Manage Shelf Programs Product
Little Rock, Ark.— Vestcom generates shelf-edge labels, strips, talkers and other signage every week to attract and inform shoppers. Browsing the aisles, these shoppers most certainly are not aware that producing consistent and accurate shelf-edge signage for major retail chains typically requires many hours spent in front of a computer to process data such as UPC number, item description and price.
Now Vestcom uses AutoMate, a business automation product created by Los Angeles-based software company Network Automation. Vestcom’s recent upgrade has increased efficiency and accuracy, says Ron Evans, Vestcom’s director of data center operations. “The ability to automate our processes has helped control labor costs by eliminating the need to increase data center headcount,” he says.
In fact, automating the print preparation process has reclaimed work hours equivalent to four or five employees, and reduced the error rate by 97%.
When brand owners or retailers (Vestcom works with supermarket chains, grocery wholesalers, drugstores and mass merchants) need a new batch of labels or other shelf signage, they digitally transmit data to Vestcom. The data must then be scrubbed and sorted according to such variables as tag type and store location.
“AutoMate triggers applications for the organizational work,” Evans says. “The applications that AutoMate triggers interpret and integrate retailer data, such as UPC numbers, item descriptions and pricing, supporting our creation of shelf-edge communications.”
