This led to errors, such as incorrect labels being applied to the product or labels being brought to the wrong product line. Inventory records were written into a notebook, and all production information was entered into a computer database using handwritten tags with one tag per pallet. Previously, all out-of-date coding had been handled via hand-stamp or dot-matrix printing.

“In addition, our order-fill accuracy was lower than it is today, and it subjected us to chargebacks or fines for inaccurate shipments.” “We had to track our finished goods more accurately to meet regulatory and customer requirements in the event of a product recall,” says Fisher. According to Joy Cone director of logistics, Brent Fisher, customers were asking for better labeling, with more information and improved accuracy, on the shipment cases. Previously, Joy Cone had been experiencing a variety of labeling accuracy issues, mostly because it relied on a system of manually recorded product data.

To improve customer satisfaction and reduce operating costs, Joy Cone implemented new bar-code printer/applicators and labeling systems as part of its overall warehouse-modernization projects at its 215,000-sq-ft warehouse in Hermitage and its 90,000-sq-ft Flagstaff, AZ facility.

Running more than a dozen product lines and more than 350 SKUs, it is the largest ice-cream cone company in the world. Serving retailers, grocers and restaurants, the family and employee-owned company prides itself on time-honored quality. It prefers modern and efficient, thanks to a recent warehouse-automation and printer/applicator labeling project completed with help from supply-chain automation/integrator Peak Technologies (Joy Cone began practicing the art of cone baking in 1918, soon after the official birth of the ice-cream cone. However, for the Joy Cone Ice Cream Cone Co., Hermitage, PA, quaint and old-fashioned are words it doesn't want describing its packaging and warehouse operations, which handle 1.5 billion ice-cream cones/year in two facilities. For adults, an ice-cream cone might serve as a tasty reminder of quaint and old-fashioned times of their youth. An ice-cream cone is a timeless treat that children of all ages love.

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