Online shopping accounted for 17% of total retail sales in the UK in 2018, that’s a lot of packages! This presents challenges for retailers and fulfillment centers alike, one of those challenges is packaging. With customers potentially ordering multiple items in different shapes and sizes finding the right solution can be tricky. Where can adhesives help and improve your process?
Flap Sealing
Adhesives have long been used for flap sealing in a variety of ways, the most common in this area is a ‘lidder’ machine. This is where jets of glue are applied high up on all four sides of the box and a lid applied and compressed. It is important to have a clean jetting adhesive to ensure the right parts of the flap/lid is bonded and to reduce tailing of adhesive which results in waste and machine downtime. On top of that the long wide beads of adhesive needed on four sides means that using stitching or pattern control on your adhesive system could be key, having these systems makes the importance of having a cleaner running adhesive, such as Technomelt Supra, paramount. Combine the clean running, low consumption and low application temperatures of Technomelt Supra and you have an unrivaled adhesive solution for your operation.
Custom Boxes
An increasingly popular fulfillment method is creating a custom box for each order. Machine companies such as Bickers, B+, Planotec and Box on Demand offer solutions which can produce different sized boxes quickly and efficiently reducing the amount of cardboard used along with the packing fillers needed to secure the continence of the box. Our range of market leading hot melt and water based adhesives are compatible with all of these machines and provide a many cost saving and efficiency benefits to the production process including low operating temperatures and self cleaning properties.
Handled Glue Guns
Using glue guns to seal boxes has the advantage of an operator placing the adhesive in different locations on different sized boxes. While quite a manual process glue guns provide an alternative option which is more cost effective and environmentally friendly vs plastic and other packing methods. When using a glue tank such as a Nordson Pro Blue (pictured below) the range of adhesives is increased massively meaning that if a difficult board is used or extra long open time is needed the cost of the adhesive is much lower and much higher quality than regular glue sticks. For smaller jobs handled glue guns can be used to provide extra security and cosmetic benefits vs tape.
Adhesives vs Tape
Adhesives provide a more cost efficient, environmentally friendly and secure solution. The overall material costs of adhesives vs sticky tape 30% lower with much lower price volatility giving a consistent saving. Plastic usage is reduced which is better for the environment and the adhesive can be removed easily in the recycling process. Finally adhesive seals will cause the fiber to tear if any attempt is made to open the case before it reaches its destination, providing superior tamper-evidence and product protection. Tape can be sliced with a knife and products can be tampered then the case resealed without the customers knowledge. Tape provides inferior tamper-evidence and product protection.
We have many different options and solutions for your order fulfillment needs, if you’d like any further information please feel free to contact us HERE or call us on 01724 870055.
