ECS Tuning puts packaging into high gear

Automotive enthusiasts can be particular about the parts they use on their vehicles. When they order parts online, it not only has to be just the right part for a particular vehicle and the application, it needs to be fulfilled quickly and reliably, which can be challenging for an operation that relies on a manual pack out processes.

Due to growth, ESC Tuning, a Wadsworth, Ohio-based supplier of automotive parts, was facing this very constraint. Manual pack out processes were making it difficult to meet customer shipping needs and expectations, and it was consuming precious labor, along with materials like void fill.

ECS Tuning has a long and celebrated history supporting the European car community. From their beginnings as a family-operated service shop in 1962, ECS has become the leading distributor of genuine, aftermarket and performance parts for Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, MINI, Porsche and Volkswagen.

In 2006, ECS decided to no longer accept or schedule service appointments, but concentrate on increasing part and accessories sales, with ongoing improvements to customer service. A fast-growing inventory forced ECS to relocate to a new facility in 2009 with three times more space to accommodate their expanding business.

Since then, their staff has grown fivefold and the extra floor space is long gone, filled with parts, products and equipment.

Today, with more than 1.3 million part numbers in their catalog and all operations handled in house, ECS recognized that they did not have enough capacity in their manual packing process to consistently meet customer needs or expectations, so they decided to look into automated packaging solutions, finding a system (Sparck Technologies) that could meet their throughput needs while automatically creating boxes that are right-sized to the dimensions of the items being shipped.

ECS turned to Sparck’s CVP Impack automated packaging solution to support their current demands and future growth. With this inline auto-boxing technology, each unique single- or multi-item order is 3D scanned on demand to determine the minimum box size required.

Then, corrugate is custom cut to eliminate unnecessary volume and the need for void fill materials. Finally, the order is autoboxed in a fit-to-size parcel, taped, weighed and labeled for shipping.

By creating a right-sized box every 7 seconds, ECS can count on higher throughput and better use of labor resources. The CVP Impack can perform the work of roughly 20 human packers in an 8-hour period. This allows ECS to remove the manual packing choke points while improving the efficiency of existing staff for higher-value tasks.

“With more associates picking orders, and a machine that can handle the volume, we anticipate a substantial increase in the number of orders moved out the door daily. That efficiency improvement translates to promises kept on shipping times with in-stock orders that are ready to ship on the same day,” says Max Everhard, general manager of special operations at ECS.

From the customer-facing side, the solution will auto-box up to 70% of their catalog with little to no void filler or packing material. This allows ECS to improve their customer experience with sustainable packaging that is easy to recycle or reuse.

It also means that pack out—once a constraint under manual methods—has now become a reliable, automated process that allowed ESC to move some labor into upstream processes, deliver on time, and scale the operation to expanding catalog and business growth.