12 May 2020

In modern logistics, managers leave no stone unturned to reduce costs and boost efficiency and so transporting air makes no sense. In a recent article for Eureka Magazine, the online magazine for the materials handling professional, Gian Schiava looked at how to increase packaging efficiency whilst seeking to minimise expenses, by focusing on how to optimise the packing and loading process.

Below is an abridged version of the article.

Transporting air within the packaging

Perhaps the first question to ask should be: is the primary packaging ‘made to measure’ for the product inside? Many companies have added an e-commerce sales channel to their operation, but package volumes have diminished considerably. Transporting air can therefore become very costly, and so the use of standard boxes with filling materials or wedging no longer makes sense.

The simplest option is to invest in smart packaging machines. Manufacturers like Sealedair, CMC and Savoye, see a growing number of competitors entering the market, demonstrating the recognised need for these packaging optimisation solutions.
Even without a machine, choosing flexible packaging is a step forward. The Dutch e-commerce organisation Thuiswinkel.nl recommends first designing the whole fulfilment process, including choosing the right boxes. Working with a limited number of fixed base sizes (with variable height), also has a positive effect on stacking and filling in the rest of the supply chain.

The manual packaging process can be supported with smart software tools like the eBox Range Optimiser (eBro) from DS Smith which calculates the ideal number of different boxes, the best box sizes and shows the effect on costs and durability of various alternatives. Other available software can help to determine how best to stack products in a package (Stack Assist from FPC) or work out how products can fit into each other within a package (PackNet.DIM).
Packaging needs vary from industry to industry though and when it comes to clothing, for instance, we see products being rolled up, plastic bags replacing boxes, or products vacuumed to reduce their size to an absolute minimum.

Transporting air in the lorry

Lorries or containers also need to contain as little air as possible - in reducing the amount of space that sits above and around the pallets and as with packaging optimisation, there are smart software tools to assist in ideally filling a truck or container. The programme Cape Truckfill analyses the possible arrangements of the products, pallet loads and container sizes and gives you an optimal filling plan. Another app, from start-up Value Engineers, seeks empty space from other companies to arrange combined shipments – bringing demand and supply of extra cargo capacity together.

Physical tools may also be used to optimise the filling rate such as pallet load optimisers or sliding aids, adaptable intermediate flooring or mechanised solutions resembling drive-in racking.

Save the planet to save the bottom line

It seems many industries have already found ways of reducing empty space in their packages – helping not just with sustainability but also the potential to reduce costs.

A good example of this packaging efficiency is French-based Savoye, a logistics system integrator that has built its solutions into more than 1,000 warehouses all over the world and believe that sizing parcels to fit the products is essential. Incorrect sizing of parcels results in a need for extra pallets in the warehouse and extra space to be bought for additional transport. It also means insufficiently protected products, which can bang into each other in the unused space.

Savoye’s Jivaro is a closing machine which adapts the height of boxes according to product dimensions, to reduce the size of shipments. In this way, it is possible to place more parcels in the same lorry, reducing the number of lorries on the road. Not only is this more ecologically friendly but the French company claims that this machine can save up to 30% on the volume shipped.
To read the full article from Gian on increasing packaging optimisation by reducing air in transport, please visit Eureka Magazine www.eurkapub.eu or click here.

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air is the last thing you want in your shipment
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Savoye adapts boxes to fit their contents with its Jivaro closing machine
Savoye adapts boxes to fit their contents with its Jivaro closing machine
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Packaging boxes