We’ve talked a lot about how labels can help your business succeed. Shipping labels that are weather-resistant, product labels that show off your brand, and physical media marketing are all made possible because of your label printer.
However, there’s one use of labels we’ve only skimmed over in the past; labels are essential for helping you stay organised. Today we’re going to explain how labels improve inventory management, and which are best for the job.
The Importance of Inventory Management for Businesses
No matter what products or services you provide, there is always a need for inventory management. A small online retailer may not create much, but the materials needed should be stored correctly to keep things running smoothly.
The bigger your business, the more important inventory management becomes. Some companies neglect keeping proper inventory if they aren’t creating products. This makes sense if your business is mostly digital, but documents often need physical copies, and there are still plenty of things you need to keep track of. This includes:
- Products
- Materials
- Stationery Supplies
- Office Equipment
- Documents
- Post & Packages
- Flyers, banners, and other physical media
- And much more!
If you have any of these scattered around your office, you and your team will be wasting time looking for things you need on a daily basis. A clear storage system makes it much simpler, and using labels is the key to making it work.
Using Labels for Inventory Management
Using boxes, cabinets, and shelves is a great way to keep your supplies and materials organised. If you use the available space well, you can tuck some of these away until they are needed, without a storage cupboard.
However, a stack of boxes may look a lot neater, but unless you memorise their contents, your inventory isn’t particularly ‘managed’ at all. Shelves can become jumbled quickly too, and rummaging through a filing cabinet looking for a particular document can take hours.
The solution? Labels.
Let’s start with boxes. Scribbling a couple of words on one side doesn’t help much and causes headaches if you want to reuse the box for something else in the future. A printed label can contain a list of contents as well as any other information you need, such as the weight, where the box should be kept, or when it was stored. This label can be firmly stuck on to the box and won’t peel or fade too quickly.
Next, filing cabinets. Again, to find things efficiently you need to know what is inside each drawer before you open it. This saves you a lot of time, as you’ll know where to start when hunting for something specific. By labelling each drawer you can group documents, post, and other small items together, and will always be able to find them. In businesses with a lot of paper files, this is crucial for you and your team.
Last but not least, shelves. Many people neglect labelling their shelves, assuming that because you can see the contents you can find what you’re looking for faster. However, when you have racks of shelving, the item you need becomes much easier to miss. A sorting system only works if you label each shelf. This not only makes finding something simple, but it’ll also be more obvious if an item is missing, or you’re running low on something.
The importance of the latter can’t be understated. If you run out of a specific material, or anything else your business needs, that can cause a major delay and be costly too. When you manage your inventory well, you’ll know exactly what’s running low, and can order more supplies at a time that suits you.
Using simple text labels works fine if you only have a small storage area. A larger business with a lot more inventory is able to go one step further. Your labels can have QR codes or barcodes on them, which connect to a digital inventory document or app. This means that you can find anything you need at the push of a button, and it’s a breeze to add new content. If you have a warehouse or multiple storage rooms, this makes a lot of sense.
The Best Labels for Inventory Management
Okay, so we’ve established how useful labels are for keeping your business organised but knowing which labels to use is another story.
For storage, you don’t have to worry about them being worn out by weather, like shipping labels, but they still need to be tough. Durable labels from an Inkjet or thermal label printer will have clear text that won’t run, and the size can be adjusted to suit the application. Paper labels are more likely to tear or fall off; plastic is ideal.
If your labels are in direct sunlight, they will fade over time. The tougher your label, the longer it will take them to fade. Often by the time they’re becoming hard to read, you’ll have either memorised your inventory or it’ll be time for a rearrange anyway. Thermal labels fade faster than ink ones, but both types will last for a few years at least.
The Best Label Printer for Inventory Management
Most label printers can create storage labels already, so you won’t have to splash out on a new machine. However, if you feel like your existing printer has been letting you down too often, or it can’t keep up with the daily demands of a growing business, it’s time for a change.
We provide hundreds of both new and refurbished label printers for our clients. No matter how big your business is, or what you need your label printer for, we are ready and waiting to help you.
To find out more about what we do, or any of the machines we provide, please get in touch, or you can check out our blog for guides and advice about all things label printing.