Leading UK retailer turns to PACJacket to help keep up with demand

The dedicated Antalis Machinery team delivered a speedy installation of the PACjacket automated system to ensure that a leading high street retailer was able to cope with the growing demand for online ordering. This time- and labour-saving automated packaging solution is designed to create on-demand bubble mailers for high volume e-commerce applications.

The retailer had already invested heavily in carton automation but the packing of smaller items, mainly into padded mailing bags, was still a manual operation. On average, a packer is able to pack 1.5 bags per minute. However, with demand during peak increasing to over 40,000 bags a day, the number of full-time employees would need to rise to 19 during this period. As well as bringing with it the challenges associated with engaging and training temporary workers, increased staffing levels would also pose a safety challenge during a time when social distancing measures are in place.

Antalis is a European distributor of the PACjacket system from PAC International. The client enquiry was received prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, however, the temporary closure of physical stores as a result of lockdown restrictions, accelerated the client’s decision to purchase the machine.

Only one employee is required to operate the PACjacket system, which can handle over 60% of the peak volumes the retailer was experiencing. This enabled staffing levels to be kept low.

In addition to speed and health and safety, the system offered the client numerous benefits, including: adjustment of bag size in line with contents, enabling a reduction in material waste; integrated applicator to apply shipping labels directly to the bag; mailing bag is manufactured from recycled material and can be branded; reduced pack and shipping costs when compared to cartons.

The machine was installed by a team made up of an engineer from PAC USA and two engineers from the Antalis Machinery team. Ongoing service and maintenance will be handled by the Antalis team.

Antalis Solution Sales Manager, Stuart Bates, commented: “This project is a great example of how packaging automation can speed up the packing process. Over the course of the pandemic, shoppers have turned to online to buy all manner of goods, and often in small order sizes, which can be a challenge to pack and ship in a timely manner. Even operations that already managed high volumes prior to the pandemic are facing significant challenges to meet demand. The PACjacket system is an investment worth serious consideration for high-volume e-commerce businesses, and with our dedicated UK-based machinery team, we are able to provide clients with full service and maintenance support.”