Satchel Packaging Automation Improves Business Efficiencies
 
Autobag® packaging solutions from Automated Packaging Systems (US) and MPI Australia, are helping ecommerce leaders reduce costs and improve business efficiencies for their mail order fulfillment operations. These high-speed satchel packaging machines provide automation that significantly reduces labour costs and increases productivity. In addition, the material savings costs of using strong plastic satchels instead of boxes typically provide a return on investment in less than three months.
 
These high speed machines use Autobag pre-formed satchels on a roll or in a box to streamline the packaging process. The satchels are printed in-line with address information, bar codes and/or graphics, and then presented to the operator in an easy loading position. As soon as the product is loaded into the satchel, the package is automatically sealed and moved to an area for mailing distribution.
 
Labour costs are significantly reduced because one operator can package up to 30 satchels per minute. By printing directly onto the bag, there is no need for a separate label printing and affixing operation. This automated packaging system is typically five times faster than hand packaging operations. With labour costs approaching of $30 per hour, these Autobag packaging systems quickly pay for themselves.
 
For a company packaging mail order nutraceuticals, one Autobag system and two operators took the place of 10 employees that were hand loading bottles into padded envelopes, saving the company more than $212,000 per year.
 
A company providing women’s  apparel is using three Autobag systems and 10 employees to replace 30 employees that were hand loading into flat bags, saving them over $500,000 per year.
 
Another mail order fulfillment company is using two Autobag systems and two operators to replace 10 operators that were hand loading their packages, with an annual savings of over $250,000.
 
The key to improving business efficiencies is to reduce labour costs while increasing productivity and quality. The Autobag packaging systems have inline printing to eliminate a production step and reduce costs for the labeling. These packaging systems can be fully integrated with a customer order database to capture address, invoice and packing slip information. Orders can be scanned for verification to ensure quality control.
 
The Autobag Mail Order Fulfillment Process

• Horizontal or vertical loading for optimum productivity
• Scan invoice or packing slip to verify contents and shipping information
• Shipping information is printed directly onto the next bag in queue
• Pre-opened bag is presented to the operator
• Load product into the satchel
• Automatic sealing of satchel and discharge to mail center

 
Autobag mail satchels are strong, durable, secure and have lower postage costs than padded envelopes, boxes and other mail containers. Inbound freight, handling and storage costs for satchels are much lower than all other forms of packaging materials.

Materials are available with a wide range of unique characteristics including strength, opacity, barrier properties, printability, puncture resistance, price and other specifications. There are a wide range of satchel materials and sizes up to 400 mm wide and 685 mm long. Satchels can be custom printed in up to 10 colors for brand awareness. Changeovers times on the machine are typically less than two minutes, which increases the versatility for a wide range of products.
 
The Autobag AB 255™ mail order fulfillment system is specifically designed and engineered for versatile mail order fulfillment in high-speed packaging applications. The AB 255 operates at speeds up to 30 orders per minute, printing high resolution text, graphics and bar codes directly onto the satchel for a mail-ready package with minimal handling.
 
Other mail order fulfillment solutions from Automated Packaging Systems and MPI Australia include compact tabletop units, such as the Autobag PS 125 OneStep™ for fast, easy hand loading with automatic printing and sealing operations. Custom mail order systems, such as the Autofulfillment™ SPrint™ are available for full integration with an existing Warehouse Management System to print order paperwork and shipping labels once an LPN or SKU has been scanned. These systems can include scanning and verification of multiple items in the same bag with custom order paperwork printed at the packing station just prior to inserting and closing the order.
 
About Automated Packaging Systems
Automated Packaging Systems has been designing and manufacturing original Autobag^®, AirPouch^® and SidePouch^® systems for 50 years with more than 30,000 packaging systems in operation worldwide.
www.autobag.com
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