Taking CARE LABELING to the Next Level

Bobbin, Oct, 1999

When O'Bryan Brothers Inc. signed on to beta test Avery Dennison's latest care labeling system, it had labeling cost, time and materials issues it needed to resolve. By the end of the trials, it had solutions to these issues and more.

O'Bryan Brothers Inc. has found itself challenged in recent years to navigate the industry's confusing sea of labeling requirements, a scenario common among U.S. manufacturers realigning their operations to take better advantage of the global apparel marketplace.

In particular, the Chicago, IL-based manufacture of intimate apparel and thermal underwear faced the need for a labeling solution that could support NAFTA's strict multilingual care labeling rules, speed the flow of goods through its operations and reduce its labeling costs. If it did not improve its capabilities in the labeling area, the company realized that its distribution centers (DCs) could not perform efficiently, despite investment in a strong warehouse management system.

Single-Sided Label Shortcomings

O'Bryan Brothers, a family-owned business, runs two U.S. distribution centers -- a facility in Leon, IA, and another in Richland Center, WI -- which generate permanent care labels for an average of 100,000 garments per week. In addition, the company works with DCs in Mexico and Asia on a contract basis.

The firm's Iowa DC, its primary distribution venue, is a 135,000-square foot, single-floor facility configured with a combination of slick-rail and rack garment storage areas for handling both hanging and flat goods. Realizing that it needed some computer-controlled labeling equipment to improve its efficiency, O'Bryan Brothers invested in an electronic labeling system for the facility a few years ago. While the company found this equipment to be much more efficient than traditional hot stamp labeling methods, it soon discovered that the system's single-side printing capability was not an end-all solution.

The company still had to produce two labels for each garment -- one containing country of origin information and another listing care instructions - - which was increasing its label material and labor costs, as operators had to sew in two separate labels, as opposed to one. Additionally, the company occasionally had to produce labels in French and Spanish, as well as English.

Trying to use its existing machinery to produce labels with both sets of information (the country of origin and care requirements) printed on one side resulted in a label that was too long and bulky, especially if multiple languages were required.

Playing the Guinea Pig Pays Off

Weighing the labeling obstacles O'Bryan Brothers was up against, the company's owner Michael O'Bryan began to take interest in an offer from Avery Dennison VIP Converted Products to test drive a beta version of a new two-side electronic labeling system. Despite some skepticism, he decided to give the Avery Dennison TTX 450 a shot.

Robert Hairston, vice president of operations for C'Bryan Brothers, explains: "The system was one of the original machines, if not the original machine, of its kind. Because it was a beta trial, we got to go through the rough periods, changing out what wasn't working with what [at the time] hopefully would work."

The machine, which Hairston notes has received several upgrades since the beta version, has evolved to meet the manufacturer's needs. For example, using direct thermal and thermal transfer print methods, and employing a single print head, the machine has increased O'Bryan Brothers' label printing speed to rates of up to 12 inches per second. Moreover, downtime between changeovers in label stock has decreased because the TTX 450 can hold a 600-meter ribbon, and has an automatic ribbon saver function. Employing a turn bar, a device that flips the label stock as it goes through the machine, the TTX 450 is able to print both sides of the labeling material simultaneously.

Hairston says the greatest benefits of the machine have been realized in materials cost savings and efficiency. "We've saved quite a bit of money on the label material itself. Basically, the cost has been cut in half," he notes. "Plus, we've cut costs in terms of the labor it takes to sew and print two separate labels. But a key benefit has been time. We can print labels much more quickly and move the product out the door immediately."

And there are other benefits, says Avery Dennison's Ray Magill, which he believes ultimately will push more companies to upgrade to electronic labeling systems. "Electronic labeling provides better accuracy and fully utilizes bar code technology," he emphasizes. "This has become a major issue as companies are under increasing pressure to produce quick turnaround times."

The Care Labeling Link in SCM

O'Bryan Brothers is keenly aware of the potential to use bar code technology to link its care labeling processes to other systems it has in place for supply chain management (SCM).

No newcomer to bar code scanning technology, O'Bryan implemented a system about eight years ago to more accurately track garments in the production process, both for in-house production and manufacturing orders coming and going from outside contractors. And three years ago, the company installed Manhattan Associates' PkMS warehouse management system, which utilizes bar code scanning to manage the movement of units and cartons received into the DCs and then shipped to customers.