PACKAGING
proportionately more packaging material – coupled with labour costs it is no surprise that packing can cost more than the value of the goods. In many cases, supporting repairs is inherently uneconomic; the more so if spares are required to be supplied ‘at reasonable prices’. And shipping costs too can be disproportionate for small boxes, especially if the box is larger than it needs to be.
So OEMs, stockists and repair shops need to bear down heavily on the costs of pick, pack and dispatch. Smart automation of these operations will be critical, and luckily, ‘right-sizing’ boxes for dispatch can now be a fast, automatic process that can produce over 1000 boxes an hour. Sparck Technologies’ automated boxing systems not only replace most of the labour required in manual operations – one or two operators on a machine can achieve the same throughput as up to 20 manual stations – but for individual items or ‘kits of parts’ can create boxes that are ‘fitted to size’ for each order. The item or assemblage is 3D scanned, the optimum size and shape of box calculated, board is cut, creased, erected, sealed, weighed and labelled. If required, the machine can keep producing ‘standard’ (not necessarily the carton industry’s standard) boxes until a ‘special’ is needed. There is also the option to split operations so that a ‘tray’ is produced into which items can be picked, and which is then united with its ‘lid’ elsewhere. Sparck’s CVP machines can handle weights of up to 30kg, and at the other end of the scale create boxes as shallow as 28mm.
department store John Lewis are making a big thing of their repair services. This is in addition to the usual service of ‘consumable’ spares such as replacement filters.
But this will mean a big increase in the number of packages moving through different lanes. OEMs, or their parts stockists, will have to supply individual items, or ‘kits’ of parts and tools, both to repair specialists and direct to consumers, while the repair shops have to pack and despatch renovated products back to their owners. In the industrial and commercial sectors, suppliers to MRO (Maintenance, Repairs, Operations) activities – not just spare parts but also tools and consumables such as drill bits – already face similar challenges.
UKManufacturing Spring 2025
The range of items involved is intimidating. A washing machine repair might involve a new drum, or just a new microswitch. Under some of the new laws products have to be supported for many years so the number of different parts is vast. In automotive, where of course ‘spares and repairs’ never went away, we know a US client with 1.3 million part numbers in their catalogue – and that is just to support their niche market of imported German cars! Clearly, packing everything into the same narrow range of ‘standard’ boxes or cartons is a non-starter. And many or perhaps, given the advance of electronics, most spare parts are small both in size and in value. Small items generally require
The CVP Impack range can pack at up to 500 orders an hour, or one every seven seconds, while the CVP Everest range achieves an impressive 1,100 per hour – one box every three seconds, and unlike with manual packing, this performance doesn’t tail off towards the end of the shift. Besides these labour savings and productivity gains, there are many other benefits. Savings in the use of board of typically 30% are commonplace, while void fill – typically non-recyclable – can be greatly reduced or even eliminated. Right-size boxes economise on postage or courier rates, particularly when these are based on ‘volumetric weight’, and make more efficient use of transport. Creating boxes at the point of use means that there is no need to store large numbers of pre-forms or erected boxes. With one machine you’ve got more than 40 million box sizes at your disposal. And packaging that fits the items snugly reduces the risk of transit damage. This all saves money, pleases the customer and is good for the planet. Retailers and manufacturers are getting to grips with the Returns cycle – now they have to contemplate Repairs as well. But with ‘right-size’ auto-boxing technology, at least the pack and despatch side is more manageable.
Sparck Technologies
sparcktechnologies.com
17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
