A Large National Brand’s Road to Success with Inovar for RFID Product Labels
When Walmart began rolling out its RFID initiative for products in industries outside of apparel, the Inovar team began proactively reaching out to companies we knew would need a reliable partner to help them achieve compliance.
At one of the nation’s largest suppliers of trimmer line and trimmer heads, company planners had not even heard of Walmart’s RFID mandate yet, and it wasn’t until several weeks after they had been contacted by Inovar that the organization learned that they were going to be required to implement RFID into their product lines going into Walmart. As the first supplier to contact this trimmer line manufacturer about RFID, we were able to outline the process of creating Walmart-compliant RFID embedded product labels, guide them through the process from start to finish, provide pricing options, and commit to deliver a solution that worked with both the project’s budget and timeline.
Problem Exploration and Resolution
With this customer, Inovar was tasked with creating a functioning RFID embedded label for their circular labels with a punched-out center. Like most companies, it was important that large changes were not made to the shape or size of their labels given the work that goes into engineering packaging. Even though the space to fit a square or rectangular RFID tag on their existing label was very small, our expertise in RFID requirements enabled us to source and embed a tag that fit their existing label’s complex size and shape requirements.
Inovar Packaging Group worked closely with the team at the trimmer line company to ensure a smooth and easy transition with the least amount of upheaval to their prior label and packaging process. Application equipment issues frequently plague companies when they are trying to incorporate elements like an RFID tag into their label, however, with our equipment expertise, we were able to help the trimmer line manufacturing company keep their existing sensors on their application equipment. We engineered a solution to fit an RFID tag in their label such that they did not have to make modifications to their application equipment, and they were able to save equipment cost and time significantly.
One of the most complex and important aspects of compliance with Walmart’s RFID mandate involves submitting tags for approval to Auburn University. Without a knowledgeable supplier, gaining this approval can be arduous and time consuming. With Inovar Packaging Group as your partner, getting approval is easy. We know the all the details required for approval, from material to size requirements of the RFID tag, and we will guide you through the submission process.
We provided the trimmer line company with the samples needed for each individual SKU and explained that they needed to provide both images and video of the products to Auburn. According to a senior planner at the trimmer line company, “the team at Inovar Packaging Group, helped us with the process of getting the approvals through Auburn, what tags we needed and how they would be positioned on our existing labels. We appreciated the transparency of the team who supported us.”
Solutions for the Future
The national trimmer line company is now up and running with labels that have compliant RFID tags embedded in them. The products look the same as before—and as one of the world’s largest suppliers of trimmer line and trimmer head, it is essential that their customer base will still recognize their trusted products. Their production process did not face any major upheaval, and the Inovar team guided them on all the elements needed to achieve compliance to Walmart’s RFID mandate now and in the future.
Walmart’s RFID mandate is only going to expand to more and more industries in the coming years. When you need a supplier to help you face the challenge of complying with this mandate or find yourself with new or challenging label and packaging needs of any kind, look no further than our team of experts at Inovar Packaging Group. We will partner with you and develop a solution that will solve your current and future needs. Contact us now to begin.
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