Anybody who has already gone on to order something online has, in a way, had the experience of getting a large box that’s mostly filled with packing materials, all done to ship a tiny item that’s buried in a pile of paper that looks messy, Styrofoam, plastic, or even cardboard that’s shredded. And although this sort of a tactic can make a consumer feel baffled, for e-commerce setups it is bound to elevate costs and also carbon emissions that are, without a shred of doubt, unwanted.
Since the time e-commerce setups began its boom, companies have gone on to historically come up with and also store as many as 15 to 20 box sizes so as to accommodate the distinct shapes as well as sizes of the products that they are involved in selling. If a certain product does not fit into one of those available boxes, a vendor will go on to use what is termed as a void fill so as to fill the empty space by way of making use of various kinds of packing materials in order to make sure that the smaller item does not get jostled around or, for that matter, get damaged in transit. In the years that have gone by, there are numerous companies that have deviated to automated tech so as to rightsized their process of packaging, in which a machine takes the exact shape of a shipment and thereafter builds a box that’s custom-sized coming out of the corrugated materials.
Through using the rightsized automation, a company can very well slash its packing materials by almost 40%, says Gina Ylagan, the director of Pack size. Her remarks came at the ProMat 2025 presentation on March 19, 2025. This conference was held in Chicago.
In a survey that was done of about 80 customers who happened to have invested in the tech, Packsize tracked an 82% decrease in the void fill, 26% when it came to billable weight, and an average savings of 5% when it comes to shipping costs. Interestingly, both Amazon and Walmart saw results that track with that when they began using rightsize automation. Amazon reported a decrease of 43% in average packing weight on every shipment. On the other hand, Walmart reduced its waste coming from oversized boxes by almost 26%.
As per Ylagan, it is indeed the best low-hanging fruit, and it is also an appropriate thing to do for any company. His remarks came post noting that rightsizing also elevates the number of items that can get placed on one truck and decreases the number of trips that are required, with e-commerce setups customers going ahead and reporting a 43% decrease in the overall trucks used. Rightsizing automation can go on to streamline warehouse ops, she says. With tailor-made boxes, companies can as well go ahead and cut the needs when it comes to excess storage space as far as pre-made boxes are concerned, speed up their time of packing, and also decrease the cost of labor by way of manually selecting as well as filling the oversized boxes. When it comes to the consumers, the transition towards packaging that is optimized goes on to mean a much better unboxing experience, which is without the frustration that’s associated with pulling out a pile of materials that are waste. Rightsizing packaging also enables the companies to sync with the environmental anticipations from shoppers that keep growing by the day.
As per a survey of more than 2000 consumers from Shorr, which is a packaging equipment company based across the US, more than 50% of the respondents went on to say that they consciously opted for products that came with sustainable packaging in the last 6 months. Another 90% of the respondents said that they were more likely to choose from a brand that happens to offer sustainable packaging choices.
Ylagan added that one is not only ensuring savings but at the same time also adding value to the customers and in a way increasing their brand value. When it comes to finding the right partner so as to make the transition towards sustainable packaging, Ylagan advises the companies to consider the choices carefully and at the same time keep a few priorities in mind. All this includes making sure that the partner happens to have a service division that continually makes sure to help clients and at the same time invests in long-term R&D, which, as per Ylagan, is an indicator of the health of that particular company. The fact is that a partner should always be able to spotlight the yesteryear customers who have gone on to use its services and also offer examples as to how they have gone on to solve for any kind of industry-specific issues.
At the end of the day, Ylagan stressed that right-sizing automation is not only about reduction in the cost, but it is also about making sure that a company’s packaging strategy is future-proof and that too in a scenario that is filled with fast-paced economic growth and also meeting the rising demand from consumers in terms of sustainability all through the e-commerce sector and even beyond. According to her, it helps one to be competitive and rest assured that all the varied business sectors, whether they are into retail, auto parts, or even manufacturing, all happen to be moving towards this pathway.