Shipping boxes without air and filling material
The e-commerce portals DeinDeal and MyStore already relied on the automated 3D packaging system CVP Impack from Packaging by Quadient at their old warehouse. They are using this technology again at the new location in Geneva – saving a third of truck loads.
A fancy watch from Germany, a designer handbag from Italy, a fine dress from Switzerland: Many consumers would like to buy such goods. But only a few are willing to pay top prices for top brands in the shop. Allen Krief from Switzerland realised this a few years ago. His idea: He buys popular consumer goods cheaply, puts good product pictures and descriptions on a portal and offers them during sales events with discounts of up to 70 percent compared to the shops. His credo: There is no need for expensive rent for a shop – and thus the fixed costs are lower than for a stationary retailer. That was the beginning of the platform MyStore.ch, which Krief co-founded.
In 2016, another well-known flash sale specialist, DeinDeal.ch, merged with MyStore.ch. Today, Krief is CEO of DeinDeal, which is a subsidiary of Ringier AG. Even when founding MyStore, Krief knew: Online customers are used to getting their boxes quickly. And fast deliveries require reliable logistics that guarantee punctual shipment deliveries even during the peak season.
Video found on YouTube
Outsourcing, picking, packing, delivery: The management of the two brands looked for an optimal solution for each link of the outbound supply chain. Initially, the packaging process was done manually. But the growth of the portals meant that the packaging and shipping process became increasingly challenging. Therefore, in 2018, Krief was looking for an automation solution. On YouTube, he came across a video by Packaging by Quadient that shows how an automated 3D packaging solution works. The highlight: Goods that employees place on a conveyor belt are scanned and wrapped in a fit-to-size box. Because no air is packed, no filling material is needed for safe shipping.
“I was excited about how it worked because the solution gives us flexibility and productivity while being sustainable because we avoid filler material,” Krief reports. In 2018, Packaging by Quadient set up the CVP solution in the company’s warehouse in Geneva. From then on, all but two of the employees in the packaging area could do new, more interesting tasks in logistics. This is because the system requires a maximum of two people to place goods on the conveyor belt. After that, the packaging process runs automatically – and quickly. The procedure takes only seven seconds: The system measures the goods. Then it cuts, folds, glues, weighs and labels the boxes.
Up to 7,000 orders per day
The machine ran successfully and enabled DeinDeal and MyStore to grow and sell more and more products. Then, in 2020, it became too crowded in the distribution centre. So the management decided to move to a larger warehouse at the beginning of 2021. A total of 15,000 square metres of storage space is available at the new location, also in the greater Geneva area. Around 700,000 items are stored at the new location. Up to 7,000 orders per day have to be processed by the 200 employees. “Due to the excellent experience in the packaging sector, we decided to rely on Packaging by Quadient at the new location as well,” says Krief.
In January 2021, Packaging by Quadient delivered a latest-generation CVP Impack. It can produce up to 500 boxes per hour. The time pressure is high: Anyone who orders goods online before three o’clock in the afternoon usually gets them delivered the next day in all parts of Switzerland. The company’s overall concept also convinced the jury of the “Swiss E-Commerce Award”: The trophy now stands at the new location of the company.
30 percent less corrugated board consumption
CEO Krief is not only very satisfied with the sales figures, but also with the packaging figures: Because of the fit- to-size boxes, the company saves about 30 percent corrugated cardboard. Compared to the past, about a third fewer truckloads have to be sent on the road due to the reduced transport volume. The customers are just as happy as the CEO about the elimination of filling material: For 95 percent of the orders, the Swiss companies no longer need any filling material at all; only pointed or very fragile goods are protected with suitable material.
For more information on the automated packaging solutions from Packaging by Quadient, visit packagingbyquadient
Visit Packaging by Quadient at FachPack from September 28th until September 30th 2021 in the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg in Hall 4 / Booth 135
