Country of Origin Labeling Solution
Application Description
In 2008, the USDA Country of Origin requirements expanded in scope. By March 31, 2009, food manufacturers and distributors need to clearly identify national origin for many products and provide corresponding recordkeeping documents with each shipment. Mishaps in this process can cost time, money, and even valued customers. Users can now streamline, error-proof, and cost reduce this process with Intermec’s Country of Origin Labeling solution.
The Challenge
Meeting the Country of Origin requirement commonly requires multiple steps: A thermal printer images the national origin information on a shipping label, meeting the identification portion of the standard. A separate printer, typically dot matrix or laser, creates the packing slip to meet recordkeeping requirements; this slip is usually folded multiple times and inserted into a packing slip sleeve. Finally, this sleeve is manually matched to the corresponding carton (introducing potential for error) and adhered for shipment.
Continue reading »
Block Out Labeling
Industry Need
Labels are commonly used to convey important information about the products they mark. However, an important element of labeling has become more prevalent: concealing inaccurate or out-of-date information previously in place. These kinds of labels can clearly communicate changed pricing without drawing customer attention, or may enable use of re-tasked or inaccurate packaging. Intermec’s specially designed Duratran and Duratherm Block Out labels provide this important function, reducing costs and improving efficiency.
-
- Retail/Price Markdowns – When retail items need to be price-adjusted or product information must be modified, relabeling with a material that obscures the original information saves time and maintains the integrity of the original packaging.
-
- Pharmacy/Unit Level Dose – On prescription items, labels are commonly applied over original packaging for distribution to the customer/patient. It is often important that the original printing does not show through. For reliable retail barcode scanning, it is critical to eliminate interference from underlying codes.
-
- Warehouse/Logistics – In shipping and receiving operations, labels are sometimes applied to materials that frequently go through multiple use cycles. Shipping containers arriving in a facility can be reused to send materials to another facility by applying a new label over the existing label on the container. Previous information must not be visible through the newly applied label, especially in automated handling systems where it could interfere with routing of the container or carton.
Continue reading »
Real-Time Asset Tracking Drives Emergency Care Goals at Washington Hospital Center
Unprecedented Insight Enables More Informed Decisions and Better Patient Care
About Washington Hospital Center
Washington Hospital Center, with 926 beds, is the largest private hospital in the nation’s capital. It’s also now ranked first among all 57 hospitals in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region by U.S. News & World Report, recognized for its heart surgery, endocrine disorders, geriatrics and ear, nose and throat care. The not-for-profit hospital is a member of MedStar Health system and shares a 47-acre campus with three medical facilities in Northwest Washington, D.C.
Challenge
In 1998, three years before the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon, Washington Hospital Center began proactively looking at how to improve patient care in the emergency room. To that end, the hospital secured a federal grant to evaluate how to design emergency medicine for the future.
When the Pentagon was hit, bringing all seriously injured patients to Washington Hospital Center, the event reinforced the commitment to enhancing every aspect of the emergency care experience. The center sought to answer, how does ER medicine need to evolve to address major events like Sept. 11, bombings or Metro system accidents?
Today, the initiative has grown into the ER One Center for Building Science, under the MedStar Institute for Innovation. Specifically, a think tank of physicians, nurses, architects, researchers and others consider how building design, from flooring to lighting, can influence healthcare.
Acosta’s Mobile Solution Speeds Time-to-Shelf for Candymaker Just Born
Zebra Printer Helps Cut In-Store Time and Get Inventory on Its Way
About Acosta Sales & Marketing
Founded in 1927, Acosta has grown from a local food broker to become the leading outsourced sales and marketing agency serving consumer packaged goods companies and retailers across the United States and Canada. The company’s integrated approach engages shoppers at every point along the path to purchase and ensures that clients’ products are strategically positioned to most effectively convert shoppers at the shelf.
Challenge
You may not know the name Just Born, but you likely know their candy. The national confectionary company makes names such as Mike and Ike’s, Hot Tamales and marshmallow Peeps.
A couple of years ago, the company recognized an untapped opportunity—to get its candies into more convenience stores. Just Born turned to Acosta, which brings technology, expertise and connections with tens of thousands of stores nationwide, including an attractive segment of 30,000 independent convenience stores.
Once in stores, Acosta must help keep Just Born’s regular and seasonal candies on shelves. When Acosta reps check inventory at stores, they need a quick and simple way to print shelf tags and UPC-coded reorder lists for store managers.
Thibodaux Regional Medical Center Enforces Bedside Medication Verification with Wristband Solution
Durable, Flexible Bands Prevent Workarounds and Contribute to High Scan Rates
About Thibodaux Regional Medical Center
In Thibodaux, La., Thibodaux Regional Medical Center, a 185-bed acute care facility, provides inpatient and outpatient care for the people of Lafourche and seven surrounding parishes. For the third consecutive year, J.D. Power and Associates recognized the center for service excellence under the Distinguished Hospital Program, acknowledging Thibodaux Regional’s strong commitment to provide “An Outstanding Patient Experience†for inpatient and outpatient services.
