On
Demand Packaging customizes delivery boxes to fit each order
The
Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) has selected Staples
and Packsize International Inc. to be the winning recipient of the 2013 Supply
Chain Innovation Award Competition. Staples, the world’s largest office
products company and the second largest internet retailers, has adapted a new
packaging technology called On Demand Packaging that produces customized
delivery boxes for each order. This new packaging technology is developed by Packsize
International Inc., a provider of lean packaging systems. On Demand Packaging
focuses on producing delivery boxes that have the right sizes to fit each
customer’s order.
On
Demand Packaging is really a new packaging technology that enables the supply
chain system of packaging industries such as Staples to be more integrated, and
it creates a customer-driven supply chain instead of a producer-driven one. So
what exactly is On Demand Packaging? The concept is developed from many
customers’ dissatisfactions when their ordered item comes with an oversized
delivery box, which for many of the customers is a large trash sitting in their
houses. The customers need to breakdown the oversized box, clean the packing
fillers and recycle those things. On Demand Packaging is able to custom
delivery boxes through an integration of boxes manufacturing system and
packaging system. The following short clip may give you a better sense of On
Demand Packaging:
On
Demand Packaging can largely improve packing supply chain system in several
ways. It is less costly and more sustainable. It reduces air pillow use by 60
percent and average cardboard box size by 20 percent, which it said represents
an estimated annual carbon footprint reduction of 30,200 tons, or roughly
120,000 trees. Also, it allows more shipments to fit on each line haul and more
orders in each delivery truck, and it cuts the costs of delivery boxes storage
in the warehouse.
The
traditional packaging supply chain system is flawed in several ways. First, it
is costly because it has to use more cardboards and packing fillers than what
actually needed. Second, it is a time-consuming process because boxes needed to
be transported from boxes manufacturers to packing companies, and workers need
to come back and forth between the warehouse and packing supply chain for boxes.
Third, it requires a lot of space in the companies’ warehouse to store those
boxes for anytime usage. Fourth, it is neither customer-friendly nor
environment- friendly because of excess usage of paper and plastic. Finally, variability
and uncertainties are underlined when the companies need to forecast the number
of boxes and the sizes of boxes to be ordered from boxes manufacturers.
On Demand
Packaging reduces the costs of packing supply chain system to achieve
efficiency and sustainability by integrating boxes manufacturers and packing
supply chain system, eliminating the needs for forecasting thus reducing variability,
and providing a customer-driven production line. However, On Demand Packaging
technology is expensive to implemented, and it is possible that companies won’t
profit from their supply chain in the short term when they implement this new
technology. The question is how should we balance between this short-term and
long-term benefits?
References:
Staples
and Packsize Win 2013 Supply Chain Innovation Award
Staples
takes steps to reduce packaging size, increase supply chain efficiency
Packsize
International Inc.
Packsize
International’s blog with video
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