Black Friday: E-commerce players embrace automation as spending surge threatens waste overload

23 Nov 2022 --- Black Friday is set to begin this year’s winter shopping season and kick off another boom in e-commerce delivery worldwide. Discount pricing on the day brings a surge in online spending from which the packaging industry has a significant opportunity to profit and a responsibility to minimize environmental impact.

The challenge of meeting a massive demand in e-commerce while continuing to reduce material footprint has been ongoing since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought on a rise in home delivery rates that have persisted beyond most lockdown measures. 

Nedim Nisic, Mondi’s group e-commerce director, tells PackagingInsights that the pandemic “fundamentally changed the way we all live and work.” 

“Now is an ideal time to build on this experience and redouble our efforts to create even more innovative and sustainable e-commerce packaging solutions. E-commerce brands are very open to new products and solutions, including areas such as automated packing lines and service levels,” Nisic says. 

“We have a responsibility to create packaging that is both fit-for-purpose and sustainable, meaning our packaging protects products and keeps material waste to an absolute minimum. Our goal is always to keep materials in circulation, minimize our carbon footprint and avoid waste.” 

PulPac says the e-commerce market is enduring “growing pains” that can be used for environmental progress.Minimal material, maximum strength 
Last year, paper packaging specialist DS Smith estimated at least €1.3 billion (US$1.5 billion) would be lost through items damaged in delivery through Black Friday sales.  

Poll figures from the company show almost one quarter (23%) of Europeans (based on past experience) expected to receive up to three faulty or damaged items following the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. This would be enough to fill 3,975 Olympic-sized pools.

Ann Dynehäll, chief communications officer for preventing product damage at PulPac, says, “PulPac recommends all packagers to seek awareness of the impact on each part of the packaging and evaluate how one can utilize new innovations and technology to lower impact.”  

“This can range from simpler solutions such as using a more sustainable tape and new impact protectors to pack more efficiently to ship less air or replace plastic protection where it is overqualified and unnecessary. Packages should always be designed with a circular approach aimed at enabling re-use or easy recycling,” she says. 

Automation rise 
Automation is playing an increasingly important role in e-commerce packaging, and many companies are investigating its potential, says Mondi’s Nisic. 

“We have implemented automation technology with our own packaging solutions for our customers, and eComPack is a prime example,” he says. 

Mondi Group e-commerce director Nedim Nisic.Mondi worked with German machine producer and automation specialists Heiber and Schröder to create eComPack – a conveniently compact, high-speed automated packaging machine that automates the EnvelopeMailer. 

eComPack fully automates the packing process, from scanning and opening the packaging to filling and closing. The machine is designed for mid- to large-size e-commerce operations striving for greater efficiency and reliability. It can process up to 500 parcels per hour.

“In our experience, fulfillment centers were initially hesitant to replace manual tasks with robotic automation. Now, automation is a must rather than a nice to have,” continues Nisic. Mondi asserts the only way for companies to remain competitive with the market’s current level of demand is by using automated technology. 

“Retailers are investing heavily in automation. According to research, retailers across fashion, grocery and other key sectors are planning to increase automation investments over the next two to three years. Predictions show the market for worldwide automation in warehouses will exceed US$51 billion by 2030 – a compounded annual growth rate of over 23% from 2021 to 2030,” explains Nisic. 

Industry growing pains 
While e-commerce has remained at a high level since the COVID-19 pandemic, sales have dropped as quarantine measures are lifted, and shoppers have access to highstreets once again. This drop is also an opportunity for industry to innovate toward more sustainable designs, continues Dynhall. 

“Decreased growth rates should allow packaging supply to catch up and stabilize pricing and availability of input materials and shortages in certain sectors – such as corrugated packaging, which is one of the core solutions in e-commerce. Stabilized growth would also offer more time and opportunity to test and validate new solutions to decrease cost and impact.” 

“Industries with very high growth over a long period of time naturally suffer from growing pains and are difficult to optimize fully from all dimensions, such as cost, environmental footprint, and availability,” she continues. “In PulPac’s view, the key to enabling the optimization is to continue to innovate, test and validate new solutions and engage in wide partnerships.” 

Mondi’s EnvolopeMailer, created by its automated eComPack machine.Fighting excess 
Recently, draft working documents of the EU’s revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD), set for next month, revealed policymakers intend to crack down on excessive packaging, primarily through e-commerce. A vital aspect of the draft is ensuring “packaging minimization” and reducing unused space, often filled by polystyrene, air cushions, paper cuttings and bubble wraps.  

“The empty space ratio is a maximum of 40%,” according to the draft. “Packaging with double walls, false bottoms and other means to create the impression of increased product volume, or superfluous packaging not fulfilling a packaging function … shall not be placed on the market,” the European Commission states. 

The revision of the PPWD follows in the footsteps of recent Chinese legislation, which stipulates meticulous ratios for packaging size and material use proportional to the products they contain. China’s government particularly sought to combat luxury packaging, which can often exceed the value of its contents. 

Delivering the Green Deal 
Mondi says it believes governments in Europe can aid the EU in achieving its Green Deal targets by investing in the necessary infrastructure to complete the circle on industry’s new designs. 

“The EU Green Deal is designed to encourage governments across Europe to meet ambitious targets for packaging circularity, and it places much of the onus on manufacturers and brand owners,” says Nisic. 

“We believe governments can also facilitate the transition to a circular economy by ushering in a legislative framework that drives the expansion of a recycling infrastructure capable of dealing with higher volumes of discarded e-commerce packaging.” 

“Since the EU’s first packaging legislation was introduced three decades ago, recycling awareness has grown significantly. This is a direct result of initiatives to educate consumers about materials and the correct way to dispose of them,” he continues. 

Mondi has recently carried out a survey of consumer views based on 5,000 responses from key e-commerce markets in Europe. The findings will be released on Black Friday, but the company says all signs are that the market will continue to grow. 

By Louis Gore-Langton