Book labelling at Zeitfracht (former KNV)

In every bookshop it is now established practice that book orders are ready to collect the next morning, even when placed only the evening before just before closing time, around 7 pm. This is made possible by a series of logistic feats.

One leading provider of this challenging overnight order service is book wholesaler Koch, Neff & Volckmar GmbH (KNV). An innovative label solution from HERMA speeds up the processes. And makes for satisfied retailers and buyers, because it adheres firmly but can also be removed without leaving traces.

Short timeframe

KNV has several hundred thousand different titles in its warehouse at any one time. But in most cases, the timeframe for order picking is short. Shortly before bookshop closing times, the phones at KNV really start to ring. But the large trailers have to start leaving the loading ramps at 8.30 pm. That means that with order picking, speed and accuracy are key.

Clearly labelled products for sure processing

Glitch-free order picking calls for label sheets that hold the individual book labels, shipping labels and item locations. The typically blue, yellow and white label sheets are printed on ordinary laser printers. These sheets accompany the transport containers through the logis-tics centre. A unique book label is stuck onto each ordered book, clearly identifying it for the bookseller’s goods receipt staff. The customer wants to be able to simply peel it off again. Conventional labels can leave unsightly residues, especially on gloss-laminate and cardboard book covers. And costly books that tend to be bought as gifts are often not film-wrapped – for the booksellers a frequent source of complaints.

Adheres firmly – and can be removed without residue

Conventional, low-adhesion labels proved impractical: they scarcely adhere at all to many kinds of book surfaces. The shipping labels, which are on the same sheet and are affixed to the shipping boxes, had a tendency to peel off before even leaving internal logistics.

It was against this backdrop that HERMA developed a solution with an innovative adhesive material. The labels adhere firmly to all common materials, such as paper, cardboard, plastic, film and even glass and can be removed without leaving residue behind. The mate-rial was subjected to tough testing by KNV – and passed with flying colours, on all kinds of book surfaces, as well as on shipping boxes and plastic crates. Another bonus is that the shipping labels can be easily removed from the returnable plastic containers.

Another argument in favour of HERMA label material is its printing quality. The special re-lease liner material ensures that the labels lie perfectly flat – this is crucial for trouble-free print runs, especially at high throughput rates. The print-outs are sharp and high-contrast, ensuring that barcodes are clearly readable.

Labels with these adhesive properties are available on sheets for PC printers, fanfolded for continuous or matrix printers, and as rolls for thermal transfer printers.