More warehouses are implementing automated packaging solutions these days, and as they do, they are demanding a higher level of collaboration with equipment vendors as they seek to reduce packaging waste and streamline the movement of goods through the facility. The trend reflects a growing demand for automated, right-sized packaging systems that easily integrate with existing warehouse automation systems—which signals a shift in the way many vendors are approaching the market, according to recent research.
“Rather than focusing solely on machine performance, vendors are increasingly positioning their solutions around ease of implementation,” Vanessa Lopez, a market analyst at tech research firm Interact Analysis, explained in a June report on warehouse packaging trends. “Messaging has shifted toward plug-and-play deployment, modular design, and seamless integration with existing warehouse systems. The value proposition is now focused on easy incorporation into broader operations.”
With the global automated packaging system market size set to grow by more than 7% annually over the next several years, demand for such plug-and-play technologies is likely to grow as well—provided they offer the same fulfillment-enhancing and waste-reduction qualities customers have come to expect.
CLOSING THE GAP
Medical and surgical products supplier Medline recently implemented an automated packaging solution at its Grayslake, Illinois, facility that illustrates the growing demand for integrated systems. The company was looking for a solution that could seamlessly align with its AutoStore automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS). The goal was to replace its downstream manual box-forming operations with an automated solution that would deliver pre-assembled boxes directly to the AutoStore, where they would then be filled at the system’s ports. The move would help the facility keep pace with the accelerated picking speed that resulted from the AS/RS installation.
Working with automated packaging solutions provider Ranpak, Medline implemented a set of machines that seamlessly integrate with the AutoStore. Four right-sized packaging machines and five case-erector machines form the basis of the solution, working alongside AutoStore to automate four outbound lines at the facility. Ranpak’s “Form’it” automated case erectors form and seal corrugated boxes from flat blanks, delivering consistent, ready-to-pack cartons at high speed directly to the AS/RS picking ports. Associates at the ports then pick and place items for each order into the cartons. From there, boxes are conveyed to Ranpak’s “Cut’it!” right-sized packaging machines, where they are essentially cut down to size: After packing, the system optimizes the height of the shipping boxes by cutting them to the level of the tallest item in the order. This eliminates excess space and the need for filler material in the box. Once right-sized, the boxes are automatically closed and sealed with pre-made lids.
The packaging process works in tandem with AutoStore to accelerate fulfillment: Order cycle time has improved by 50% since installing the system, which handles 10,000 cartons per day, with room for growth, Medline said in a case study about the project released earlier this year.
HUMMING ALONG
Speed isn’t the only benefit of Medline’s new system, though. The project has also allowed the company to reduce its package assortment from 18 different carton types down to four while cutting corrugate spending by 30%. Labor efficiency has improved as well: The system has eliminated or streamlined repetitive manual tasks, allowing associates to “upskill” to higher-value responsibilities.
Those benefits have led to further automated packaging collaboration. This past spring, Medline announced a separate project at its Montgomery, New York, high-volume distribution center that combines in-house technology with solutions from three other tech partners. The solution speeds the fulfillment of health plan allowance items—everyday health-care needs, such as ibuprofen, vitamins, and first-aid supplies—that are in high demand at the start of each quarter, when the benefit kicks in for many health insurance customers. The customers make their choice from a curated catalog of approved items, the insurance carrier sends the order to Medline, and Medline fills the order—usually delivering packages to the customer’s door within days.
Medline wanted a more efficient way to handle the early-quarter surge in demand for those items, which represent just a fraction of the 335,000 items the company distributes.
To solve the problem, Medline implemented a separate system at the DC that it calls Pick Pack Pro. Instead of using its AutoStore AS/RS to fill the orders, Pick Pack Pro first uses Medline-developed technology to batch as many as 1,100 health-plan orders together at once. Items from the curated product catalogs are placed on “tSort” robots from Tompkins Robotics, which automatically sort and route the correct number of those items to individual order boxes. The tSort robots are small autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that act like a tilt-tray or crossbelt sorter without a fixed track, moving independently to any divert station along the shortest path.
Once a box is filled, the contents are prepared for shipping. Boxes move along a conveyor system provided by material handling solutions specialist TREW into Ranpak’s right-sized packaging machine, which senses the amount of space the products take up, then cuts and folds the box accordingly, sealing it without the need for filler material. The boxes then continue along the conveyor system, where shipping and other labels are applied, and then are routed to the correct truck for shipping.
The results speak for themselves.
“The most tangible impact is [in] throughput,” explains Jacob Makarewicz, Medline’s director of engineering project management. “The system can process up to approximately 1,100 orders at a time, allowing us to significantly increase capacity and maintain performance during spikes. Beyond that, we’ve seen gains in fulfillment speed, order accuracy, and consistency—especially for repeat orders—along with improved workforce efficiency as teams are better able to manage peak volumes. We’ve also helped reduce packaging waste through [the] automated, right-sized packing.”
The collaboration is transforming warehouse operations while also advancing customer service goals—a win-win, according to Makarewicz and other company leaders.
“Innovations like Pick Pack Pro go a long way with health plans whose members depend on speed, consistency, and reliability,” Brad Mariam, Medline’s executive vice president of non-acute care sales, said in a statement describing the Pick Pack Pro project. “By advancing fulfillment capabilities, Medline is helping the plans deliver benefits more efficiently—something these customers see not just as a Medline investment but as an investment in **ital{them} and the members they support.”