Case Study 4 - Nestle - Service contracts

What impact does your Service Contract have on Performance?

Underperformance is an extremely frustrating experience. Especially when it comes to label printers, and in very busy distribution warehouses the size and number of Nestlé Australia, there is nothing worse than an under-performing printer.  Actually there is something just a little bit worse that an under-performing printer. An under-performing printer with inadequate service and support. This impacts on performance as well as Total Cost of Ownership and contributes to excessive downtimes and impeded product identification and distribution.

Companies make huge investments when they finally decide on the printing and labelling systems to use throughout their warehouses. Most decisions are swayed by the promised support at delivery and then ongoing service and training that is supposed to enable the company to gain the most from their investment with systems running at optimum efficiency 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For some, this situation may be endured with the hope that something can be done to right it or that their ‘service’ provider will suddenly develop a conscience and begin to maintain and support them in the way they initially believed they were signing up for. But not for Nestlé Australia. It recognised this problem for what it was – something that wasn’t going away and that couldn’t right itself and made the decision to do something about the situation. Added to that was the frustration of recurring printhead failures, so action was definitely needed.For Nestlé this wasn’t a local problem that was causing a slight inconvenience. This was a situation that affected their warehouses throughout their entire Oceania holdings.

insignia, a nationwide labelling solutions specialist was approached to create economical solutions to right this tiresome under-performance and eliminate the frustration of failing printheads.  An obvious solution would be to start from scratch with new machinery and a new provider who actually delivered everything they promised but when you have warehouses across the nation and beyond, simpler, cheaper solutions have to be explored first. These solutions needed to have an immediate impact as well as provide long-term stability that would decrease the Total Cost of Ownership.  Without too much investigation, it was, in fact, obvious that the quality of service was something that needed to be drastically improved. Following that, strategies had to be implemented to improve machine performance and longevity of printheads.

With the dollar being an all-important factor, the following simple, inexpensive solutions were offered:

• Regular servicing of all their equipment, especially the printheads.
• ISO wipe in every carton of labels to prompt machine maintenance and cleaning
• All subsequent consumable and printer supply throughout Oceania be done by insignia.

insignia is a total solutions provider when it comes to anything related to the production of labels and barcode identification. They have partnerships with world-class companies from software application to printers to applicators. They have been able to provide a one stop shop for all Nestlé’s future printing and labelling needs. insignia offer Service Contracts, specifically designed to meet the maintenance needs of any company who chooses their solutions and packages.

An excellent risk mitigation strategy when you consider that maintenance and service are just as critical as the initial purchase and creation of the system. Strategic, planned maintenance extends the life of the printers, the printheads and enhances their performance, increasing production. As well as being skilled in a diverse number software and hardware applications, insignia also has thermal label printer field service teams across Australia and is Australia’s Datamax warranty provider. Every insignia technician is fully trained and highly skilled. They can design a service maintenance program that suits any company’s requirements in terms of budget and longevity of equipment. Their teams are located across the nation with an efficient national network of service, support and spare parts replacement.

Brad Jeavons, Sales Manager for insignia oversees projects like Nestlé’s and believes "insignia is committed to the success of their clients. We work with them to provide a total solution to their printing and labelling needs. insignia’s success is dependent of the successful implementation and maintenance of these solutions".

For any company dissatisified with their service contract, it may be worth their while to consult with inisgnia. After all proper training and scheduled maintenance means less repairs and replacements which in turn means, increased productivity and cost effective operations.