Situation Summary
With the GHS Implementation deadline for the US approaching, Brandywine was contacted by the GHS Project Management Team of a large multi-site chemical manufacturing and distribution company looking to implement an SAP/GLM labeling solution. Because of the new regulatory requirement for 2 color pictograms on their labels and a desire to reduce or eliminate preprinted label stock with various DOT diamonds and logos, a full color printer option was determined to be the best regulatory and operational solution to replace their single color thermal transfer printers. Brandywine presented different full color options that paired with Poly-Twin® GHS/BS5609 label stock, would meet all the regulatory requirements for shipments of chemical products.
Challenges
- Many of the products require multiple DOT diamonds so labels needed to be up to 17” in length
- Large volume sites required durable, efficient printers capable of high print speeds
- Between all their plant sites the customer had over 100 different label SKUs (sizes and preprints)
- EH&S and Operations Team members wanted fewer label templates to manage
- Corporate IT wanted a single printer make/model that could be managed over their network, with printer support and supplies capable of being managed remotely by the supplier
- Operations management wanted an online ordering portal for credentialed personnel at each site for labels and printer supplies
- There was a four-month timeframe to initiate the first wave of implementation
Solutions and Success!
- Brandywine brought in a Ricoh/Lanier partner – Patriot Group of Bellaire, TX – who demonstrated and provided a wide-format Ricoh C830 color laser for test purposes.
- Patriot Group provided toner costs per label calculations – Ricoh toner costs are approximately 30% lower than comparative Lexmark and HP pricing
- After the initial SAP testing approval, a Ricoh C830 printer and Poly-Twin® LX label stock were sent out for print and product application testing at a customer plant site
- Successful testing led to a first wave implementation at 12 sites. Brandywine personnel visited each site during the implementation lead-up to provide training on the new printers and ensure the transition from thermal transfer printing was successful
- Three waves of Ricoh C830 implementations were successful – including online ordering and remote printer supply management by Patriot Group.
- Brandywine provided highly durable Poly-Twin® LX label stock to print effortlessly on the Ricoh C830 printers, meeting all the requirements of GHS labeling.
- Customer was able to reduce their label SKUs from 100+ preprinted shells down to 7 sizes of blank Poly-Twin® LX labels