At Wise, we are problem-solvers. When you bring us a business problem faced by one of your customers, it’s our job to help you solve it. Let’s take a look at how we were able to find a labels solution for one of our distributors selling into one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the country, the healthcare marketplace.
One of our large East Coast distributors was approached by one of its customers faced with a “sticky” (or not so sticky as the challenge would have it) situation.
A “Not-So-Sticky” Problem
The hospital lab processes over 100 million tests per year, and these tests begin with the collection of patient samples in specimen containers. The samples are transported to any number of specialized testing facilities, where they are subjected to a variety of environmental extremes, including cryogenic freezing and thawing. To ensure that the samples are always tracked appropriately, barcoded labels are attached to every specimen container throughout the process. If a container is improperly labeled, or if a label falls off, there is significant risk of patient misidentification. This can result in inaccurate or delayed diagnosis.
The lab was using a cryogenic label from another vendor. That label was designed to be adhered to specimen containers before they are frozen. This created real challenge for the lab since some of its testing protocols required new barcoded labels to be adhered to pre-frozen, pre-labeled containers. When this happened, even though the labels were technically cryogenic, the lab was finding that the labels were often falling off.
To reduce the risks associated with label detachment, every time a new label was applied, the staff kept the label in place with rubber band.
This led to several inefficiencies:
- 100 million tests mean 100 million rubber bands, which added unnecessary cost.
- Every time the staff added a rubber band, this took time away from another task. This added up to hundreds of man-hours every year.
- Rubber bands or flagging labels occasionally blocked automation systems and had to be corrected, resulting in processing downtime.
Getting Down to Work
Wise was tasked with finding a label solution that would fit the lab’s testing protocols. This meant a label with specialty face stock and adhesives that would perform under all test environments, including pre-frozen containers. It also meant finding a label that would work with the client’s existing hardware. Specifically, the label needed to adhere to prelabeled specimen containers, both at room temperature and directly out of a cryogenic environment.
Wise has decades of experience in the healthcare marketplace, so after testing just a few protypes, the labels worked perfectly. The new labels also worked with existing printers, and the barcodes were highly scannable. Even after multiple tests, the labels stayed adhered, preventing mistakes and misdiagnosis.
With the final label formulation approved, the distributor was able to meet the exacting demands of its laboratory customer. Since rolling out these new labels, the lab has dramatically reduced the risk of label detachment — and is now rubber-band-free!
The Results
This label solution is projected to allow for an annual savings potential of $200,000 in materials and up to $3.2 million in labor costs.
Overall, these labels improved process efficiency, reduced the risk of labeling errors, and reduced risk of machine downtime on automation lines. The distributor was also able to lock the hospital into a 5-year labels contract, resulting in $320,000 of revenue per year.
Wise has over 50 years of expertise in producing forms and labels for the healthcare marketplace. So whether you already have customers in this market or you’re preparing for your first meeting, let us put our decades of experience to work for you.
