Contributing Editor Toby Gooley is a writer and editor specializing in supply chain, logistics, and material handling, and a lecturer at MIT's Center for Transportation & Logistics. She previously was Senior Editor at DC VELOCITY and Editor of DCV's sister publication, CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly. Prior to joining AGiLE Business Media in 2007, she spent 20 years at Logistics Management magazine as Managing Editor and Senior Editor covering international trade and transportation. Prior to that she was an export traffic manager for 10 years. She holds a B.A. in Asian Studies from Cornell University.
The process of picking, packing, and shipping an order consists of a series of steps that occur in a defined sequence. Whether that process is completed correctly and on time depends on how well each step is carried out. When automation is involved, an additional factor comes into play: Success also depends on how well the various pieces of equipment used in the process are integrated with each other. In the case of an automated packaging line, that means getting each of the machines—carton erectors, shrink wrappers, void fillers, labelers, document inserters, carton sealers, conveyors, and the like—to do its job at the right time and at the right speed.
What if a packaging line doesn't achieve that perfect synchronization? At the very least, backlogs and equipment jams could develop; at worst, the line might stop altogether. It doesn't take much for that to happen; just one mistake or oversight can undermine productivity and reliability.
To find out what could go wrong and how to prevent it, we talked to a systems integrator, a packaging engineer, a third-party logistics (3PL) company executive, and a manufacturer of packaging equipment and systems. Here are their tips for avoiding 10 common packaging line pitfalls.
1. Keep your supplier in the loop. The surest way to bring a packaging line to a halt is to run out of corrugated cardboard, labels, thermal forms, foam cushioning, plastic wrap, or other consumable materials purchased from suppliers. That's generally not a concern when it's business as usual. But if, say, you launch a new product or experience a significant bump in sales, your suppliers might not be able to handle the additional demand, cautions Tyler O'Neill, global packaging engineer for the supply chain services company ModusLink Global Solutions. Regular communication and sharing forecasts will help both parties avoid surprises. "If you think something will change, let your suppliers know," he advises. O'Neill also recommends buying strategically from multiple suppliers to ensure the availability of materials.
2. Inspect before you accept. In a high-volume DC, the last thing you want is for defective packaging materials to be inducted into a line. Examples include misprinted cartons and labels that smudge, to name just a few possibilities. You may not find out there's a problem until orders make it part way through the line, O'Neill says, and if your supplier can't immediately deliver replacements, you might have to shut down the line temporarily. A formal protocol for verifying that all incoming shipments of packaging supplies are correct and up to standard will help you prevent stoppages, he says.
3. Minimize refilling of consumables. The more often you have to refill supplies like label stock, liquids, glue, tape, and the like, the more often you'll have to slow down or stop a line, or take an employee away from a workstation to refill them. "That's why whenever we have any consumables in a packaging line we're designing, we like to put in the largest magazine possible," says Jay Moris, president of systems integrator Invata Intralogistics. Adding extra capacity does add cost, he says, but smaller magazines and reservoirs can negatively affect uptime. Furthermore, if a piece of equipment depends on an operator to notice when consumables are getting low, then a larger container requiring fewer refills will reduce the opportunity for an operator to miss a refill signal or wait too long to replenish supplies.
4. Build in redundancy. Automated packaging equipment is expensive, so buyers may be reluctant to acquire and maintain spare equipment. But if a critical piece of machinery goes down, the resulting delays could be far more costly than the price of a spare. "You can save money if you buy cheaper equipment, use smaller magazines, or don't keep spares, but if you end up with two hours of downtime on Cyber Monday, nobody will care about the money you saved," Moris observes. Anything that could not be handled manually is a candidate for backup; if a box taper went down, for example, taping could be done by hand, albeit more slowly, but a label printer could not be replaced with manual labor. Moris recommends integrating critical spare equipment into the line so that in an emergency, you could immediately switch over to the backup machine, rather than have to pull it out of storage and shut down the line to install it. The extra machine can also keep the line moving while the other is undergoing maintenance or consumables are being refilled.
5. Make it simpler. Using complex packaging that requires a lot of folding and forming in the line can really slow things down. For instance, inserts with multiple folds that take some effort to fit into a box correctly typically require many time-consuming touches and may not be easy for people to master. From the standpoint of speed, says O'Neill, a better choice would be to use a prefabricated unit, like a thermal-formed or pulp-molded tray that can be quickly dropped into the box and fitted around the product.
6. Take operating speed into consideration. Each piece of equipment requires a different amount of time to complete its task. To prevent slower machines from compromising productivity, position them farther down the line if the packing method allows. Moris cites the example of a customer that had to print and insert lengthy packing lists into its orders. Rather than hold things up waiting for the multipage lists to print out, Invata placed the printer/inserter farther downstream. As soon as the ordered items are "married" to a shipping carton, the system instructs the printer to produce the packing list, thus allowing plenty of time for printing before the carton arrives at the document inserter.
7. Pay attention to pacing. If bottlenecks develop on a partially automated line, it could be because the pace at which operators are working is not well matched to the flow and speed of the equipment, says Andy Smith, president of Consumer and Industrial Logistics for Genco, a third-party logistics company that has a packaging division. "For example, you could have eight people working on a line, but if one has a four-minute task and another has a two-minute task, that's where the bottleneck will be," he says. He suggests observing the operators to validate the time required for each task and then balancing the work to maintain the necessary pace and ensure a consistent work flow. Lean techniques such as those used to manage manufacturing production lines can help here.
