Every business needs a business model to help make – and sustain – its profits. A strong business model should be able to adapt to ensure you’re making the most money at the lowest possible running costs – without compromising on quality. While this is achievable, it’s not always easy to know where to cut costs and where to invest. But sometimes, a well-placed investment can actually help you reduce your production costs, giving you a great return on your investment.
Calculating Your Production Costs
Simply put, your production costs are the sum of your expenditure on labor, materials, and overheads. All businesses strive to ensure their income outweighs these outgoings, in order to see a profit. If your business isn’t always in the black, it may be time to reassess your business plan to see where you can save money.
Staff salaries are likely to account for a large chunk of your production costs, meaning tools and equipment that increase productivity and save staff time are viable options for keeping costs down, without compromising on quality.
How Can Labelling Machines Impact Production Costs?
Labeling machines offer an excellent option for a small-scale investment that can make a big impact on your business. From ramping up productivity, to reduce the number of refunds you make, here’s how labeling machines can help you lower your production costs.
Increase Productivity
Manual labeling can account for a lot of staff time, which gives them fewer hours to tackle the rest of their workload. A reliable labeling machine – in particular, a print and apply label applicator – will automate much of the labeling process. Once programmed, your labeling machine can print and apply your labels at a steady speed, maximizing your production time and freeing up your staff to take on other responsibilities. That means increased productivity, which can save your company money.
Reduce Shipping Costs
Swift, reliable shipping is crucial in the age of next-day delivery. Research shows that same day delivery is consumers’ most wanted retail feature, so it’s vital that your shipping services are up to scratch. Plus, subpar shipping can cost your business money in undelivered items and replacement goods. Labeling machines can help with this. By producing accurate, smudge-free shipping labels, labeling machines improve the scannability of your labels when compared with labels output by standard printers. This makes it easier and quicker for couriers to deliver your goods – reducing the risk of undelivered parcels, and increasing customer satisfaction.
Minimize Risk Of Refunds
It’s not just shipping errors and delays that heighten the risk of incurring refunds and replacement products. Labeling mistakes can also cause incorrect products to be sent out – and rectifying these errors will cost your business. These mistakes mostly happen during web handling processes. Automated labeling machines reduce the risk of labeling errors, resulting in fewer refunds. Labeling machines will also help you uniformly apply product information labels to your goods, meaning customers can get all the information they need about your product at the point of purchase. As a result, they’ll be less likely to return the goods, since they’ll be able to make an informed decision before they buy.
Identify Products Swiftly
Unique identifiers such as barcodes and QR codes help you manage your supply chain. By implementing a high-quality labeling system, you can make these codes work for you. If you need to withdraw a product or make a large bulk shipment of a particular item, being able to swiftly identify your goods is ideal. A quality labeling machine can apply these codes to your products quickly, making it easy for your team to identify them – saving your business time and money on bulk orders and quality control.
Improve Supply Chain Fluidity
All these benefits contribute to a smooth, fast-paced supply chain – which is bound to improve your profit margins. Labeling machines make every aspect of your production more fluid – from initial label application to shipping to customer purchasing. A slick manufacturing process can reduce costs by improving the speed and quality of production, allowing you to increase your output while maintaining high-quality processes and goods.
What To Look For In Your Labelling Machine
With a wealth of labeling machines available on the UK market, it’s important to know what to look for when investing in one. You’ll need to assess your budget, and examine the potential return on your investment before you commit to a purchase. Some labeling machines require replacement parts, such as ribbons or ink cartridges, so be sure to take ongoing maintenance and consumables costs into account when calculating your potential return.
You should also factor in ease of use, reliability, speed, and accuracy, as these factors vary across labeling systems, and can have a large impact on your return. For example, if you need a machine that prioritizes accuracy over speed, you don’t necessarily need to invest in an ultra-high-speed labeler. This type of machine could ramp-up costs, giving you features that aren’t necessarily needed for your business. Instead, for precise results, invest in a thermal print and apply a label applicator that will produce highly scannable images at a slightly slower speed.
Finding Quality Labelling Machines In The UK
It’s evident that investing in a labeling machine can help your business reduce its running costs by improving productivity, minimizing errors, and making your supply chain run more smoothly. To achieve these, though, it’s important to know which labeling machine is best suited to your business needs. When you know what you need from your label applicator, research labelling machines in the UK to find out more about the options available to you.
Final Words
Choose from a whole host of labelling systems, from automated print and apply label applicators, which are designed to take out as much manual processing as possible, to custom and special-purpose label applicators for unique or bespoke labeling processes. Whichever option you choose, discuss your requirements with your labelling specialist to ensure your system will help you get the return on investment you’re looking for.
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