Their products go up and down, but Schindler Elevator Corporation N.A., a manufacturer of commercial elevators for the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada, maintains a continuous stock of product labels on the factory floor by using a KANBAN inventory system. For more than 10 years, Cubbison has been producing pressure-sensitive labels in mylar, polyester, polycarbonate and vinyl for use as code compliance for the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), warning notices and instructions. Often the CSA requires a certification with an attached label to verify that assembly has been approved. All labels are printed in English.
In the beginning of the year, Schindler gives Cubbison a blanket order that projects their need for 12 months. There are about 200 different prints, ranging in size from one-inch square to 7 x 10 or 8 x 11 inches. Orders typically run 10,000 or 20,000.
About 75 percent of the labels are covered by the blanket order. The quantities kept on the shelf vary, depending on what the label costs and the lead time required. For items that aren't used often, Schindler opens a per-job order.
Schindler is pretty consistent on their quantities from month to month. Cubbison produces labels monthly and keeps quantities on the shelf for immediate shipment. "If it's a low-cost item," says Bill Getch, one of Schindler's Strategic Buyers, "they may run all of them for the whole year and put them on the shelf." But generally, since KANBAN is a two-bin system, "they try to keep one bin full, so when one bin gets low, that'll be their order point."
When workers on the factory floor signal the need for a label release, Schindler emails Cubbison, and Cubbison gets the labels to them within four or five days. "Quick turnaround on low-cost, high-consumption items is the biggest benefit," Getch says. "Occasionally, if we have a requirement for an older label, we might run small quantities. But generally you try to use higher runs to get the cost down."
Bill Getch, Strategic Buyer Schindler Elevator Corporation N.A. Gettysburg, PA
