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E-Commerce

Packaging for e-commerce comes in many forms and e-commerce packaging is gaining importance every day. E-commerce was gaining momentum even before we were encouraged to stay home due to the COVID-19 pandemic and as the world opened back up, consumers realized that ordering online was a great way to shop. The e-commerce industry has boomed affecting every industry. Felins can help provide various packaging methods to streamline your e-commerce packaging needs. The main direct-to-consumer packaging methods we use for e-commerce are:

ULTRASONIC BANDING

Banding equipment is similar to the industrial strapping equipment we are all familiar with, but banding equipment can run a variety of substrate materials: you can use paper for sustainability and easy removal of the band; clear transparent films if you’d like it to be transparent or to scan through if needed; there’s also ribbon material and we can pre-print materials with your artwork on the banding which is great for branding products and becoming very popular with e-commerce packaging. With ultrasonic banding systems, we have the option to add on-demand printers for printing bar codes, expiration dates, lot codes and more for track and trace.

HOW DOES ULTRASONIC BANDING WORK?

US 2000 Diagram
Top view of bundled products with a band
US 2000 diagram
The ultrasonic weld is holding the bundle together underneath

After the machine tensions the band around the product with digital tensioning, it ultrasonically welds the band to itself. We use ultrasonic technology as opposed to a heat weld because it is clean, efficient, and repeatable – giving you more control. Banding technology doesn’t use adhesives either, creating a clean weld without glues, tapes, or stickers. 

HOW CAN BANDING BE USED IN E-COMMERCE?

There are many ways banding can be used in e-commerce. Here are just some of the solutions:
1. Bundling multi-item orders
E-commerce has been integrated into our lives so much that for many it has become a daily transaction. Sellers know that when consumers add something to their cart there is a high probability that they need things to go with that product, so they serve a pop up of similar items or items that are used in cohesion with what they added to their cart. Instead of sending 3 separate packages with different shipping labels you can band them together and use the inline printing option to put barcodes and live data on the band. After bundling the orders, integrating with right size packaging is easily done.

Packaging for Multi-Item Orders

2. Banding can be used as an alternative to void fill and oversized box shipments
We’ve all seen the box within a box packaging or excessive void fill in large boxes when receiving a really small item. There’s excess packaging waste involved and our goal at Felins is to reduce all of this extra packaging waste. As an alternative to excessive packaging waste, banding secures products, including oddly shaped items, to a corrugated insert which will keep items from rattling around inside the box during shipment. Here is a video that shows how that works: 

3. Banding products prior to auto-boxing systems is great for high volume applications
As e-commerce business grows, retailers have started investing in auto-box making or box-on-demand solutions. There are various manufacturers of these solutions which help reduce packaging volume and mass by customizing the size of the box to the products being shipped. Banding can help by unitizing orders with more than one item ensuring that products (banded into a bundle) maintain the bundle shape and size as they travel via conveyors through the entire scanning and boxing process. With clear plastic bands scanning can be done at any point in time. Without a band, orders with more than one product can shift causing machine jams and unwanted downtime. Check out the video below to see this concept in action. 

4. 3rdParty Logistics (3PL)
3rd party logistics centers work with many different companies with a wide variety of products that differ in size and shape. A unique feature of our banding machines is that they can recognize the size of the item placed on it before banding it which means that it can get the precise amount of tension that you would like every time. In addition to this, the ultrasonic banding machine can be calibrated to store different tension and seal presets for different products. The ability to use one machine with the flexibility to bundle a very wide variety of products greatly improves warehouse storage optimization. This will increase throughput while, decreasing frustration, and labor costs.

The labor shortage is hurting a lot of businesses especially in the supply chain. Due to this shortage, automation in logistics centers have taken off. Our banding machines have a multitude of different options for automation. These include inline printing, counting, stacking, measuring, scanning, and more. 

US 2000 Large Arch

5. Banding can be used as an alternative to strapping boxes
Keeping packages securely closed while minimizing damage to shipped boxes is important! You want the package to arrive safely to your customer. Ultrasonic banding equipment and banding material is offered in a variety of banding widths. The wider band allows the tension to be dispersed over a larger area, preventing damage to boxes so that if and when returns are necessary, the box can be reused. Banding material can also minimize unboxing frustrations as the band can be removed easily without the use of cutting tools. 

6. Ship In Own Container (SIOC)
Amazon has put a lot of pressure on sellers to reduce packaging waste, costs, and environmental damage. Amazon has laid out some guidelines and qualifications for sellers to follow. Many businesses not selling with Amazon are starting to use these guidelines as well. One of most important concepts from Amazon is SIOC or Ship In Own Container. This means that when Amazon ships your product out to a customer it does not require any additional packing fill or an Amazon over box.

SIOC is one tier under the Frustration Free Packaging tier at Amazon which is considered the best form of packaging. Frustration Free Packaging is something that Amazon has put a lot of effort into and succeeded greatly with it. There is the obvious benefit in the name that your consumers will appreciate, but another main reason for companies doing this is cutting out the excess packing material. In some cases, it’s possible to eliminate 50% of packing materials. This avoids customer dissatisfaction, saves money, and helps the environment. This ties back to using corrugated inserts in right size packaging in order to accomplish this. 

Corrugated Insert

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BANDING IN E-COMMERCE?

  • Banding can be used to reduce excessive void fill when packaging smaller items
  • Less packaging materials = less waste
  • Less packaging materials also = less material costs
  • When banding is used to secure products, the products are also presented more elegantly and can improve the unboxing experience for the end user
  • Banding can be removed by hand without the use of a cutting tool, which means less frustrations for the customer 
  • Banding prior to auto boxing systems work very well for high volume applications
  • Banding can be used as a sustainable and damage-free alternative to strapping boxes
  • The wide, soft nature of banding materials (ribbon, paper, etc.) are gentle and won’t damage products
  • There is no dust commonly associated with strapping
  • ­­­Optimize warehouse space
  • Inline license plating
  • Clear bands can be scanned through
  • Automation configurations

Click here to learn more about banding equipment and ultrasonic banding technology or click on the product boxes below. If you have any questions, our experts are happy to help answer your questions or help you find the packaging solutions you are looking for, contact us for more information! 

STRAPPING

A common packaging method used in a variety of different applications. It’s great when you need an inexpensive method to hold items together. The strap is strong and is great for securing heavy-duty items or currency that needs to be tamper proof. Read more about our strapping technology here

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

For more information on our machines, feel free to browse them below:

paper and plastic banding

ATS – MS Models

The ATS-MS series portable banding machines are the most elite heat seal banding machines on the market. These easy-to-use industrial heat sealers create

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