Packing parcels without air

mfl: What is the situation in Austria and Switzerland?

Weigel: Our first system in Austria has been running at SportOkay.com in Innsbruck since 2020. We were also pleased that our customer DeinDeal.ch from Switzerland decided to use a CVP Impack at its new site in Geneva. This enables it to automatically produce up to 500 customized parcels per hour.

mfl: In October 2021, the company Quadient was in the press because the investor Standard Investment from Amsterdam acquired the company's packaging division in Drachten, the Netherlands - and the company has been operating on the market as Sparck Technologies ever since. What has changed as a result?

Weigel: We naturally informed our existing customers about the new owner. At the same time, however, we also pointed out that all 300 employees have been taken over by Standard Investment and that the strategy is to continue the success story of sustainable CVP solutions. This means that Standard Investment will invest in the further development of service and technology. The company made a conscious decision to opt for the technology leader and its multi-award-winning packaging systems, which automatically measure, cut, fold and also label the packages. Our machines have been running successfully for eight years now - in 13 countries.

mfl: Are there any results yet?

Weigel: The development department in Drachten is constantly working on launching new services for our customers. We will be presenting solutions in the area of monitoring and new functions with the hardware in the run-up to Logimat 2022.

mfl: How has the corona pandemic changed the behavior of your customers?

Weigel: It's no secret: while bricks-and-mortar retail has suffered badly in some cases over the past two years, volumes in the e-commerce channel have risen. The "Parcel Shipping Index 2021" shows that the global parcel volume increased by 27% in 2020 compared to 2019. The growing parcel mountain on the one hand is offset by a shrinking labor market in many industrialized countries. As it will become increasingly difficult to recruit new employees for the shipping sector in the long term, many companies are thinking specifically about automation projects. The CVP Everest for bulk mailers, for example, replaces up to 20 manual packing stations. Even at full capacity, i.e. production of around 1,100 perfectly fitting parcels per hour, two people are enough to load the system with goods.

mfl: Is the labor shortage the most important argument for buying a plant?

Weigel: Not in every conversation, but very often. In addition to recruiting and cost savings, companies are increasingly concerned about keeping their delivery promises. This is because the sudden lockdown regulations led to a sharp increase in parcel volumes. In March 2020, it was the pre-Christmas peak season virtually overnight. Other causes of sudden fluctuations in demand - such as accidents, strikes or environmental disasters - are also causing supply chain managers to lose sleep. Only those with a transparent and flexible supply chain can keep their delivery promises. Alongside digitalization, automation is one of the most important keys to not disappointing the end customer.

mfl: A package that is delivered one day later than planned is not yet a drama ...

Weigel: Maybe not one thing, but thousands. On the Internet, the competition is just a mouse click away. Nobody can afford to have dissatisfied customers. Keeping delivery promises is just one aspect that is becoming increasingly important to consumers. The other is the issue of sustainable deliveries. According to KPMG's Consumer Barometer Packaging, 91 percent of consumers surveyed for the barometer would like online shippers to reduce their shipping packages to the bare minimum. Because young consumers in particular like to share the unpacking of deliveries with family and friends on social media, shippers who transport a lot of air or filling material in their parcels run a considerable risk of damaging their image. This means that those who pack parcels air-free ensure significantly higher customer satisfaction and improve their reputation as a shipper. At the same time, they save money, as our systems reduce parcel volumes by up to 50 percent and cardboard consumption by up to 30 percent.