Packaging Corner: Trim your corrugated and consumables inventory

In all likelihood, you’ve heard about the decluttering craze. Lead by author and decluttering expert Marie Kondo, it has gained attention worldwide. Heck, there’s even a Netflix series about it.

Now, it’s possible your spouse or even a good friend has suggested you try it at home. So be it. But if your boss suggests you find a way to declutter your packaging department, that’s another story.

So, we got on the phone to the folks at Videojet. And fortunately, both Brock Young and Babak Durrani have some ideas about how you can take a page from Marie Kondo’s book. Both are product managers immersed in direct case coding and laser reactive marking and they have some ideas for you.

To begin, Durrani and Young are quite familiar with the issues here. First, you could well have a large inventory of preprinted labels and ink. There’s also the matter of too many different boxes, each a SKU unto itself, with different alpha-numeric text and codes for specific products. As you well know, there’s the matter of managing all that inventory and minimizing the space needed to stage and store it. That’s clutter.

Now, there’s no way to get around having to inventory corrugated boxes, if that’s what you use to ship product. There is some relief if you right-size boxes. Experts estimate that the typical shipping box is 40% too large. But that’s another story.

Clearly, you don’t need all those labels or pre-printed boxes. Better yet, here are two viable and cost saving and viable options: large character marking and laser reactive marking.

Large character marking (also known as direct case coding) allows you to print alpha-numerics and bar codes (both 1-D and 2-D) directly on the box as it moves down the packaging line. Data can be changed from box to box, explains Young.

The technology has been around quite some time and has steadily improved. It’s now capable of printing at resolutions up to 180 dpi on porous and semi-porous surfaces. Better yet, Durrani says direct case coding can help streamline purchasing requirements and help reduce a manufacturer’s unique case inventory.

For instance, winemaker Henri Bourgeois uses it to mark his cases of French wine. Bar codes and the product name are printed on two adjacent sides of each case at a rate of 14 boxes a minute on three lines. The winery ships 150,000 cases a year. Cheers to large character marking.

Laser reactive marking is a whole other animal, says Young. This technology first applies a translucent patch to the packaging, whether it’s a corrugated box or plastic container. The system then targets a laser on the patch, which reacts to the beam resulting in a readable and unique combination of bar code and alpha-numerics. In other words, laser reactive marking eliminates the need for ink. Once applied, the patch is basically impossible to remove, adds Durrani.

While much newer than large character marking, laser reactive marking has proven itself across several industries from consumer goods to pharmaceuticals. And it, too, can claim cost savings over preprinted packaging.

So, there you have it—decluttering in the packaging department. And, you didn’t even have to watch Netflix or read the book.