Packaging Machines at a Glance: Good Automation Starts with the Data

In a nutshell: "I ship this many packages per year. Which machine do I need?" Nele Logemann from XPROMA hears this question very often. There is no blanket answer, because what matters is order structure, peaks, carton formats and, above all, reliable master data. In the Webinar, Nele explains why partial automation often pays off sooner than expected. And why the output figure on a data sheet rarely equals the actual throughput in your own warehouse. With the PPWR, fill rates are moving into focus, and many companies are already collecting their packaging data for this purpose. That makes it a good moment to take packaging just as seriously as picking.

I ship one million packages per year. Which machine do I need?

Nele: That is not so easy to answer. The package count is a first indicator, but I need to know more. How are the volumes distributed, do we operate one or three shifts, how pronounced are the peaks? How many SKUs and carton formats are there? One million shipments can be a straightforward automation case if they are all single-item shipments. With highly individual multi-item orders it becomes considerably more complex.

So the first step is always to understand the process. When it comes to data, things often get thin, especially with master data. This is not only related to the customers themselves but also to their suppliers. A good example is a towel in e-commerce. The master data describes it laid flat, but not the way it sits on a shelf or is packed.

Without reliable master data I can only design a packaging solution to a limited extent. Item dimensions and weights are important, but so is order structure. How many items are in an order on average? What is the share of single-item and multi-item orders, and which combinations occur frequently? Add to that the carton history, meaning which sizes are used how often and how full they are. Only then can I identify which shipments can be standardized. The control system also needs this data to decide which machine an order goes to. Good automation does not start with the machine. It starts with the data.

Is it better to automate step by step or go all-in from the start?

Nele: Partial automation becomes interesting sooner than many people think. If employees perform the same manual steps every day, such as erecting cartons, sealing them and applying labels, you can act quickly. You do not have to redesign the entire process to do that. Anyone starting fully manually should first let themselves and their team get used to the process, because automation also has to be accepted. Full automation becomes interesting when volumes and standardization are high and the upstream and downstream processes can keep pace.

I would not name a specific threshold, such as 200 cartons per day. It makes a difference whether those are 200 of the same carton or different formats. But with a number like that you could already start with a simple solution. If you have an erector, you do not necessarily need a sealer right away. You can first find out whether you pick directly into the erected carton and adjust your processes from there.

Many people are actually more hesitant about height reducers, partly because of the cost. And yet they make absolute sense. Otherwise I would have to erect several sizes and control which order goes into which carton. Erecting one size and reducing the height is a much simpler process. What is also frequently underestimated is packaging on demand for bulky items with low volumes. If I am packaging televisions and producing custom-cut blanks, I save a great deal of material. A machine pays for itself very quickly in that case, but many people do not even look at it because, like returns, it is not a core process.

What belongs in the business case, and how realistic is the machine output?

Nele: Staffing requirements and packing output are naturally at the top of the list. That is usually the biggest lever, but calculating with that alone would not be comprehensive. Add to that carton costs and the question of how much growth I am enabling. For very large cartons it is often not the labor costs at all but clearly the packaging material.

On the other side there are costs that must not be forgotten. Anyone who has been working with adhesive tape may now use hot glue, so consumables change. Maintenance and service are very important, and integration costs and energy costs also need to be factored in.

Anyone calculating only with the output figure from the data sheet is being too optimistic. If a machine can handle 1,000 packages per hour, the overall process does not automatically achieve 1,000 packages. There are breaks, format changeovers and maintenance. On top of that, picking must actually be able to keep the machine loaded. We therefore always calculate with a realistically usable overall output, not with the theoretical machine output.

Right-size packaging is considered the gold standard. What do you need to have in place for it?

Nele: These machines are among my favorites because the degree of automation is very high and they handle a lot. With the PPWR in mind they are the ultimate solution. For void fill we are heading toward zero percent. But here too I have to look at order and item structures and feed the machine correctly. Many single-item orders are relatively straightforward, unless they are exclusively footballs. Then infeed becomes a minor challenge.

Some machines are better suited to single orders, others to multi orders. The item data must be accurate, because if deviations are too large the carton no longer fits. Anyone who has both in high volumes can combine technologies. One customer, for example, uses on-demand packaging for singles and height reduction for multi orders.

With machines like these we conduct significantly more reference visits than with a carton erector. Many people worry that their product range is too broad or too unwieldy. The easiest approach is to look at the machine in action and bring a few of your own items along. And this is very important: bring everyone who will work with it later. If only the project manager is convinced, the operators will be afraid to do anything with the machine.

Questions from the Chat

Participants submitted many questions in the chat that Nele answered live. We have summarized the most important ones here.

What changes does the PPWR bring, and what should I already be considering in my planning today?

Nele: Fill rate is becoming increasingly important. We need to know how much air is being shipped in order to find the optimal carton and the optimal machine. Reducing void fill also plays a role. Otherwise you plan the next machine and end up with too much empty space again.

Many companies, especially larger ones, have already looked into the topic intensively. The difficulty is that not everything in the PPWR is entirely clear yet. So many are preparing everything first and then waiting to see. Overall, however, more data is available and packaging is moving more strongly into focus. Until now many companies focused first on picking, because the data there is easier to get hold of.

We are seeing a shift from cartons to shipping bags, including paper ones. Is that your perception as well?

Nele: Yes, we see that too. The market is continually shaped by external influences such as regulations and postage costs. Bags are often cheaper to ship, for example when a large letter suffices instead of a small parcel. For a long time nobody even looked at paper bags, because a paper bag was roughly ten times as expensive as a plastic bag. With sustainability topics and postage savings that is becoming increasingly inte