Automated packaging systems cushion the impact of holiday peaks

In response to growing e-commerce demand, specialty foods distributor KeHE initiated significant updates to its packaging operations and fulfillment model. A new automated packaging system helped the company meet holiday peaks with less labor, less material and in less space.

The company services more than 33,000 distribution points in the United States, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean with more than 38,000 SKUs. With many of these items packaged in glass jars and other fragile containers, stable and secure shipping is critical. At the start of 2012, the company relied on a complex workflow to complete orders across its nine warehouses. Packers would sort through piles of goods to locate specific items, construct boxes manually, insert inflatable cushioning, printing invoices, close cartons and attach shipping labels.

“Nearly 5% of our overall business originates through our retail partners’ online channels, and we expect that number to grow in the coming years,” says Richard Sanderson, executive director of operations at KeHE. “Our manual pick-and-pack fulfillment systems made it challenging to achieve our customer commitment to fill retail orders within 24 hours and have them delivered within two to three days.”

After meeting with several suppliers at Pack Expo, the company installed an end-of-line automated system (Sealed Air, sealedair.com) in early 2013 that formats, adjusts and lids packages according to height, reducing excess space inside the package.

“The system easily integrated into our existing hardware and software systems and did so in a reduced footprint,” Sanderson says. The systems were online within two days and fully functional well in advance of the holiday season.”

Ultimately, pulling items from a pick wall and placing them on the conveyor en route to the new system became the only manual handling task required during the packaging process. Automation has also expanded the available work space by more than 30% and reduced packaging labor from two or more shifts to one while eliminating overtime.