Industrial Codes for Asset Labels and Metal Plates

In industry correct labelling is critical in both production and maintenance to ensure safety and that the correct spares and tools are available for maintenance. Mark and read application are used for product identification and traceability especially in safety critical industries such as aerospace, medical and automotive.

Thus coding, marking and labelling have become an essential component of modern production technology where tracking a component and all the processes it has gone through from manufacturing, assembly right through to end-user requirements has become widespread throughout the supply chain.

In the medical sector instruments must be traceable and software provides computerised tracking of individual surgical instruments by using data matrix asset labels with codes applied to the instruments – safe enough to go through an Autoclave.

Asset labels with special strong adhesive can be printed on a variety of materials such as vinyl or polyester as well as aluminium foil and usually include a barcode to help tracking the component.

More recently introduced the 2D DataMatrix codes can contain 40-50 digits within a small square and are therefore ideal for complex data such as codes for dates, serial numbers, stock units, text based information, etc.

The sheer variety in coding types and asset label materials warrants expert advice and Dantech, as a market leader in asset marking and labelling for industrial and harsh environments, can provide expert help and advice visit http://www.idassetlabels.co.uk of call Dantech on 01354 688 488 for free and unbiased help and advice.

Transloading and Cost

When transporting goods along your supply chain you’re, at some point, going to need to transload ocean-bound containers in order to bring inland to distribution centres and vice versa. When you transfer goods you do so without needing to sort out the contents for shipping to a single destination, which can greatly reduce cost. This is especially true when you have value-added services such as shrink-wrapping and palletising.

Saving as much as possible on transportation and distribution is one of the key goals of logistics. In order to make the most out of transloading, consider the following advice from our supply chain consultants.

• Make sure that any savings you make are not outweighed by handling cost. Even if you save cash by clever rearranging of storage space and whatnot, distribution to distant ports will soon start to eat up any remaining funds.
• Remember that you save more when ocean containers can be divided into larger yet less numerous units. The cargo in three forty foot containers can usually be stored in two fifty-three foot containers.
• In addition, try to avoid costly containers. If you can get a cheap container that functions about as well as a slightly more expensive one, go for it. All those saved pennies add up.
• Palletising during transloading can greatly increase a distribution centre’s handling efficiency.
• Remember to factor in the time it takes to load, unload and handling into your overall transportation
• Be careful that you haven’t placed more on your transport train than you should have. Most distribution centres will charge extra for surplus cartons.
• It is often easier and more flexible to make an entry at the point of discharge, rather than the supply chain’s final destination.
• Always plan in advance. The more time you give yourself between planning and actual transportation, the more able you are to deal with unforeseen hiccups in the supply chain.

Keep these in mind whenever planning for long-distance hauls and you should find yourself saving quite a hefty sum on transport and distribution costs. For more advice on logistics, be sure to visit www.total-logistics.eu.com or, alternatively, contact our friendly supply chain consultants on +44 (0)118 977 3027.