Review Then Action

Have you ever asked, or been asked the question:

The answer will most probably be that they have evolved over the years to accommodate a group or individual sku’s which have been added to your product offering.

If this is your operation then it’s time to REVIEW if the current carton sizes  that you are using really are still beneficial to your existing shipping requirements.

A simple manual inspection will tell you exactly how much void you are shipping in each individual carton size. Spend a few hours at the loading dock and re-open cartons which have been packed for shipment. Count the air pillows – note the approx volume of the fill paper – pour the chips into a known volume container – my guess is that you will be surprised to find that you are actually shipping a MINIMUM 30% of void – no matter what carton size you look at.

By using multiple carton sizes it is affecting your operation on the following fronts:

• Increased Corrugated costs…….Ask your supplier what you could have saved if you were ordering 10,000 pieces of A and B per week against ordering 2,000 pieces of A,B,C,D and E
• Calculate the saving on actual labor packing time if the personnel do not have to think and decide the most appropriate carton to use. Very important when there is a high labour turnover ….less training
• Increased shipping volumes. If you can save 30% on shipped volumes in real terms that could equate to only 70 trucks on the road out of every 100. THAT’S GREEN!!!!.........and cost effective!!!
• Try stacking only 3 carton sizes on a shipping pallet instead of 6 or 7. More  Stability / Less damage……More efficiency / Increased volumes/ Reduced transportation costs
• Do you have a conveyor system? Experiencing problems with all those different carton sizes……..turning ,side by side etc .Reducing the number of carton sizes will resolve this issue… improving efficiency

So you are now asking….”OK sounds great but this can not be possible I need all these sizes to accommodate all of my different products and order profiles?”

We can tell you that it is possible because CAP Systems have been through this process with many satisfied customers.

We can work with you to analyze your existing carton sizes and prove that using our automated packing equipment will result in savings on the number of different carton sizes you currently use and will reduce operating costs

How do we do it?

We review your current orders against the carton sizes and provide you with a tool which automatically resizes real orders into new carton sizes. The carton sizes are limitless and are input by you as we realize that you business better than anyone You get to see how much void is shipped, what volume you would save in shipping , what are the optimum carton sizes for your business.

No more guessing. The facts are at your fingertips.

Only when this has been done can you take ACTION to ensure that your carton sizes are correct!

Once REVIEWED and the ACTION has been identified by optimising the number of carton sizes to be used the next crucial step is to evaluate if the process can be automated, yielding further savings,using the extensive range of automated systems and equipment supplied by CAP Systems / e3neo.

Barry Machin

barry.machin@capsystems.co
Tel:  07768 392 633
www.capsystems.co