Scale your Business with height size automation

“In monitoring the common pain points in eCommerce packaging, we found the main needs are to curtail the complexities in fulfilment for higher productivity, reduce package volumes and optimise the production lines to operate consistently with less assistance from human labour. In striving for productivity, flexibility, cost-effectiveness and sustainability, we are addressing the following issues with the use of automation in corrugated solutions,” said Nedim Nisic, eCommerce Manager at Mondi Corrugated Solutions.

Issue 1. Decreasing manual labour demands

The demand for warehousing and fulfilment personnel has skyrocketed to numbers beyond the availability of workers. There are not enough people to hire to fulfil the positions and increasing pressure to retain workers. Automating parts of the packing process means overcoming the labour shortage and streamlining operations to achieve consistent output without manual labour.

The implementation of automation machines will help customers to scale their production and grow. If there is a high increase in turnover, the machine will make it much easier to fulfil automated packaging lines instead of hiring enough people to reach the same level.

Issue 2. Reducing the complexity in fulfilment

Millions of product Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) run through fulfilment centres every day, made more complex by the varying sizes and shapes of packaging types. With such complexity comes the higher risk of error, which can be costly to rectify. Automated height reduction, which assembles and closes parts of the packing process, can help reduce the number of SKUs in the box range by optimising the volume of shipping packages to fit each product.

Issue 3. Reducing cost

In streamlining the fulfilment process, there is a further opportunity for cutting costs by reducing the number of SKUs to manage, reducing the overall volume of shipped packages and limiting the need for void-fill material. Cost-effectiveness also comes from limiting excess packaging materials.

Issue 4. Maintaining sustainability in automation

More than 25% of the shipping volume in eCommerce boxes is empty space, requiring extra void-filling material to avoid damage. In height sizing automation, the height of the box is reduced to fit the product, overcoming the biggest problem of eCommerce: shipping air. The less air shipped, the more boxes can fit in trucks, minimalising the fleet and positively impacting the environment in lowering CO2 emissions in transportation.

Our product solution for package volume reduction

Mondi has devised a solution that works with new or existing manufacturing lines and packing machines in eCommerce, enabling package volume reduction via height sizing automation.

Our three packaging footprint sizes assemble the box or tray and adapt its height through scoring and creasing to snuggly fit the volume of products inside. The lowest height is 2cm.

• The closing process is automated with three convenience options with hotmelt glueing of lid: easy open top, easy open front and the multi-way easy open and return closure.
• The packaging has more strength and protection, including a higher vertical strength than Fefco 0200 and tamper-evident construction.
• Made from 100% recyclable materials and eliminating unnecessary air volume in the box and the need for filler material, it has a positive environmental footprint.
  

“With these automated processes in place designed for maximised order fulfilment, we can save two-thirds of the manual labour time needed for the erecting, filling and packing processes,” states Nedim Nisic, Group eCommerce Director at Mondi.

Working together for a better eCommerce business

Together with our customers, we pride ourselves on unique, custom solution development, including synchronising machine functionality and packaging design. Through clever and responsible creation, we can enhance our products' contribution to a better world, making our corrugated boxes sustainable by design.

Let’s face the challenges of your eCommerce business together. We are happy to get in touch with you to find the right solution for your individual needs.

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