In order to solve the problem of “over-packaging” in the user experience, a new carton maker introduced by Amazon can not only set the minimum size of the carton according to the size of the goods, but also open its own production line for manufacturing. Although this project is temporarily in the experimental stage, it can save the company 40% of the cost. This means that if the pilot project goes smoothly, then the supply chain of the original carton market will have a huge impact.
A carton making machine: cut the cardboard into a suitable size, and the employee makes a carton according to the fold line.
In February last year, Amazon's North American business manager, Mike Roth, introduced a new carton manufacturing machine to visitors at the distribution center in Patterson, Canada. This new carton maker can produce matching cartons directly on the production line, just to accommodate the goods inside, and Amazon employees call it ‘Box on Demand’. Introduced by Panocec, this carton maker Box on Demand can cut and bend cardboard into several semi-finished cartons and then manually put it on the merchandise. In Amazon's distribution center, Box on Demand simply cuts the board into the right size, and the line staff needs to further make the carton according to the fold line above.
▲Amazon goods transport belt
40% reduction in cost during the pilot phase, 20 units deployed in the US
As of now, the carton manufacturing project is still in the experimental stage, but the deployment work has begun. In August 2015, Amazon has deployed 20 such carton manufacturing machines in the United States, in the UK and Germany. More than 4 machines. And it is planned to promote the system in Europe in the next year. It is expected that it will take 20 months to see the actual effect. However, Amazon's investment has paid off. According to Amazon's estimates, this new machine can help them reduce their costs by 40% and can already cover the previous investment costs.
Carton market dependence is reduced, causing three rounds of impact on carton factories
Amazon's test results are expected to be 20 months. If you start testing in Canada from February last year, and later in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Europe, the end of the trial should be 16 years. The end of the year is completely over. If the test is successful, it will enter the stage of production. So China is the second largest operating network outside the United States. Introducing this system is only a matter of time. This move will cause the following three rounds of impact on the carton companies that cooperate with Amazon.
First round of shocks: market orders will be reduced
Amazon has its own carton production line, and the right amount of production for the carton market will continue to decline, so it will form a first round of impact on the enterprises that provide carton packaging, then its market orders will be reduced. .
Second round of shock: waste problem
Secondly, because the imported equipment is Box on Demand, the second pressure for the carton enterprises lies in the resource saving, because it is tailored according to its own, to achieve the minimum packaging strategy of the product, the resources of its resources The utilization rate is increased, and the waste problem caused by the production of the package itself is minimized.
The third round of shock: the upstream and downstream relationship becomes a competitive relationship
Amazon's market share is very large, so it will seek cooperation with upstream paper companies, from the original indirect relationship to a direct relationship, and papermaking enterprises, so under this premise, for paper and paper mills, It is an opportunity in itself, but in this case it will further squeeze the share of the carton factory, and the small manufacturers that provide carton packaging will be affected, and large manufacturers will also be affected.
Cost reduction, buffering environmental protection
If Amazon's machine carton maker performs flawlessly during the experimental phase, and after the self-installation of Amazon, the transfer and sale of equipment to other carton factories will become the following two in the Chinese carton enterprises. Very obvious effect. First of all, it saves the cost of the enterprise, and the cost of the enterprise is greatly reduced. By taking the results of the experimental phase of Amazon, it saves 40% of the cost. But we must be cautious about this data, because the market time is not the same, so the amount of cost savings is not the same. The second is to reduce the waste of resources, but also to cushion the pressure on environmental issues, because it is tailored to minimize the packaging strategy, so the production according to the packaging object will be more than the mass production. The resulting waste is less, and it is also buffered on environmental issues.
