Freitas also admitted that this labeling system is not perfect. The labeling error rate of the packaging box is less than one thousandth, compared with the labeling error rate that was previously used manually. The bottom line of Gadzooks is a long-term high return.

Another highlight is that managers of chain stores do not need to know about this kind of production improvement. De Freitas said: “It's still the same for them, it's a seamless connection.” De Freitas hopes to be able to use this labeling system for long-term, stable, and reliable work, no matter how popular it is.