Würth IT, a service provider for assembly and fastening materials wholesaler, the Würth Group, has selected NiceLabel, a leading global developer of label design software and label management systems, to help it create a new web-based standardized supplier labeling process.
To achieve this, Würth IT decided to replace its existing custom-built labeling solution with NiceLabel’s flexible web-based printing solution, the NiceLabel Label Management System.
Simon Koch, project lead/manager at Würth, said: “We wanted a system that would be available round-the-clock, offer a centralized database we could provide our suppliers without installation and deal with various printer brands and models. The NiceLabel Label Management System fitted the bill.”
Würth IT has now implemented for the Würth group the NiceLabel Label Management System for its supplier labeling globally. Today, approximately 180 suppliers in 15 countries worldwide are using it. As of January 2020, Wurth’s suppliers print approximately 8.5 million labels a year using NiceLabel’s web-based printing solution.
Introducing a web-based, standardized solution has significantly impacted Würth’s agility. With a centralized database (document management system) containing all label information, Würth can ensure changes are quickly rolled out across its supplier network.
Koch added: “Now, when we make label changes, they’re deployed instantly, so our suppliers’ labels are always up-to-date. That is the biggest advantage of the new system. We can react fast and deploy changes faster.”
Würth IT additionally benefits from centralizing user management and record-keeping. It always has a complete overview of the suppliers accessing the system and a complete print history. The web-based printing solution ensures users are always using the correct version of the label and data.
NiceLabel has also helped Würth IT improve its supplier onboarding process. “Suppliers like to have a trial version first, to see if the software works with their internal infrastructure,” said Koch. By using NiceLabel’s Cloud version of the NiceLabel platform, suppliers have an easy way of gaining access to the system, so they can familiarize themselves with its functionality prior to a full-scale private cloud implementation.
“With cloud, it only takes five minutes for them to get access to the platform, and then, if they decide to work with it, we can transfer them to our private cloud system,” he explained. “Going from a CD-based installation process to a web-driven one has significantly eased the burden on our IT teams.”
Working together with Würth IT, NiceLabel has also developed other “internal” label printing solutions that address Würth’s box and rack labeling needs. To meet Würth’s box label printing needs, the NiceLabel team developed an integration with Würth’s central ERP system WS1, which is based on SAP.
It can trigger printing in three ways, via the SAP Graphic User Interface (GUI), via a mobile printer or where the SAP GUI launches a NiceLabel form and transfers the data. This integration means that NiceLabel is a WS1-ready solution, which can be implemented to meet the labeling needs of all companies in the Würth Group, once they are transitioned to the approved WS1 system.
Ken Moir, NiceLabel VP of Marketing said: “It’s great to see Würth IT makes such extensive use of our Label Management System and achieves so many benefits with it. We are pleased to have the opportunity to work closely with them to develop a global platform for labeling that will meet their current and future needs and address requirements more widely across the Würth Group.”
