The Automation Conference: Label Procurement Meets Automation

Offering a vast range of products, including shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, shower gel, dental rinse, bath salts, bar soaps, and necessities, Gilchrist & Soames has a lot to manage, from a design, development, formulation, manufacturing, quality assurance, and distribution standpoint. “It’s thousands of SKUs,”

Moorhead told his audience.

 

So Gilchrist and Soames started looking for a way to keep track of the most current art revisions, without having to maintain a big book of artwork per project. They turned to WS Packaging Group (www.wspackaging.com) and its WebFlex™ online ordering, proofing and graphics asset management system. Gilchrist & Soames has partnered with WS Packaging to develop and print the labels for the majority of its personal care product lines. The impact has been profound. With WebFlex, all art files are stored in a single, centralized electronic profile. It’s a secure site, password protected, with limited access, which provides a great level of security. The art upload and group proofing features of WebFlex offer Gilchrist & Soames convenience and efficiency. Uploading artwork is intuitive and makes sharing information much easier.” 

 

Artwork is uploaded directly to the WebFlex server without having to use a third-party FTP site, where file corruption often occurs. Once loaded, a notice is sent to the appropriate WS Packaging contact(s) in the field. The process happens almost instantaneously. Each version of uploaded artwork is then stored on the server, creating an artwork library that can be easily accessed at any time.

Moorhead concluded his presentation this way: “By eliminating confusion in tracking orders, and by eliminating cushion time that is traditionally built into a supply chain of this nature, lots of time and energy are saved at Gilchrist & Soames.”