8. "Shake hands" the right way. If the integration of equipment, software, and control systems is not done properly, an order's progress through the packaging line will be a bumpy one indeed. "You have to make sure the software is programmed correctly, that it works in conjunction with every piece of equipment, and that each piece of equipment works properly with the others," says Louis Suffern, e-commerce solutions manager with Sealed Air's Product Care division. At every juncture, he explains, there will be an electronic "handshake" that signals the next piece of equipment to take over. If takeaway speeds or the timing of the electronic handshake aren't correct, a machine could detect a fault and suspend operations. That's why thorough testing—not just of each piece of equipment but also of the software—is critical, he says.
9. {Plan for exceptions. In an automated packaging system, errors like incomplete orders, out-of-register printing, and unreadable bar codes are rare, but they do happen. If you don't design in a protocol for handling errors and rejects, the line will end up slowing or stopping every time there's an exception, no matter how small, says Suffern. Ideally, he says, you want a way to resolve problems and get a package back on the automated line with the least amount of disruption and the fewest touches. One option is to automatically divert exceptions down a conveyor to a workstation specifically set up to resolve errors, and then to reinduct the corrected package at the appropriate station on the line. Suffern has also seen systems that scan packing lists to identify missing items and then convey them to the packing station; that way, workers don't have to leave their posts to complete the orders.
10. Design for tomorrow, not just for today. If your packaging line has no flexibility built into it, you're likely to encounter slowdowns when any change comes along, says Genco's Smith. Equipment that can accommodate changes in box size, graphics, labeling, and other attributes will keep things moving without lengthy shutdowns. "You want to have limited changeovers with the least amount of time to switch over for your product mix," he advises. To get an idea of what may be coming down the road, he says, make sure you're informed about new products in development, special promotions, and issues like theft prevention and entry into new markets that could prompt changes in packaging. "It's a mistake to design for what's happening now and not for where you need to be tomorrow," Smith says.
THINK HOLISTICALLY
One last, important piece of advice is not so much about avoiding a pitfall as it is about changing the way you think about automation. Moris of Invata Intralogistics suggests treating a packaging line as a single, integrated entity, rather than as a collection of individual pieces of equipment. "[Automated packaging lines] are not just the sum of their individual components," he says. "They become an entire machine in themselves." By keeping that in mind, DCs can better maintain their packaging lines' productivity and reliability.
Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, including composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.
"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”
Their pursuit of those roadmaps is often complicated by frequent disruptions and the rapid pace of technological innovation. But Gartner says those leaders can accelerate the realized value of technology investments by facilitating a shift from IT-led to business-led digital leadership, with SCP leaders taking ownership of multidisciplinary teams to advance business operations, channels and products.
“A sound data governance strategy supports advanced technologies, such as composite AI, while also facilitating collaboration throughout the supply chain technology ecosystem,” said Dawkins. “Without attention to data governance, SCP leaders will likely struggle to achieve their expected ROI on key technology investments.”
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
Serious inland flooding and widespread power outages are likely to sweep across Florida and other Southeast states in coming days with the arrival of Hurricane Helene, which is now predicted to make landfall Thursday evening along Florida’s northwest coast as a major hurricane, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
While the most catastrophic landfall impact is expected in the sparsely-population Big Bend area of Florida, it’s not only sea-front cities that are at risk. Since Helene is an “unusually large storm,” its flooding, rainfall, and high winds won’t be limited only to the Gulf Coast, but are expected to travel hundreds of miles inland, the weather service said. Heavy rainfall is expected to begin in the region even before the storm comes ashore, and the wet conditions will continue to move northward into the southern Appalachians region through Friday, dumping storm total rainfall amounts of up to 18 inches. Specifically, the major flood risk includes the urban areas around Tallahassee, metro Atlanta, and western North Carolina.
In addition to its human toll, the storm could exert serious business impacts, according to the supply chain mapping and monitoring firm Resilinc. Those will be largely triggered by significant flooding, which could halt oil operations, force mandatory evacuations, restrict ports, and disrupt air traffic.
While the storm’s track is currently forecast to miss the critical ports of Miami and New Orleans, it could still hurt operations throughout the Southeast agricultural belt, which produces products like soybeans, cotton, peanuts, corn, and tobacco, according to Everstream Analytics.
That widespread footprint could also hinder supply chain and logistics flows along stretches of interstate highways I-10 and I-75 and on regional rail lines operated by Norfolk Southern and CSX. And Hurricane Helene could also likely impact business operations by unleashing power outages, deep flooding, and wind damage in northern Florida portions of Georgia, Everstream Analytics said.
Before the storm had even touched Florida soil, recovery efforts were already being launched by humanitarian aid group the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). In a statement on Wednesday, the group said it is urging residents in the storm's path across the Southeast to heed evacuation notices and safety advisories, and reminding members of the logistics community that their post-storm help could be needed soon. The group will continue to update its Disaster Micro-Site with Hurricane Helene resources and with requests for donated logistics assistance, most of which will start arriving within 24 to 72 hours after the storm’s initial landfall, ALAN said.