50 DC VELOCITY JANUARY 2019 www.dcvelocity.com
applications
A look at how DCs are using equipment and
services to rev up their operations
AS A LARGE PLUMBING SUPPLIES WHOLESALER
with nationwide distribution, Newport News, Va.-based
Ferguson Enterprises Inc. is an expert not only at providing
top-quality parts, but also at delivering them to customers
in mint condition.
Some inventory items are tougher to ship than others,
however, and in recent months, the $15 billion company
found it was experiencing high
damage rates for the heavy porcelain toilets it was shipping via a
ground carrier.
In an effort to cut down on
the expense of replacing and
reshipping those goods, Ferguson
turned to its packaging supplier, Salt Lake City-based Packsize
LLC, for help. The two firms have
partnered since 2012 on packaging solutions and often collaborate on ways to improve shipping
techniques.
After analyzing the problem of packaging fragile toilets
for safe transit, Packsize recommended a complete overhaul of Ferguson’s existing packaging method—a process
that involved inserting quick-setting foam into cardboard
boxes and which was messy, expensive, and not particularly environmentally friendly. In its place, the company
proposed a streamlined solution that would provide better product protection and be much easier to execute:
Ferguson would simply create a custom-sized box for every
item shipped—using Packsize’s On Demand Packaging
software and Packsize box-making machine—and then add
foam corners made of low-density polyethylene foam.
“Of the many different protective packaging options in
the market, we chose to go with polyethylene foam corners
because of how well they work with our ‘right-size’ pack-
aging machinery,” said Brandon Henderson, director of
systems engineering at Packsize. “We designed a custom
corner that can work with Ferguson’s spectrum of products
and at the same time, reduce material and labor costs while
increasing sustainability.”
Before launching the new system, Packsize and Ferguson
tested the proposed design by doing drop tests and also
shipping actual toilets. The results were solid enough to
convince the plumbing supplier
to put the new process in place.
TIME AND COST SAVINGS
As for how it’s all working out,
the new system has done exactly
what it was intended to do: reduce
shipping damage. Since Ferguson
switched to the new packaging,
breakage rates have dropped from
5. 33 percent to 4.0 percent. That
alone would justify the change,
but according to Packsize, the
benefits don’t end there. Along
with reducing damage, the new method has slashed packaging material costs by 61 percent, cut the time it takes
workers to pack each toilet by 78 percent, and streamlined
Ferguson’s carton configuration options from four to one.
In addition, the foam corners use 85 percent less plastic
foam and are suitable for curbside recycling programs.
“Our customers are looking for the most cost-effective
means of getting their product to their end users. If fragility happens to be a factor in the shipment, we have found
that our Packsize corners are the best option out there to
reduce damage to product being shipped,” Henderson said.
“This solution also helps [shippers respond to] the Amazon
effect—it allows you to focus on fulfilling the customer’s
order as quickly and accurately as possible, rather than
having to worry about issues that [are of less concern to]
the customer, such as protective packaging.”
Problems with product damage led plumbing wholesaler Ferguson to seek a new way to package
its porcelain toilets. An innovative custom solution fixed the problem—and cut labor and
materials costs to boot.
Flush with success
LESS IS MORE: WHEN IT COMES TO PROTECTING FRAGILE
TOILETS DURING TRANSIT, FOAM CORNERS (LEFT) HAVE
PROVED MORE EFFECTIVE THAN LARGE QUANTITIES OF
SPRAY-IN FOAM.
