Jim Farquhar, Sales Director at CSL, discusses the issue of excess packaging use, the reasons behind it and how this can be addressed using technology.
For ecommerce businesses, 3PLs, warehouses, and fulfilment centres, lowering your carbon footprint is not just a goal but also a responsibility. Some positive progress has already been made with many major ecommerce businesses now avoiding plastic and using paper-based packaging instead. But there is still much room for improvement, particularly in terms of the amount of packaging used.
The scale of the problem
More often than not, consumers end up with boxes that are way oversized compared with the size of the product they’ve ordered. The more the ecommerce industry grows, the worse the problem is becoming. Paper packaging production has increased by 65% throughout the past two decades,1 equating to billions more trees being cut down each year.
It’s great that the UK ecommerce industry is booming. But with this increase, it’s more important than ever to consider the environmental and financial impact of sending goods to the customer.
Why is oversized packaging used?
Meeting stringent delivery schedules and maintaining cost-effectiveness is no small feat. Speed, accuracy, and reliability are all paramount. But using oversized packaging isn’t just about rushed carelessness on the part of the company.
Oversized boxes are often used intentionally with void fillers in an effort to absorb shock and provide adequate protection to the product. While this might seem like a necessary precaution, it comes with significant consequences in terms of pollution and waste.
In some instances, the mismatch between product and container sizing might be simply due an inadequate stock of appropriately sized boxes. When customers have paid for delivery within a certain timeframe, waiting for the next lot of boxes to arrive just isn’t an option.
Thinking outside of the cardboard box
It seems the solution may be to rethink the process altogether by thinking outside of the box in more ways than one! Moving away from cardboard boxes, right-sized packing machines measure and cut packaging materials to fit the dimensions of each unique order. In so doing, the need for void fillers is eliminated, benefitting both the bottom line and the environment.
Because the packaging fits the products snugly, many more products can be accommodated per journey during transportation, so fewer journeys means reduced emissions. And the resulting lower volumetric measurements mean of course that transportation costs can also be reduced.
As well as these benefits, there’s also the efficiency to consider. As the growth of the ecommerce industry shows no sign of letting up, investing in high speed, accurate packing technology makes a lot of sense. The risk of human error is removed from the process, and the automated method is much quicker than hand packing, as the machinery adapts to continually fit diverse product dimensions time and time again.
Technology that works for the planet rather than against it
Optimising packaging in line with each individual order is unrealistic for the majority of businesses, where consumer expectations demand short delivery times and high levels of stock availability. By incorporating fit-to-size technology, carbon emissions and costs can be reduced whilst efficiency is boosted.
Sustainability is now an expected norm and not just a nice optional extra. Right-sized packaging machines offer a simple yet effective way to achieve sustainability goals and improve customer perception by reducing waste. With the right equipment we can use technology to work for the planet rather than against it.
For more information visit: https://conveyorsystemsltd.co.uk/
1https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20240415-why-your-small-goods-come-in-gigantic-boxes
