Packing bench an important retail battleground

Woodway UK’s Packaging Innovation Centre in Northampton focuses on four areas; Environment, Protection, Brand and Efficiency, and incorporates a hands-on training with an educational area to discuss best-practice for packaging.

Customers can review options with the Technical Team including branding for eCommerce and ‘click & collect’ packaging as well as receive training on how to best package items to avoid breakages while minimising the amount of packaging required.

Woodway has a number of packaging machines and fully equipped packing benches to simulate the packing environment. Products include paper and air bag machines, a case sealer, a heat sealer, a shredder, an automatic strapping machine, and a Geami expander with Geami WrapPak, an alternative to bubble wrap.

Woodway UK has launched the PackAcademy training course, a two day Train The Trainer course.

Debenhams, who worked with Woodway on relevant course content, were the first customer to send six of their packaging team on the course.

Debenhams operations director Gary Davenport says: “We work closely with Woodway on all aspects of our packaging operations and this latest addition to their service is a valuable tool. The teams that attended the course have returned with greater knowledge and enthusiasm which they are sharing with their colleagues.”

Another customer, an operations director at a 3PL adds: “Manual packers form a large part of our workforce and this is one of the most costly areas of the business. It is vital that the operatives understand the best packing practice and use the most appropriate materials in the appropriate quantity.

“Packaging the product is also the last touch point before the customer receives their goods. The course has highlighted to colleagues the important role they play in overall customer experience, understanding it is their place in ensuring the customer receives their goods packaged correctly.”

PackAcademy “trains the trainer” so that the tools can be passed on to all operatives internally.

A trained “trainer” who has completed the course will have knowledge of all packaging materials, not just the ones in use at their individual site, they will be able to understand the associated strengths and weaknesses of each product.

They will also have a working knowledge of supporting packaging machinery and how to pack difficult items, such as picture frames/mirrors, glassware, tableware and liquids.

The course will remove perceived best practices and help to standardise operations, supporting documentation is as visually based as possible to support multilingual communication.

Typically 3PLs and retailers can expect to see the following results upon completion of the course and associated training of packers on site.

•Reduction in damages.

•Reduction in consumable usage and associated spend.

•Improvements in productivity.

•Improved customer presentation.

•Consistency of presentation.

Ian Harrison, technical manager at Woodway UK and course leader explains: “We have combined our industry knowledge of packaging, with knowledge gained from working alongside many of the country’s largest e-retailers and 3PLs, to create a course designed to educate packing operatives in the best materials and methods to be used in support of eCommerce packing operations.

“Our history of packaging distribution means that we have a strong knowledge of all the packaging products available to the packer and can provide impartial advice as to the best fit solutions to their needs.”

Woodway has carried out root cause analysis of damages to product within the distribution chain and offers advice on the minimum amount/strength of packaging required to withstand the distribution process. It draws on its experience in lean manufacturing to demonstrate tools for the packers to improve their effectiveness.

This training leads to standardisation of packaging presentation and continuity of brand for the retailer. It is important that the customer experience online is a mirror of the bricks and mortar experience and understanding the part packaging plays, helps this to be realised.

Removal of excessive packaging also reflects well on a brand as well as reducing cost. Social media means that any criticism can ‘go viral’ very quickly and this training highlights the importance of packing items appropriately.

“The course is in its infancy so as yet we have no direct performance improvement stats resulting from the course, but retailers we have worked with in the past have experienced productivity gains up to 90% in terms of orders processed per hour, following implementation of our recommendations,” concludes Harrison.