System automates label printing and application to increase throughputs in bar code, RFID, hybrid environments
Cincinnati, OH — July 14, 2005 — Material handling solutions provider FKI Logistex has introduced a new self-contained, fully automated system designed to streamline and automate label printing and application in bar code, radio frequency identification (RFID) or hybrid ID environments, the company announced this week.
Using existing bar code information, the FKI Logistex Print-and-Apply Module queries a facility's warehouse management system (WMS) or other control system for the data needed for label printing. In many cases, the system takes product data from receiving or pick-and-pass operations and prints a shipping label that routes the box through a facility to its final destination.
FKI said that the module would be ideal for situations where throughput requirements demand the automation of the print-and-apply function, as the solution can operate at rates in excess of 30 cartons per minute.
Optional Hardware
The Print-and-Apply Module is typically implemented using the FKI Logistex BOSS control system, which handles the interaction of machine and transactional data from the programmable logic controller (PLC) level to the WMS level all on one PC. BOSS can also run a series of Print-and-Apply Modules from one location.
Standard hardware components in the Print-and-Apply Module include the underlying FKI Logistex conveyor and a bar code scanner and printer. Optional hardware components include a weighing scale and verification scanner used to provide check and shipping weight and label integrity confirmation.
In addition, an optional divert unit can redirect rejected product for manual handling. A second optional printer can be added for increased throughput and system redundancy. The Print-and-Apply Module can top-apply or side-apply labels.
"The Print-and-Apply Module gives FKI Logistex customers a flexible and high-throughput label printing and application system that fully automates a typically labor-intensive process," says Gary Cash, vice president for product management and marketing at FKI Logistex North America. "The quality and consistency of labeling provided by this system can improve identification accuracy, while reducing the cost of manual handling later in the process."
Additional Articles of Interest
— For more information on the latest trends in the logistics space, see the article "The Analyst Corner: Fulfillment & Logistics" in the October/November 2004 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— To go the distance in business you need to take a disciplined approach. Supply & Demand Chain Executive offers key best practices for making your supply chain hum in the article "7 Habits of Highly Efficient Supply & Demand Chains," the cover story in the April/May 2005 issue of the magazine, featuring an interview with supply chain guru Jim Tompkins of Tompkins Associates.
— When ex-Chrysler chief Thomas T. Stallkamp considers cures for what ails American manufacturing, he chooses not to look inside the four walls of the corporation but to the extended enterprise and the relationships that bind a company to its supply chain partners. Read about Stallkamp's take on the collaboration imperative in "No Company Is an Island," the Executive Memo column in the April/May 2005 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
Cincinnati, OH — July 14, 2005 — Material handling solutions provider FKI Logistex has introduced a new self-contained, fully automated system designed to streamline and automate label printing and application in bar code, radio frequency identification (RFID) or hybrid ID environments, the company announced this week.
Using existing bar code information, the FKI Logistex Print-and-Apply Module queries a facility's warehouse management system (WMS) or other control system for the data needed for label printing. In many cases, the system takes product data from receiving or pick-and-pass operations and prints a shipping label that routes the box through a facility to its final destination.
FKI said that the module would be ideal for situations where throughput requirements demand the automation of the print-and-apply function, as the solution can operate at rates in excess of 30 cartons per minute.
Optional Hardware
The Print-and-Apply Module is typically implemented using the FKI Logistex BOSS control system, which handles the interaction of machine and transactional data from the programmable logic controller (PLC) level to the WMS level all on one PC. BOSS can also run a series of Print-and-Apply Modules from one location.
Standard hardware components in the Print-and-Apply Module include the underlying FKI Logistex conveyor and a bar code scanner and printer. Optional hardware components include a weighing scale and verification scanner used to provide check and shipping weight and label integrity confirmation.
In addition, an optional divert unit can redirect rejected product for manual handling. A second optional printer can be added for increased throughput and system redundancy. The Print-and-Apply Module can top-apply or side-apply labels.
"The Print-and-Apply Module gives FKI Logistex customers a flexible and high-throughput label printing and application system that fully automates a typically labor-intensive process," says Gary Cash, vice president for product management and marketing at FKI Logistex North America. "The quality and consistency of labeling provided by this system can improve identification accuracy, while reducing the cost of manual handling later in the process."
Additional Articles of Interest
— For more information on the latest trends in the logistics space, see the article "The Analyst Corner: Fulfillment & Logistics" in the October/November 2004 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
— To go the distance in business you need to take a disciplined approach. Supply & Demand Chain Executive offers key best practices for making your supply chain hum in the article "7 Habits of Highly Efficient Supply & Demand Chains," the cover story in the April/May 2005 issue of the magazine, featuring an interview with supply chain guru Jim Tompkins of Tompkins Associates.
— When ex-Chrysler chief Thomas T. Stallkamp considers cures for what ails American manufacturing, he chooses not to look inside the four walls of the corporation but to the extended enterprise and the relationships that bind a company to its supply chain partners. Read about Stallkamp's take on the collaboration imperative in "No Company Is an Island," the Executive Memo column in the April/May 2005 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
- More articles about FKI Logistex.
