Willett looks after its own
Willett looks after its own
Keywords: Willett, Information management, Inks, Fluids, Packaging
It recently came to our notice that with a need for complex information management and labelling co-ordination, Willett looked no further than its own systems integration team. Given the task, the team has developed a custom solution for its Inks and Fluids Division in Runcorn, UK.
The Fluids Division required a system able to cope with the multiple fields of variable information necessary for Willett's international distribution network covering over 80 countries. The fields had to fit within pre-defined areas on two separate labels, applied to the front and back of each bottle. Information is stored in a database, with important Health and Safety information displayed in local languages depending on the product and destination selection.
BluePrint, an easy to use, state-of-the-art print design package, was used to design the label format whilst custom software was written to retrieve database information to populate the variable fields of the label.
A product is identified by scanning a bar code on the top of the bottle located at the beginning of the production line. Once the user has selected the destination for the current batch, the complete process is automatically managed by the software.
The label requires a large quantity of variable information to be printed,with relation to the product type and destination. Different countries have different legislation requirements regarding toxic substances such as solvent and MEK, which must be displayed both as text and graphics. In addition, the information must be displayed in the local language of the destination country.
Willett custom software handles the correct information selection for the product, language and destination from the database. This information is then formatted and collated to fit the generic labels already produced by BluePrint. All of this happens instantaneously upon scanning of the initial bar code.
Willett hardware, adapted to print and apply labels to cylindrical objects,fixes the labels to both sides of the bottles ready for shipping. Two desktop printers are connected to the same database of information to work as a back-up system or to temporarily increase output capacity if required.
The Inks and Fluids Division required a system that would allow the retrieval of variable information from a database at the touch of a button and without the need to match individually all the different aspects of the product and country requirements. BluePrint, linked to bespoke software, is said to have provided the solution.
The labelling operation at Runcorn is now totally automated without the need for downtime every time a change in information is made, resulting in maximum throughput.
James MacDonald, the group marketing manager for consumables based at Runcorn said:
The whole system guarantees that the product goes out 100 per cent error free and enables traceability of fluid production throughout the entire group. In addition, the presentation of the product has been greatly enhanced.
