AISIN U.S.A. Mfg., Inc. manufactures a wide range of automotive parts from door frames to brakes and trim molding. At its 750,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Seymour, Ind., the company runs more than 275 production lines a day and fills more than 100 truckloads.

In addition to the sheer volume and complexity of its processes, AISIN must meet size and weight guidelines for shipping, while maintaining component quality and integrity. AISIN's container loads, typically 48 inches high, are shipped on 48 × 45 inch AIAG (Automotive Industry Action Group ) approved pallets to fully utilize trailer space during shipment. Using expendable corrugated packaging to fit this size and height, while still protecting the components, would be difficult and more costly.

With so many parts and processes, AISIN turned to a container system (Orbis, 888-307-2185) that features a wide variety of interchangeable packaging and storage options. A combination of several containers of different heights can be stacked and strapped together on a special base for shipping as a single unit. When separated, the containers are used for everything from storage of piece parts on assembly lines to packaging of finished components for shipment.

"Because our containers are interchangeable, you can put the containers in a number of different combinations and still fit the pallet," says Tom Dunker, AISIN assistant manager, packaging. "This benefits us because the pallets are specifically sized to best fit truckloads, allowing us to maximize our part density in each load. That's where our savings occur." With a typical trailer measuring 10 feet wide by 53 feet long, AISIN can efficiently ship up to 44 pallet loads on each trailer.

By using several different tote sizes, each specifically selected to hold precisely sized components, AISIN is able to cost effectively deliver a variety of automotive parts in one pallet load to its customers. The company also ships parts in the same containers between its own manufacturing facilities located throughout North America.

The reusable containers don't just deliver the right parts in the right quantities at the right time. They offer ergonomic benefits as well. With target weight limits becoming smaller and smaller, the containers AISIN uses have also become smaller to maximize cube space.

"For the most part, our customers ask us to limit the weight of the container and its contents to 25–30 pounds," says Dunker. "So as we look at ergonomics and how people handle things, we try to use smaller containers, such as 12 × 15 × 7 inch instead of 24 ×22 ×14 inch, to take the strain off of fingers, hands, arms and backs."