Automation to increase efficiency and reduce time
Elite Labels produce point of sale, adhesive, care and woven labels for many large high street retailers. On a daily basis
retailers electronically transmit their orders directly to Elite and their network of worldwide garment
suppliers.
Suppliers then needed to order their packaging from Elite Labels by phone, email or fax...quite
a time consuming task, involving details such as packaging types, variable data such as additional
care instructions and composition, etc, quantities and finally nominating a delivery address.
Elite Labels tasked Breeze with automating the entire process to reduce turnaround times and also
drastically reduce print and data errors associated with the multiple handling of data.
Our Approach
Our goal was to drastically reduce the time from order to packaging delivery, increasing overall efficiency and reducing
the potential for data errors.
Working closely with Elite Labels, we first produced an initial specification and built a functional
prototype to demonstrate how we could automate and streamline the process.
Using Microsoft ASP.NET, SQL Server 2005 and iText pdf generation, Breeze developed a 3 tier solution:
1. An automated pickup and import into a SQL Server database of the retailer's contract
file to eliminate data entry errors.
2. A secure web based application (for worldwide, 24/7 access) allowing garment suppliers
to enter their variable, quantity and delivery information directly against the original retailer
data; again eliminating data entry errors and miscommunication.
3. A unique artwork origination module that combines both the label specification and variable
data into a print ready PDF document delivered directly to the overseas print facility.
The Results
The project was a complete success. As predicted the timeline from order to packaging delivery (a critical measure in the retail environment) was drastically reduced. Data errors were eliminated and artwork origination significantly reduced. Overall efficiency increased and costs were reduced.