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Tag: CVP Impack

Right-sizing for Growth

Posted on by David Priestman

Online power-tool retailer, UK Planet Tools, has invested early in ‘right-size’ packing automation to remove constraints on growth and build-in flexible capacity for peak. Starting out in 2010 as a local retailer of high-quality tools and fixings, serving customers in and around Milton Keynes, UK Planet Tools has grown rapidly to become one of the largest online suppliers to the building trade for power-tools and related products. Thousands of orders a day are shipped to customers across the UK.

As with most ecommerce businesses the speed and efficiency of the pick, pack and dispatch operation is vital, making all the difference to customer satisfaction levels and potential sales – particularly, at peak. For the managing director of UK Planet Tools, Bohdan Hrystayenko, this was an aspect of the business where he could see automation bringing significant cost savings combined with an uplift to productivity and it was the packing operation that held the greatest potential for a fast return on investment (ROI).

Labour savings

Having spoken with Sparck Technologies, Hrystayenko was aware of the major benefits, in the form of labour and materials savings, that could come from using automated ‘right-size’ boxing technology. Sparck Technologies’ CVP Impack auto-boxing system has the capability to tailor-make up to 500 boxes per hour, for multiple or single item orders, using advanced 3D scanning technology to optimally size, create and label each parcel in one seamless process – reducing package volumes by up to 50%, cutting cardboard usage by 30% and eliminating the need for void fill.

The technology was perfect for UK Planet Tool’s varied product profiles and mixed order quantities. The CVP Impack was highly flexible, capable of scanning and making boxes to the exact size needed for single item orders or multiple items, time and time again.

Why wait?

“This machine was exactly what we wanted,” says Hrystayenko. “Even though our daily throughput was only about half the capacity capable of the CVP Impack we knew we could reap enormous benefits from installing the machine now, rather than waiting. We were confident that with this machine in place we would have the operational flexibility and extra capacity to grow, without any fears over hitting peak volumes or trying to find additional labour. It was the right thing to do.”

An order for a CVP Impack was placed at the beginning of November 2024 and installed on 17th December, with ‘right-size’ packages rolling off the machine just two days later. “Space in the warehouse was tight but with some creative thinking from ourselves and Sparck we made it work. It was an incredible feat, supplying and installing the whole system in just eight weeks,” he says.

Big benefits

“The benefits for our business have been enormous,” says Hrystayenko. “With each box now custom-made to fit the exact dimensions of every order, we’ve eliminated the waste of shipping empty space. This alone has saved us 40% on consumables and material costs. Our reliance on manual labour has dropped significantly, transforming what was once a labour-intensive packing process. Like many ecommerce businesses, Mondays are our busiest days. Previously, we had to start early to clear the weekend backlog, but now we don’t begin until 8am. Thanks to the CVP Impack, just two operators can manage 250–300 packages per hour, removing the need for overtime and extra staffing.”

But for Hrystayenko, the most significant benefit from purchasing the Sparck’s CVP Impack has been the uplift in customer service, enabling a 5pm cut-off for a next-day delivery – a reliable fulfilment capability that builds customer confidence and wins new business. “The Trustpilot reviews have been glowing green ever since,” says Hrystayenko. “In fact, I calculate that had we installed the CVP Impack before the autumn peak we could have done 1.5x the business we did. This machine has given us the opportunity to grow the business. There’s no stopping us now.”

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Right to Repair needs Right-size Approach

Posted on by David Priestman

‘Right to Repair’ legislation is having an impact on consumer goods manufacturers and spare parts stockists in at least four States in the US, and those waves are being felt too, by OEMs in Europe and the UK, writes Jo Bradley, Business Development Manager at Sparck Technologies.

Perhaps not before time, the backlash against the ‘disposable society’ is in full swing. This is great news for the environment – not so great for the many companies who will face some serious packaging problems.

For many decades, ‘spares and repairs’ has been an industrial orphan – across a wide range of consumer goods, and indeed commercial equipment, it has been cheaper to send a broken item to landfill and buy a replacement rather than to have it repaired. In many cases the design and manufacture renders even simple repairs not just economically prohibitive but physically impossible. But under pressure from both consumers and regulators, this is changing.

In the US, at least four States have brought in versions of ‘Right to Repair’ legislation. In the European Union, the European Parliament early last year adopted a Directive extending existing laws to require manufacturers, initially of common household goods from washing machines to smartphones, either to repair damaged items, or to make spare parts, tools and instructions available to consumers and third party repair shops ‘at reasonable prices’. In the UK, major retailers including Currys (electricals/electronics) and the department store John Lewis are making a big thing of their repair services. This is in addition to the usual service of ‘consumable’ spares such as replacement filters.

But this will mean a big increase in the number of packages moving through different lanes. OEMs, or their parts stockists, will have to supply individual items, or ‘kits’ of parts and tools, both to repair specialists and direct to consumers, while the repair shops have to pack and despatch renovated products back to their owners. In the industrial and commercial sectors, suppliers to MRO (Maintenance, Repairs, Operations) activities – not just spare parts but also tools and consumables such as drill bits – already face similar challenges.

