8 SEPTEMBER 2023LABOR CHALLENGES DRIVE PACKAGING AUTOMATION By Chip Reavley, Senior VP Packaging Automation, SupplyOneThe business challenges of the past few years -- labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and inflation -- have accelerated the long-term trend toward the automation of packaging operations. All types of manufacturers and distributors, including food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and e-commerce companies, are turning to packaging automation to ease pressures on their business and their employees. Evolving Packaging TechnologyAutomation solutions range from fundamental capabilities that have been used for decades, such as stretch wrapping, case erecting and sealing, coding and labeling, bagging, and shrink wrapping industrial robots and autonomous systems that efficiently perform pick and place, boxing, and palletizing.The technology is evolving, with sensors and machine vision systems that can outperform human capabilities, touchscreen controls that are easier to learn and easier to use, and communications capabilities (including IoT) that facilitate remote system monitoring, preventative maintenance, and performance analysis. But the rapid acceleration in the adoption of automation tends to be driven more by business needs and the current economic conditions than by advancements in technology. The return on investment can be the highest when manual processes are replaced by relatively mature automation solutions.The challenges and opportunities vary by industry sector. Labor shortages have impacted companies of all types and sizes, and labor-saving automation often becomes a business imperative. For some companies, the main driver of packaging automation is the need for higher throughput, to compensate for the long lead times caused by supply chain disruptions or to scale up production in response to spikes in market demand. Benefits of Packaging AutomationOvercoming Labor Challenges. While the pure cost of labor has always been a key driver towards increased automation, labor reallocation within operations has become even more critical in today's world. Three years into the pandemic, businesses are still struggling to find available, reliable labor with the baseline skills needed to operate their shipping and manufacturing facilities and keep operations running smoothly in the event of employee absences.Productivity and Flexibility. Automated packaging machinery is much faster than manual packaging. The speed accelerates throughput and provides much-needed flexibility ­ think quicker changeovers and responsiveness to volatile demand spikes. Packaging lines can be optimized with the right expertise to reduce bottlenecks and improve the flow of packaging and packaged products through manufacturing and distribution facilities.Transportation Costs. Fuel and related transportation costs are increasingly influencing the decision to automate packaging. The right packaging equipment can provide the flexibility needed to downsize materials to reduce dimensional weight. Lighter packages mean lower freight costs. Even as inflation results in higher material costs, businesses can achieve a reasonable or even aggressive rate of return on their automation equipment investments if packaging setups result in more items being able to ship at one time, or when a product goes out the door at higher speeds -- sometimes as much as three times higher.Quality Control. Packaging automation also plays a critical role in quality control. Vision systems are very effective in detecting defects and eliminating waste, considerations that are foundational to companies pursuing sustainability goals and ESG When implementing a packaging automation solution, whether choosing standalone packaging equipment, or installing a complete packaging automation line, the machinery should be ideally suited to the specific application, as well as the company's particular operational, financial, and marketing objectivesChip Reavley
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