With labour now a scarce and costly resource, ecommerce businesses are turning to fast and efficient ‘right-size’ boxing technology to keep pace with peak. Sparck Technologies’ award-winning CVP automated packaging solutions de-risk peak with their capacity to tailor-make up to 1,100 individual right-sized boxes per hour, for multiple or single item orders – saving up to 20 packing desks, reducing box volumes by up to 50% and cutting cardboard usage by 30%.
Business Development Manager
Jo Bradley, Business Development Manager at Sparck Technologies, speaks to Warehouse & Logistics News.
What are your best-known products/solutions/services?
By now, I’m sure most people in the logistics sector will have heard of Sparck Technologies’ revolutionary fit-to-size boxing systems. Our CVP Everest and CVP Impack automated packaging solutions have helped transform fulfilment operations for many of the worlds’ leading ecommerce retail companies – brands such as: ASDA, Boots and The White Company.
In one seamless automated operation, Sparck’s CVP machines can 3D scan single or multiple item orders, work out the optimal shape and size of box required, and then cut, fold, and seal each box at speeds of up to 1,100 packages per hour. An in-line scale checks the weight against the order and a carrier compliant label is created and applied automatically. The whole process, from start to finish, takes just thirty seconds with a custom-made box configured every seven seconds.
Both of our CVP solutions can have up to three card mills feeding continuous fanfold card of different widths (60cm, 80cm, 100cm for example), which ensures optimal use of card ‘on the fly’, reducing waste and minimising cost. Or in the case of a logistics services company, the three card mills could hold individually branded card feeds allowing multiple brands (clients) to be packed by a single machine.
Which industry sectors are your customers in and which ones are growing fastest?
The ecommerce sector is our primary focus. This is an industry that has experienced phenomenal growth in recent years and peak seasons are becoming more pronounced and more frequent. Capacity issues in despatch operations are becoming increasingly acute as volumes increase and labour resources become harder to come by – and adding to the concerns businesses face, consumers are now far more conscious of environmentally poor packaging and oversized boxes filled with void-fill.
What are your most recent product innovations?
When it comes to ecommerce packaging, size is everything. That is why we have significantly reduced the threshold for the minimum height of box that can be produced on our CVP Everest. This machine now has the capability to make ultra-slim boxes with a minimum height of 28mm, making it ideal for businesses with low profile order items.
Also, a new print-on-box facility is now available for both CVP models and can be retrofitted for existing customers. Custom messages, logos and branding can be individually tailored for each and every box at lightning-speed. The ability to print directly onto boxes offers tremendous opportunities for enhanced branding and individualisation of every package, giving the customer a more personalised unboxing experience.
Can you tell us about any recent customer contracts and how you helped the customer meet their challenges?
The best way is to hear it from our customers.
Operations Manager – ASDA contract, at Clipper Logistics: “The CVP Impack has allowed us to dramatically increase the number of boxes that we can get on a pallet – that’s 60 boxes per pallet as opposed to 30 – which has saved ASDA a trailer a day. That’s a significant cost saving over a year and reduces CO2 emissions.”
Will Todd, Director and part owner of Global Freight Management Hersden: “As we are shipping out every order as a box made precisely to the optimum size for the order, we are now using less cardboard – probably around 30% less – which is good from both an environmental and cost view point. And as the boxes are right-sized, that means fewer pallets of boxes being shipped, less lorries on the road and lower emissions – which again brings cost savings.”
“It’s a fabulous piece of kit. It packs products in the most economically, environmentally friendly and protective way – at high speeds. The packages are perfect for shipping around the world.”
Are you taking part in any major trade shows? Can you tell us what you’ll be exhibiting there?
As the leaders in advanced fit-to-size packaging technology, we wish to demonstrate to ecommerce businesses the huge advantages that come from our technology. In the UK we regularly attend the annual IntraLogisteX shows and are normally present at IMHX. We will next be exhibiting at IWLEX, from 23rd – 24th May at The Telford International Centre, so please call in to our (stand B26) where we would love to tell you more.
What sets your company apart from the competition?
We focus on our customer’s needs. Fast, reliable fulfilment is essential in ecommerce – it’s a competitive differentiator. So as our customers rely on our machines delivering the highest performance, day-in day-out, we ensure that reliability is designed in from the start. We use durable, hard-wearing components that can cope with peak demand, and have engineered our systems to provide operational resilience. All Sparck packaging systems have built-in sensors throughout and are equipped with video cameras strategically located at key points in the system. Analysis of logged data and captured images allow support engineers to pinpoint the cause of a problem, and in most instances, they can advise on-site technicians on how to resolve the issue.
How future proof and flexible are your solutions?
Our systems offer tremendous flexibility, from ‘right-sizing’ boxes to each specific order – with savings on material costs and transport cube – to providing reliable extra capacity at peak, without exposure to the risks and vagaries of the labour market. In short, everything an ecommerce business needs to future proof their packing operations.
More information on Sparck Technologies’ transformative packaging solutions at www.sparcktechnologies.com
Sparck Technologies
07715 084108
j.bradley@sparcktechnologies.com
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