Improve Your Warehouse Efficiency With These Proven Labelling Strategies

Warehouse efficiency can be improved through a number of tools and technologies. However, there is one technology that is commonly used in warehouses, yet highly overlooked as a productivity tool. We are talking about none other than the Barcode Labelling. It’s time for warehouses to recognise the significance of barcode labelling and make efficient use of it to generate profit for their business.

Labelling is a crucial aspect of inventory management for many warehouses. That said, a well-defined labelling strategy can help not only streamline inventory operations but also improve efficiency and productivity in other operational areas.

By implementing barcode labelling at your warehouse, you can eliminate human errors and boost your order picking productivity which will eventually improve the way your goods and people flow through your warehouse.

Though before getting into labelling strategies, it is good to ensure a quality label printer in place. If you are new in the market looking for your first label printer, it can be difficult to choose one from the overwhelming variety. From  Dymo label writer 450 to Zebra zt410 , there’s a huge spectrum of models out there offering different features which can make it difficult for you to understand which printer might be best for your business and needs.

We have gathered a list of questions with answers that can assist you in choosing the best printer depending on your requirements.

• Do you have low-volume printing or high-volume printing needs?

  If you are low-volume user, a  Dymo and Seiko SLP label printer might be suitable for you. However, high-volume users are better off with a Zebra or a Cognitive label printer as they are equipped with high volume printing capability.

• How much are you willing to pay for the printer?

  Zebra and Cognitive printers have higher prices as they are designed to last for a longer time and be involved in high volume printing unlike Seiko SLP and  Zebra printers that suited for low volume printing requirements in office settings. Investing in either of these two offers you a life-long investment with diverse benefits.

• What size of labels you need to print?

  Talking about the Seiko SLP printers, they cannot print labels wider than 2-1/8 inches. Dymo's Label Writer printers, on the other hand, possess the ability to print labels up to 4.16 inches wide.

  Zebra desktop label printers have a print width of 4.09” while Cognitive desktop label printers have a maximum print width of 4.1.” Do keep in mind that Zebra printers have an outside wind and can cause the final labels on the roll to wrinkle when straightened, thus causing waste.

• Is high definition a consideration for you?

  If you are looking to display high definition printing on your labels, know that not all label printers have a print head with 300*600 per inch. However, if high definition printing is crucial for you, you can opt for  Zebra or Cognitive printers that allow you to purchase a new print head for high definition printing.

• Do you want to be able to replace parts?

  One reason amongst many others that make the Zebra and Cognitive printers best is that they allow the user to replace its malfunctioned or broken parts. And that is also why people don’t mind spending a bit extra in these technologies. Dymo and Seiko, on the other hand, are cheaper but no replacement parts are available for these printers. So, when any part of the machine wears out, the entire system has to be replaced.

In addition, when choosing a label printer for your business, it is advised to share all your requirements with the specialist. At POS Plaza, we possess decades of experience in selling quality label printers to customers since ages.

Eventually, when you are done with choosing the best printer, comes the part where you need to focus on improving your warehouse efficiency with effective labelling strategies.

Here’s what a well-thought-out labelling strategy includes:

Barcode All Inventory: Labelling all products improves the warehouse efficiency, which provides more accurate results across inventory management. It helps you to know the details of every item available on the shelf, bin and aisle. Also, picking will become much easier and more accurate with a robust labelling strategy.

Do keep in mind, some items may arrive at your warehouse without label and can’t be tracked. Make sure to print custom labels for such items on demand at receipt to ensure proper internal tracking.

Use Efficient Printing Technologies: Selecting efficient printing technologies can help you do more work in less time with more efficiency. You can reduce time and material waste at the printer by using labels without liners or label that use thinner liners. Besides, use printers that are easy to clean and maintain so that consumables can be conveniently changed whenever necessary.

Use Mobile Printers: Provide mobile label printers to your staff which they can easily carry around to do their work swiftly while saving their time and effort. When combined with mobile computers, label printers allow the staff to generate labels actively, increasing both the speed and accuracy of your labelling operation.

Shelf and Floor Labelling: Labelling doesn’t have to be limited to just inventory. In fact, you can label every shelf, bin, aisle and other places in the warehouse with shelf tags, floor tags and also with hanging tags. By labelling all the locations, you can later label them with barcodes and scan them using barcode scanners. This will also allow employees to quickly locate the right inventory for each order while reducing the amount of walking workers have to do to find inventory.

Besides, with the right warehouse labelling strategy, you can accurately improve your operations and boost efficiency at every level.

To get to know where else labelling can optimise your warehouse operations and improve efficiency reach out to our experts at POS Plaza.Recognised as one of Australia’s original online POS hardware retailers, we are committed to assisting clients in choosing the best label printer for their business and ensure a smooth and effective point-of-sale set up for a wide range of POS hardware.