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Fewer picking errors and greater efficiency with our multicolour warehouse labels
Discover how colour-coding can optimise your work process
Why use colour-coded rack labels?
Rack labels that are both legible and easily recognisable are essential to the day-to-day operations of any warehouse. After all, you want your goods to be stored in the right place and delivered to the right customers. This process requires an efficient warehouse management system with matching software and well-designed barcode labels. If you are used to working with standardised yellow or white labels, colour-coded rack labels with corresponding colours on the beams of each pallet rack level offer several advantages to your warehouse operations.
Standard designs colour-coded racking labels
In 2012, we introduced this specific concept of multi-coloured warehouse labels to the logistics industry. The aim was - and still is - to help our customers run their logistics processes smoothly and efficiently, thereby saving them time and money. Since the launch of our multicoloured system, we have made several changes, based on feedback from our customers as well as market developments, to further optimise our designs.
The vast majority of our logistics customers use our standard label design, which you can see below. Do you prefer a label design that differs from our standard? We can create that for you as well. Customisation is our specialty.
Colour-coding on beams and uprights
Scanning the first crossbeam
Are pallets often put away anywhere but into their assigned places or do you spend a lot of time searching for goods and fixing errors? If that’s the case, your warehouse operations will benefit from using multicolor labels on your crossbeams. Each location is assigned its own colour, which reduces the time it takes your forklift drivers to find the right location. They simply scan the barcode on the first crossbeam and by using simple colour recognition, they put away the pallet at the right location.
We can recommend the right colour for each level. Choice of colour is important, when using e.g. artificial light sources or if you employ operators who are colour-blind.
Combining bulk storage and picking areas
Are your primary picking locations replenished from bulk storage locations that are located directly above in the same pallet rack? Even then, you can still use colour-coding on your crossbeams to distinguish between the different locations.
Our production team will design single-colour labels for the first beam to identify ground locations and picking locations at eye level. The multicolour labels with corresponding level colours can then be placed on the higher-located beams, thereby maintaining a good and clear overview of your location numbering both for your operators and within your warehouse software.Â
VNA and stock count
If your daily operations include the use of man-up trucks, multi-coloured labels are the way to go. Our label designers will add a custom barcode (1D or 2D) to your colour-coded level labels which is directly linked to your warehouse software. This same code also comes in handy when it’s time for the annual stock count.
Rack tunnels and bays
If your warehouse design has incorporated rack tunnels, or cross aisles, into the layout of your rack system, we will design custom labels for placement on the uprights instead of the crossbeams.
Your operators will still be scanning the barcode on the first level, but the label, in most cases fit with a magnetic backing, will be placed on the upright instead. Please click on the image to view an example of combining regular pallet racking labels with magnetic labels on the uprights as well as our recommended placement for the upright labels.
Why has totaalBED switched to colour-coded rack labels?
All the advantages of working with colour-coded rack labels are listed on this page, but the best proof this system works is, of course, the day-to-day experience of one of our valued customers.
At totaalBED, the warehouse operators have been working very succcessfully with multicolour rack labels for several years now. In the video, both the director of operations and the warehouse manager explain why they chose colour-coded rack labels to begin with and what the main advantages are for them.
The benefits of colour-coded rack labels
1. Work faster
The brain recognises colours instantly as opposed to alphanumeric information. If a pallet location is associated with a specific colour your operators will register it more quickly, retain the information more easily and work faster.
2. More accuracy
The brain registers bright contrasting colours in a flash. If a pallet location is identified by a bright colour, it is instantly recognisable to your operators, which will help them work with more accuracy and reduce the number of errors made when picking orders or moving pallets around.
3. Safer work environment
Recognising colours requires less brain capacity than decoding numbers and plain text. By working with colour-coded labels your operators will be less fatigued and stay more alert. Their alertness enhances a safer work environment.
4. Save money
The use of colour-coded rack labels will reduce the number of picking and packing errors and thereby reduce the number of orders that need to be replaced or refunded. This money-saving system will guarantee you satisfied customers.
5. Easy-to-use system
Our system of colour-coding is universally recognisable and easy to understand, making it suitable for foreign-language employees and temp workers alike. They need minimal instructions before they can start working and they are less prone to making mistakes.
You may be surprised to know that the use of multicolor rack labels is every bit as effective on people who experience colour blindness. They will obviously not see the actual colours the way most people do, but the noticeable contrast between the different colours allows them to distinguish between colours.
Custom advice on colour-coded labels
If you want to save time and money, order your colour-coded rack labels at ONE2ID. We will guarantee you a label design that will enhance your work processes and to ensure faster scanning, our labels are finished with a light-absorbing matte laminate. Our system of colour-coding is a perfect addition to any 5S or lean working method.
Please contact Sales Manager Anton Damen for more information about the benefits of colour-coding your warehouse rack labels.
