DHL Supply Chain announced that it has automated the packaging process of Mars, an international producer of confectionary, with semi-automated machinery for secondary packaging in China.
DHL has deployed its system in a DHL-operated warehouse in JiaXing, located in Zhejiang province. DHL has also improved operational scalability during Mars’ four-month high season when labour requirements hit about five times the ordinary levels.
The system packs Mars’ confectionary items into retail containers more than 12% faster than previous manual processes.
“With more than 500,000 sets being processed every year, Mars’ China operations were a prime candidate for supply chain automation,” said Yin Zou, managing director, DHL Supply Chain China Cluster. “These high production volumes meant that automating the Mars packaging process could deliver particularly significant productivity dividends, while also guaranteeing extremely consistent product quality and availability for consumers – even as Mars continues to scale up the range and market reach of its iconic confectionaries.”
DHL claims that secondary packaging automation has minimised many of the quality-control issues and reduced the number of staff required per machine for Mars. Problems such as incorrect set quantities, product mishandling and package defects associated with fully-manual packaging during peak demand have reduced significantly since deployment. The DHL automated system deals with secondary packaging involving distribution of already-wrapped items into larger packs or sets.
For more information about CPG Logistics please take a look at our Global CPG Logistics 2015 report.
