‘The IMS team first and foremost wanted to improve the performance of their tags to save time and money. Piroto delivered on that and went one step further; customising tags to show off IMS produce to help promote their quality brand.’
Leading catering butcher improves efficiency
The Customer
Our customer, IMS of Smithfield, is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of meat and poultry to the catering industry. A family run business, they have a long heritage of providing excellent products and service to a wide ranging client base. From airline caterers to Michelin star restaurants, from schools to public institutions, they serve a broad spectrum of clientele.
The Customer’s Challenge
When we spoke to them, IMS were using standard, off-the-shelf, non-adhesive tags which they attached to the re-usable transit trays that transported their product to the customer. The tags identified the end customer and the run number. They came on a roll and frequently tore into the loop hole when being separated, making them unusable.
IMS were keen to find a solution that would reduce waste and approached Piroto to explore a customised tag that would do a better job.
Our Approach
We visited the IMS site to see their existing tags in operation and quickly identified that the main issue, tag wastage, could be simply resolved by specifying a superior tag material. In addition, we identified further enhancements that could be made to the tag which would improve the aesthetics, help protect the integrity of the IMS of Smithfield brand and give their catering customers the assurance of a quality product.
What we delivered
With a wide range of materials at our disposal we selected the best one for the job. The material we chose has a different structure to the standard tag material used by many label manufacturers; giving it properties that improve perforation performance and reduce irrevocable tearing.
We were also able to save material by reducing the overall size of the tag with no loss of performance.
We also suggested printing the company logo on the tags. In a highly competitive, busy environment the fact that IMS of Smithfield produce stands out from the crowd is an added bonus.
In order to assess the new material, sample rolls were produced and tested alongside existing tags before being rolled out across the operation.
The impact on the customer’s business
The Operations Manager confirmed that the new tags performed much better than their existing product. In summary, the customer has benefited in a number of areas:
- reduction in waste since the tags no longer tear when being removed from the roll
- fewer breakages means an operational time saving and improved environmental credentials
- the smaller, branded tags give a good impression to customers and reinforce the integrity of IMS of Smithfield’s products.