How Tape It Right Reduced Packaging Costs by 50%

A national auto parts supplier in the London area was facing high packing times and rising costs due to a decentralized case sealing process using water-activated tape (WAT). Each pack station handled packing, void fill, and sealing, resulting in inefficiencies and inconsistent costs.

Crawford Packaging conducted a free on-site packaging consultation and identified an opportunity to centralize case sealing using a semi-automatic, random case sealer with pressure sensitive tape. The solution delivered major efficiency gains and reduced packaging tape costs by more than 50%.

Challenge

• High packing times and elevated per-pack costs

• Ten decentralized pack stations, each handling packing, void fill, and sealing

• Reliance on water-activated tape (WAT), increasing material and labor costs

• Desire to replicate lower-cost pressure sensitive tape savings seen at a U.S. facility

Solution

• Reduced packaging tape costs by more than 50%

• Increased productivity by allowing packers to focus solely on picking and packing

• Automatic carton size adjustment eliminated downtime for mixed case sizes

• Reduced labor costs per pack and eliminated rework from improper seals

• Conducted a free on-site packaging consultation through Crawford Packaging’s Tape It Right program

• Identified an opportunity to centralize void fill and case sealing operations

• Installed a Little David® LDX-RTB Semi-Automatic Random Case Sealer

• Replaced WAT with 72mm hot melt pressure sensitive tape

• Standardized sealing practices to improve efficiency, consistency, and cost control Impact

Reduced labour costs per pack

50% reduction in material costs

Centralized sealing

Increased productivity