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CASE STUDY

AkzoNobel Case Study: Just-in-Time Label Production at 3 Million Labels a Year

AkzoNobel supplies industries and consumers around the world with paints and performance coatings — decorative paints, automotive and specialty coatings, industrial coatings, marine and protective coatings, and powder coatings.

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The challenge

For a manufacturer, turnaround time is everything. Under its existing process, AkzoNobel was forecasting production up to two weeks out. That made adapting to sudden demand shifts extremely difficult, and it was close to wasteful by design.

Where AkzoNobel needed help

  • Converting to just-in-time (JIT) production. To optimize production, AkzoNobel needed to minimize inventory and drive efficiency by aligning its supplier directly with production schedules. That meant finding a partner who could go from a 3–5 day turnaround to a 4-hour turnaround.
  • More control over on-demand print. Alongside JIT, AkzoNobel needed a partner flexible enough to shift capacity for ad-hoc needs.
  • Quicker decision-making. A more efficient process overall, so decisions could be made and acted on faster.

The solution

AkzoNobel wanted one sole supplier. Drummond had the capacity to tailor a dedicated production warehouse to service every project, supplying product to all areas of North America.

What Drummond delivered:

  • Printing can labels at scale
  • Application of labels to empty cans
  • Demand forecasting built for just-in-time production

The results

  • 98% on-time delivery rate
  • 3 million can labels per year
  • 250,000 can labels per month
  • 10 years of steady growth and partnership

From project to partner

By proving it had the capability, the capacity, and a technology-backed team, Drummond grew into an extension of AkzoNobel’s own team — becoming the sole supplier of printed labels for the Car Refinishes division. The effectiveness of the process then let the partnership expand into other product lines: as AkzoNobel develops and produces new products, Drummond steps in to supply just-in-time labels, so new products reach the market as soon as they are produced.

What AkzoNobel says about Drummond: flexible, accommodating, and responsive — a true, professional partner.

“From my standpoint, Drummond is incredibly responsive — I throw a lot of really random stuff at them at all hours of the day and their response time is immediate. Quotes, jobs, website maintenance. They are very flexible and even revamped our technology to make it faster. Everything is now perfect.”

“Customer service is outstanding. Sometimes my team makes mistakes but they catch them, and they have been very responsive.”

Need faster turnaround on production print?

If inventory and lead time are holding your production schedule hostage, we should talk.

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