Manual packing upgraded

Established in 2015, Global Freight Management Hersden (GFMH) is a highly successful international logistics business. Having at the outset secured the warehousing and logistics contract for iconic toy and hobbies brand, Hornby Hobbies, the business has gone on to win a steady stream of clients across the mobile phone, sports equipment and organic food sectors.

From a 120,000 sq ft warehouse in Hersden, Kent, the global logistics services company picks, packs and despatches orders to both trade customers and direct to consumers, across the world. However in 2020, with the explosive growth of ecommerce, the management team quickly came to realise that their highly manual packing operation was a constraint on further expansion of the business. 

“We were limited by the fact that there were only so many people that you could get to work in a given space, for so many hours, to pack product,” says GFMH director and part owner Will Todd. “We realised that we needed to introduce a level of automation to our packing processes if we were to gain the additional capacity required to take on new clients and develop the business.”

But, for their largest client, Hornby Hobbies, the integrity and quality of the outer packaging was of critical importance, as many of their highly sought after toys and models are purchased by enthusiasts and discerning collectors that seek to retain the original product packaging in mint condition for twenty years or more. A crumpled corner or a scratch to the varnish can be a big issue.

Important considerations for the business were: Could automation deliver the precision and care needed to ensure full protection of the product? And would automation deliver the speed, throughput and productivity levels required to future proof the business? 

The solution came in the form of Quadient’s CVP Impack; an automated fit-to-size packaging system, capable of tailor making 500 individual cardboard packages per hour. Will Todd explains: “I read about the CVP Impack in the trade press. It sounded impressive, so I went to see one in operation and realised it was the way to go.”

At the end of July 2020 Quadient’s engineers delivered and installed a CVP Impack automated packaging system, complete with a twin feed for both 600 and 1000mm cardboard to minimise off-cut waste – the first application of a twin feed CVP Impack in the UK. Will Todd says: “Quadient gave us a delivery date earlier than we were expecting. The machine was unloaded and installed, and within a day perfect boxes were being produced.”

Quadient’s CVP Impack has the potential to construct bespoke individual cardboard boxes to the exact size of an ordered item at the rate of up to of 500 boxes per hour – combining multiple items, as required.

The CVP Impack measures, constructs, tapes, weighs and labels each parcel in one process. The operator places the item(s) to be packed onto the machine and scans the order. The system identifies the order and automatically conveys the items to a 3D scanner to measure and calculate the minimum box size required. The cardboard is then cut and folded to create a fit around the goods and tape is applied on just two sides to secure the box. Then an in-line scale checks the weight against the order and the box is automatically conveyed to a label printer where a carrier compliant label is created and applied. The whole process, from start to finish, takes just thirty seconds with a custom made box configured every seven seconds.

As boxes made precisely to the optimum size for the order, the company uses around 30% less cardboard. The kit has also freed up labour resources for other tasks.

For more information, visit www.quadient.com