Challenge
To achieve and maintain its award-winning reputation, Thibodaux has progressed on several key initiatives in recent years. The medical center has increasingly moved toward a more paperless environment and brought in bedside medication verification (BMV).
With those strides, the hospital knew it needed to upgrade its approach to patient wristbands as well. Paper labels created paper waste, and didn’t hold up well in the hospital environment.
McAllen Police Department Reduces Dismissed Tickets by Half
E-Citation Produces More Legible Tickets, Increases Revenue
About McAllen Police Department
The McAllen Police Department (MPD) serves the McAllen, Texas, metro area, with a population of about 130,000. Just five miles from the U.S.-Mexico border and the Mexican city of Reynosa (with a population of 500,000), the city’s size can grow by 200,000 to 300,000 commuters each day. The MPD employs 272 sworn officers and approximately 380 total employees.
Challenge
Like many police departments, MPD had long issued hand-written paper tickets to offenders. The manual process left room for errors in two places:
-
- Point of issuance—Handwritten ticket information could be incorrect or illegible.
-
- Municipal court—Administrators occasionally entered dates, locations, license numbers, or license plates incorrectly.
Schenck Company Invests in Durability for Demanding Delivery Environment
Beer Distributor Chooses Zebra RW 420 for Proven Ruggedness
About Schenck Company
Since 1954, Schenck Company has provided beverages to the Central Florida region, which includes Orlando and coastal resort towns. From just six employees, the company has grown to 600 associates and serves 6,000 customers. Now within the top 20 beer distributors in the country, the full-service distributor represents MillerCoors, Crown Imports, Heineken USA, Diageo-Guinness, Boston Beer and other domestic, import and craft breweries. A commitment to its employees and customers has helped land Schenck among Florida’s top 100 privately-held companies.
Challenge
Every day, 90 Schenck delivery drivers bring hundreds of cases to retailers. With each stop, they verify orders, capture the customer’s signature electronically and print a receipt.
For several years, the company has relied on a combination of handheld devices and mobile printers; however, the demanding delivery environment quickly wears down the electronics.
Puritan Bakery Expedites Each Customer Delivery with Mobile Solution
Route Drivers, Accounting Team Complete Work Faster
Touting “the best buns in town,†Puritan Bakery has served Southern California since 1938. The continuously family-owned and -run company delivers fresh hamburger buns and breads daily to restaurants, fast food stands and coffee shops, including many of the area’s iconic establishments. Now serving more than 1,000 customers, Puritan attributes its growth and longevity to quality products and superb customer service.
Challenge
Due to the short shelf life of bakery products, Puritan bakes and delivers its breads each day based on customer demand. All customers must have their orders in by noon the day preceding delivery.
Although Puritan delivery drivers used mobile devices previously, they were not integrated with the main office. That meant order changes given to drivers in the field were not received until drivers returned from delivery routes.
Continue reading »
Hamleys Toy Store Selects the Star TSP100 Receipt Printer for Point of Sale
Hamleys has been in the toy business since 1760, and remains the world’s most famous toy store. The flagship store on Regent Street in London has 7 floors packed full of toys and games.
Hamleys has recently taken the decision to upgrade to the DigiPoS Retail Blade PoS system and Star TSP100 futurePRNT thermal printer from international printer manufacturer Star Micronics.
The TSP100 futurePRNT offers high speed printing, exceptional print quality and a range of unique features including a number of software tools. These enable the overall appearance of receipts to be easily modified and customers to be effectively targeted through the addition of relevant vouchers. Having selected the TSP100 Powered USB model Hamleys further benefits from improved cable management and uninterrupted power supply on both the PC and the printer thus protecting all transactions.
ID Card Printing and Signature Capture Provided to Pay-O-Matic
Pay-O-Matic is a leading money transmitting company who needed to supply all of their check cashing locations with the necessary hardware to make their business run – and run smoothly. Barcodes Inc was chosen to help out and was able to offer them great pricing and exceptional customer service. We supplied Pay-O-Matic with a full ID card printing solution to equip their employees with credentials, which included Zebra ZXP Series 3, Zebra P110i and Fargo DTC550 card printers as well as the blank ID cards and transfer film to run them. On top of that, we hooked them up with Topaz signature capture pads to help them complete their customer transactions. In the near future, BarcodesInc is moving forward with Pay-O-Matic to provide them with inkjet check readers and receipt printers to fulfill their needs and fully complete their solution.
Account Manager: Russell Coppola
