Why Labeling is Essential for a Strong Storage System for Manufacturers
There’s a hard truth about getting organized: it’s not easy! It requires the right tools, time to set up and maintain and a solid system for getting there.
Since we’re built on organization, we know all too well how important this trifecta is to our 3-legged stool. Miss one step and you’ll fall flat on your … well, you know.
We’d rather not let that easily preventable moment shame you, so instead let us guide you in creating the ultimate storage system for manufacturers who want to maximize effectiveness, boost your bottom line and stop wasting time - period, point.
The right tools:
SteelStack offers a modular storage system for manufacturers to maximize their space and minimize their time wasted searching for the right products for the job.
The right tools? Check.
Time to set up and maintain:
SteelStack towers are engineered to withstand the elements in your manufacturing environment. It's a straightforward, no-nonsense design that’s also long-lasting.
Time? Check.
Find a Solid System
At this point, it may all sound too good to be true - and it is, if you don’t also have a strategy behind how you organize your sheet metal! The right tools will only matter and your time will only be used efficiently if you’ve put serious thought into how the end-user will experience the organizational outputs.
Avoid Creating a Junk Drawer
We all have those drawers in our house - the “junk drawers” - with items strategically wedged between each other and/or perhaps just strewn about. We know the “type” of items we’ll find in our junk drawer, but it still takes time - every time - to sift through the entire drawer and get that one specific thing you need.
Use a Labeling System
Labeling your storage is key to more quickly finding the right thing you need, at the right time. In SteelStack’s storage system for manufacturers, there can easily be 19 cartridges in one shelving system - and that’s a lot of different types of material. With the pin partition system, in theory, you could put two different types of material on one cartridge.
The average operator wants to know easily what is on each cartridge - how? A labeling system!
The key to a labeling system is that there is no one size fits all. What will work the best for you is unique to you, and thankfully our storage system offers labeling options that are customizable to your shop and operations.
Why label?
Labeling helps eliminate ….
● Time wasted searching for materials
● Over ordering of materials (by keeping inventory levels easily visible)
● Confusion over where to go to find what you need
When you implement a labeling system while organizing your storage system, you’ll find a more efficient use of that system across operations and your entire team will reduce time lost due to error in grabbing the wrong material. Plus, with ERP integration - a labeling system will allow a business to create an automated inventory system to prevent inventory-related delays in operations. You can simply know exactly where your product is - for example, SteelStack 1, 2, or 3 - and how much of it is there.
Labeling options with our SteelStack system
● Stencil: Used with a can of spray paint, each cartridge can be brightly and clearly labeled to fit the needs of most inventory systems
● Magnet: Low cost, easily interchangeable, highly effective, and customizable. A magnet system allows a business to easily change out labels as needed to fit an ever-changing inventory.
● Stickers: Lowest cost, readily available, carries all of the benefits of the magnets with the drawback of a less clean removal.
● Laser cut metal: The most permanent solution, laser cutting a piece of metal and fixing it to each cartridge would allow a shop to create an abuse-proof, permanent labeling solution.
If you’re ready to take the next step to improve your storage system, check out our products page for more details on the system and our inspiration page for more visuals on how to use it.