With the objectives of optimizing 1. the resources used in packaging 2. the subsequent energy required for transport and 3. the space required for storage, Able has reviewed its carton sizes and configurations.
The company purchased software to assist in this task. The packing configuration of all A and B class products were reviewed and where necessary updated.
In the illustrations that follow, the effect of reconfiguring the default stacking pattern of cartons on a pallet can be seen. The image shows cartons the size of Able's examination glove cartons. The first image shows the default stacking formation of gloves that achieves 48 cartons of gloves per pallet. We have set up a new pallet configuration that increases the cartons per pallet from 48 to 52. This is an improvement in pallet utilization of over 8 %.
Above: Default pallet configuration achieving 48 cartons of gloves per pallet.
Below: Updated pallet configuration that achieves 52 cartons per pallet, an improvement of 8 % which flows directly through to savings in energy to transport and space required to store.
We were able to measure % utilization by both pallet area and pallet volume.
There were significant efficiency gains attained across the Able range of products, simply by stacking cartons in a slightly different pattern.
For a small number of items, the supplying plant has been advised to change the size of the carton to achieve acceptable configuration options.
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