The range of items involved is intimidating. A washing machine repair might involve a new drum, or just a new microswitch. Under some of the new laws products have to be supported for many years so the number of different parts is vast. In automotive, where of course ‘spares and repairs’ never went away, we know a US client with 1.3 million part numbers in their catalogue – and that is just to support their niche market of imported German cars! Clearly, packing everything into the same narrow range of ‘standard’ boxes or cartons is a non-starter.

And many or perhaps, given the advance of electronics, most spare parts are small both in size and in value. Small items generally require proportionately more packaging material – coupled with labour costs it is no surprise that packing can cost more than the value of the goods. In many cases, supporting repairs is inherently uneconomic; the more so if spares are required to be supplied ‘at reasonable prices’. And shipping costs too can be disproportionate for small boxes, especially if the box is larger than it needs to be.

So OEMs, stockists and repair shops need to bear down heavily on the costs of pick, pack and dispatch. Smart automation of these operations will be critical, and luckily, ‘right-sizing’ boxes for dispatch can now be a fast, automatic process that can produce over 1000 boxes an hour.

Sparck Technologies’ automated boxing systems not only replace most of the labour required in manual operations – one or two operators on a machine can achieve the same throughput as up to 20 manual stations – but for individual items or ‘kits of parts’ can create boxes that are ‘fitted to size’ for each order. The item or assemblage is 3D scanned, the optimum size and shape of box calculated, board is cut, creased, erected, sealed, weighed and labelled. If required, the machine can keep producing ‘standard’ (not necessarily the carton industry’s standard) boxes until a ‘special’ is needed. There is also the option to split operations so that a ‘tray’ is produced into which items can be picked, and which is then united with its ‘lid’ elsewhere. Sparck’s CVP machines can handle weights of up to 30kg, and at the other end of the scale create boxes as shallow as 28mm.

The CVP Impack range can pack at up to 500 orders an hour, or one every seven seconds, while the CVP Everest range achieves an impressive 1,100 per hour – one box every three seconds, and unlike with manual packing, this performance doesn’t tail off towards the end of the shift.

Besides these labour savings and productivity gains, there are many other benefits. Savings in the use of board of typically 30% are commonplace, while void fill – typically non-recyclable – can be greatly reduced or even eliminated. Right-size boxes economise on postage or courier rates, particularly when these are based on ‘volumetric weight’, and make more efficient use of transport. Creating boxes at the point of use means that there is no need to store large numbers of pre-forms or erected boxes. With one machine you’ve got more than 40 million box sizes at your disposal. And packaging that fits the items snugly reduces the risk of transit damage. This all saves money, pleases the customer and is good for the planet.

Retailers and manufacturers are getting to grips with the Returns cycle – now they have to contemplate Repairs as well. But with ‘right-size’ auto-boxing technology, at least the pack and despatch side is more manageable.

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Sparck Celebrates 100 years of Innovation

Posted on by David Priestman

This year on June 20th Sparck Technologies, the automated ‘right-size’ boxing specialist, celebrates a century of world-class engineering and innovation. The business has come a long way in a hundred years, from its origins developing the mechanised production of wooden shoes, to a global leader in the design and fabrication of advanced, fit-to-size automated packaging systems for ecommerce applications.

Sparck Technologies’ power to innovate has been a constant throughout its surprising history. Established in The Netherlands as HaDeWe in 1924, the small engineering business displayed its ingenuity early on by moving from repairing windmills to developing and building machines that would revolutionise the production of wooden clogs. And by the 1950’s it had reinvented itself again, boosting the productivity of office workers around the world with its cutting-edge mailroom solutions capable of folding and filling thousands of envelopes per hour.

Its success in developing novel concepts – rethinking mailroom products for desk-top use – went global, setting the pace for future innovation. As part of Quadient for over 30 years, the business continued to tap into its creative DNA, and deep engineering know-how, to push the limits of what’s possible in mailroom and despatch operations, culminating in 2013 with the multiple award-winning development of ‘right-size’ auto-boxing technology. Ecommerce fulfilment would never be the same again.

Using advanced 3D scanning technology to optimally size, create and label each box in one seamless process, Sparck’s CVP Impack can produce 500 boxes per hour, typically replacing up to 20 packing desks, and enabling businesses to grow and flex at peak, even when labour resources are tight. Package volumes are reduced by up to 50%, cutting cardboard usage by 30% and eliminating the need for void fill.

The machine heralded a revolution in ecommerce packaging, with a torrent of international sales that has seen Sparck’s CVP systems supplied, installed and supported in over 15 countries across the globe.

Technological advances have continued apace and in 2019 the CVP-Everest was launched to world-wide acclaim. The machine offered businesses throughput rates of up to 1,100 boxes per hour, with dual input stations and up to three cardboard stock feeds.

