A unique device identification (UDI) system for medical devices is essential in identifying them wherever they are in the healthcare supply chain. In fact, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Commission and other regulators have made patient safety a strategic priority by developing legislation for UDI. And in addition, manufacturers also need to comply with the …
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalls almost one hundred million units of food every quarter. Prepared foods are the most recalled category at 21.7%, and although most of these recalls are down to contamination, mislabeling is also a significant contributing factor. Mislabeling recalls can be for a number of reasons. One recent example involves an undeclared allergen in ready-to-eat …
In the apparel and garment world of today, fashion needs to be fast. As trends appear on the catwalk and are then endorsed on social media channels such as Instagram, it becomes a race for retailers to translate these fashions into affordable and wearable items at mass scale. Sales forecasting is crucial, as is getting the garments onto the shop …
Labeling has come along way from its humble beginnings, when labels were still hand painted or created using lithography. Since then, we’ve seen countless advancements like the self-adhesive label in the 1930s, laser printing in the 1960s, thermal printing in the 1970s, and of course, inkjet printers in the 1980s that revolutionized the industry. And though these advancements have made …
From demand variability to supply chain constraints, increased compliance, global competition and heightened customer expectations, manufacturers are increasingly looking to technology to reduce costs and standardize processes. A key part of operations, the labeling process is often overlooked in the drive towards digitization. Yet, as an essential part of the supply chain process, digitized labeling offers significant potential to address …
Ensuring food safety is critical for not only consumer protection, but also reducing financial and reputational damage to a brand. And when creating labels, companies must ensure customer safety as efficiently as possible and remain agile enough to deal with changes while complying with current legislation. For instance, recent government efforts include new nutrition facts guidelines that will require compliance …
A recent study from the American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC) found that 95% of supply chain professionals believe enterprise digitization will have a major impact on supply chain management over the next three years. The same study also identified the top challenges supply chain pros face – from new regulation requirements to a lack of information sharing, too small …
The issue of allergens labeling is a contentious one, and something that has been highlighted in the media following a series of high-profile incidents. While keeping consumers safe from harm is a top priority, is enough being done to ensure businesses, even independent retailers and smaller producers, are following the right guidelines? And are these guidelines enough? Currently loose items …
In an increasingly connected world, where high-quality products must be delivered faster and to more markets, legacy approaches to labeling, with manual processes and disparate printing solutions simply don’t cut it. Labeling must be digitized, standardized and integrated with your manufacturing and logistics systems. Not only will this improve quality and responsiveness, it will also simultaneously reduce costs — and …
No matter what you’re packaging or providing, labeling is an organization-wide business process vital to internal and external operations. From ensuring distribution and logistics is as fine-tuned as possible, to helping control and govern suppliers and production, labeling is not only important but also an often demanding task for any-sized organization. And, as one can imagine, it can become more …
