Automating Line Operation, Product Labeling, & Standardization

Challenge

Saputo USA Inc. plants operate with multiple scale brand interfaces and printers in a variety of scale modes. Some packaging lines do not utilize a scale at all. Regardless of line configuration, piece, case, and pallet labels need to be automatically generated.

Each plant also has its own unique label design for each product, delaying plant-to-plant product transfer and creating inconsistency for customers. All weights and lot information generated each day need to be transferable to a central inventory management system.

Solution

StrategyBytes, LLC customized its automated inventory management and labeling software, Scale Fusion, to meet Saputo’s production and labeling requirements. A product database was created with Scale Fusion’s companion system, Data Manager, to include product and label requirements specific to Saputo’s labeling strategy. Changes made to Data Manager information are replicated down to each plant’s Scale Fusion system.

Scale Fusion receives data from any scale manufacturer and adds the product weight to the label and the production totals to inventory, thus “fusing” together automation, labeling, and inventory. Scale Fusion was paired with off-the-shelf labeling software to standardize label formats for all products, thus eliminating the need for a unique label format for each product and each type of printer. Scale Fusion operates in random, exact, manual, and fixed weight modes, so each production line can generate labels with or without scale input, on or off-line, as needed. This allowed Scale Fusion to handle all the different configurations of production lines across all Saputo plants, from random weight and fixed weight products to totes and off-line labeling.

The Results

The user on the packaging line now enters minimal information—the product to run, the manufacture date, and the vat number—and the sell by date, correct label format, nutrition, customer stock numbers, etc., are automatically added to the label by Scale Fusion. Case, pallet, and piece labels, tote labels, and pallet manifests are all automatically printed after the user selects a product to run. Saputo maintains one central database for products and label formats, providing consistency and increased productivity company-wide.