If you’re someone who is focused on growing your operation during challenging times, an often-underestimated component is focusing on how to improve your end-of-line packaging. A reliable and flexible end-of-line packaging system is the key to an efficient, successful business. Here are four proven ways to improve your end-of-line packaging operation.

1. Measure the Right Key Performance Indicators

As your business grows, your production volumes will change, as will your processes, equipment, and personnel. All these tiny changes can create inefficiencies in your order flow and production.

To stay ahead of these changes, you must always measure key performance indicators that reveal the true flow and order fulfillment of your business. By looking at the touch points, you can find improvement opportunities. Proper measurements usually lead to reduced waste, lower labor costs, and greater speed.

2. Reduce Manual Labor Packaging Touch Points

To save on labor costs, you want your employees to interact with the packaging process as little as possible. In other words, you want to limit the touch points like hand wrapping and manually stacking pallets. These tasks are labor-intensive and highly variable, which leads to primary packaging and product damage. Also, when you use a case packer machine, employees who would otherwise be busy shrink wrapping and bundling products can now focus their energies on other tasks.

3. Create a Preventative Maintenance Program

With plans in place designed to check for potential future maintenance problems, you can avoid many of the mistakes that hinder other companies. Creating a preventative maintenance program is vital among the four ways to improve your end-of-line packaging because it will help with all the small details inherent in running a company. Scheduling when the high-use components should be checked, when to lubricate the machinery, and more will help you prevent issues that cause downtime before they become actual problems.

4. Recycled, Reusable, and Reduced Packaging

There are several reasons why you want to implement sustainable best practices for your pallet wrappers, case packers, and other materials. Even if you run the most efficient business, you will still have opportunities to reduce costs on stretch film, shrink film, and other packaging resources. Specialized technologies like Cube Technology, exclusive to Robopac USA, are proven to reduce film costs by 30 to 55 percent. That’s less film usage and less film disposed of after shipment. Automating your end-of-line packaging operation improves containment on loads, which reduces the likelihood of product damage. Less product damage equals less product that is disposed of in landfills.