Now as an independent company for the last three years, Sparck Technologies continues to innovate, leading the field with advances that deliver huge competitive advantage, including: a high-speed print-on-box facility, the capability to produce ultra-low profile boxes of just 28mm – enabling businesses to benefit from boxes that are letter rate compliant in the USA and most European countries – and most recently auto-induction, which removes the need for an operator, allowing a seamless transit of orders from picking station to packing and despatch.

One hundred years on Sparck Technologies continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in automated postal-related packaging. To date over 220 million ‘right-size’ boxes have been produced on Sparck’s revolutionary fit-to-size packaging machines worldwide.

Today, Sparck Technologies is based in Drachten, a site it has occupied since 1947. From here the business serves a fast-growing international market for highly automated, sustainable packaging solutions suited to the ecommerce sector – packaging automation that can, almost instantaneously, tailor make individual compact, right-size boxes for over 1,100 ecommerce orders an hour. No wastage of materials, no shipped air and only minimal dependency on labour.

What will the next 100 years bring?

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Sparck produces 100-millionth fit-to-size box

 

Manufacturers Face Complexity of Spare Parts Boom

Posted on by David Priestman

The kickback against the ‘throw-away’ consumer society is gathering pace, with manufacturers under increasing pressure to stock and supply spare parts. However, the consequences for manufacturers’ fulfilment and packing lines are significant. Jo Bradley, Business Development Manager at Sparck Technologies, explains why.

The ‘Right to Repair’ movement has already seen legislation passed in four US States – California, New York, Colorado, and Minnesota. While, the UK now requires manufacturers of consumer durables such as washing machines, fridges and televisions to supply consumers with spare parts for ‘simple and safe’ repairs, and make parts for trickier jobs available to professional repairers. Support will have to remain available for between seven and ten years.

This brings the UK in line with existing EU rules. But the UK is about to go further. In March 2023 The Commission adopted a proposal on common rules promoting the repair of goods, which are now being discussed. However, importantly, this is with a view to extending coverage beyond consumer durables to other goods, including smartphones and a much wider band of consumer electronics, that may otherwise end up in the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic) waste stream.

Interestingly, some of the American States have started at the other end of the spectrum, on automotive and agricultural equipment, with consumer goods to come later. But it’s almost certain that consumer expectations around repairability across sectors will converge, probably leaving legislation to catch up.

Spare parts fulfilment challenge

For OEMs and their agents, this trend poses many challenges, from product design onwards. One of these is that many will have to establish a comprehensive and complex spare parts operation, in some cases for the first time. Instead of occasionally supplying small numbers of parts, from current products, to official dealers to meet warranty claims, OEMs will need to supply even obsolescent items, not just to dealers, but to third party repairers, the growing number of ‘community’ repair/reuse organisations and, where safety considerations allow, to individual consumers.

And whereas most consumer goods are shipped to the point of sale in their own boxes, perhaps with some foam protectors for the corners, spare parts will require a completely different approach to fulfilment and packaging. Unpredictable combinations of often small, possibly fragile, parts will have to be safely and securely boxed for shipment. Suddenly, OEMs need far more sophisticated packing lines.

Labour costs

Traditional, labour-intensive packing operations are expensive. Businesses that already supply an aftermarket often make reasonable margins on spares, where items can regularly be pulled from production and packaged in occasional periods of relative inactivity. A full-blown, high volume spares operation, likely picking and packing from its own store and inventory, is a different story entirely and may well be a significant commitment in both working capital and labour. Apart from labour costs, think of all the multitude different box sizes that will need to be kept in stock and the consequences of not having the right sized box available to packers.

Automation can be deployed to reduce labour costs in the packing operation. However, merely automating the piling of parts into any available box with some void-fill won’t do. Not only are small components liable to get lost amongst the crumpled paper or styrene beads, or damaged as they shake about, but the profile of consumer most likely to demand repairability and sustainability is the least likely to be impressed by spares arriving in oversized boxes, with all the waste of carboard and other materials this implies.

‘Right-sizing’ boxes

Luckily for businesses serving the parts market, advanced packaging technology is now available that can ‘right-size’ boxes for single or multiple item orders. These machines automatically scan an order and produce the optimum sized box at great speed – going a long way to controlling costs.

Sparck Technologies’ CVP Impack and CVP Everest machines do exactly that. These machines calculate the optimum shape and size of box required, which is then automatically cut, creased, erected, sealed, weighed and labelled. With the capacity to generate over 40 million unique box sizes, this equips companies with the agility and flexibility as they navigate future legislation and demand. The highest-volume machines can make up to 1,100 boxes per hour – an equivalent throughput on manual packing lines may take up to 20 staff. Usefully for this sector, ultra-low profile boxes of just 28mm can be created.

Right-sizing typically saves 30% or more in cardboard, besides eliminating void-fill, so meeting consumer expectations on sustainability. Right sizing also generates significant economies in transport and post/courier charges. The demand for repairability will only grow. Businesses can prepare for these changes and capitalise on the opportunities, not just to reduce costs but to secure competitive and reputational advantage.

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