In the previous articles of this series on effective electronic economy tools that improve company operations, we discussed the purpose and benefits of implementing logistics labels, possible ways of creating barcode markings, and company expectations in this regard. This article focuses on how to print such a label and what tools to use to implement it so that the label meets all substantive and technical requirements, and its creation is as simple and inexpensive as possible, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The list of company expectations regarding the implementation of logistics labels is very long: it must meet the requirements of the global GS1 system, the requirements of contractors, and EU legal acts; the printing software must also enable the printing of labels for collective packaging, including the GS1-128 barcode, reflecting many variable pieces of information, while taking into account all other standard requirements of the GS1 system; and the implementation must be at the lowest possible cost. This is especially true when a company needs only a few such markings at the beginning, while also needing the solution to be as cheap as possible when the number of required labels increases significantly. Additionally, it is required that the label always complies with all substantive and technical requirements, and that the employees handling them have as little work as possible when generating them and are protected to the greatest extent possible from printing incorrect data on the label (we presented the full list of these expectations in the previous issue).
Printing GS1 logistics labels on office printers and beyond
In response to this market demand, the Identification Technology Laboratory, operating at the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing, created a program for generating and printing GS1 logistics labels that meets all the above-mentioned requirements, while also enabling the printing of labels on laser office printers and, ultimately, on specialized printers. EtLog (logo in Figure 1) is a program designed for the rapid design of logistics labels that are fully compliant with international GS1 system standards and European guidelines in this area. Its unique feature is the ability to print logistics labels required in supply chains on a standard laser printer. As a result, there is no need to buy expensive, specialized printers – existing office printers can be used. This is particularly beneficial in situations where a small number of labels need to be printed. This feature makes the product dedicated to the SME market – small and medium-sized enterprises for whom the cost of purchasing a specialized printer is too significant an expense, especially in a situation where only some customers demand such markings and the company itself does not yet use them to improve its own management. At the same time, when such a need arises, this program can be used on specialized printers (e.g., Zebra brand), which is important when a large number of labels are printed, reducing their implementation costs by the cost of the software for these printers.
The EtLog program automatically generates a globally unique number (SSCC – Serial Shipping Container Code), allowing for the monitoring of the movement and location of every single logistics unit, which is most often a pallet of goods. The operation of the EtLog program is based on designed label templates, according to the company’s needs and always in compliance with European guidelines (Figure 2).
Each template contains correct, precisely specified data that should be on the logistics label (agreed upon with the client/user of the program) and their placement, so that the printed label complies with GS1 system standards.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2/2009.