compliance labeling: not just for automakers

摘要

In the automotive industry, vendor compliance labeling (VCL) grew out of Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing practices at about the same time as electronic data interchange (EDI) and vendor-managed inventory programs. VCL has proven itself to be an excellent way to communicate and coordinate production schedules, purchase orders, shipment tracking and other key parts of the supply web. The uniform price code (UPC) is probably the oldest or best-known form of compliance labeling, although there are other programs in the chemical industry (CIDX), the federal government (LOGMARS) and elsewhere. Most programs have arisen in the last six or eight years and are gaining momentum as velocity within the supply chain increases. Most recently, VCL migrated into retailing - primarily electronics - as well as into the home-supplies business and food industries. As with the early days of JIT, people are unsure of what label to put on VCL. Is it a method, philosophy, strategy, concept or what? The easy answer is all of the above. VCL should, however, make your business run smoother and facilitate material handling, particularly in the tracking of shipments. Whether it will make you richer has yet to be determined.