Task:

Havelok Ltd invited Lindum to visit their factory in Grimsby to:

• Examine the issues they were having with cartons collapsing and crushing
• Identify opportunities to reduce costs and packaging waste
• Recommend any necessary changes to produce more efficient packaging operations

They were also struggling with high MOQ and delivery quantities from their existing supplier, which led to a shortage in storage space.

Findings and Solutions:

We identified the following opportunities for improvement:

• Board grades – these were inadequate across the range.
• Pallet stack patterns – these were not optimised.
• Stockholding and lead times – There was a need for a stockholding solution, with flexibility to allow Havelok to adapt to the change in demands from their customers.

We implemented the following solutions:

• Line by line trials to identify and implement the correct board grades across the range of cartons, to achieve guaranteed strength and performance.
• Implementation of best practise in stack patterns to improve pallet optimisation and reduce packaging waste.
• Stock and Store – Lindum holds stock available for call-off, for daily deliveries on a JIT basis.
• MySupply – Online portal for placing orders, with visibility of stock available for call-off and the ability run spend and packaging waste reports.

Results:

• Less cash – tied up in stock.
• Less waste – Optimisation across all packaging lines.
• Less risk – Only minimal stock held on site, reducing the risks associated with restricted space.
• Less downtime – Flexibility to adapt quickly to changes in demand.
• Less hassle – Improved carton performance resulting in fewer returns for rework.

What the customer had to say:

“There are lots of benefits of working with Lindum. We have the online portal, where we can log on and check our stock at any time, placing orders for next day delivery. We have the stockholding facility which has revolutionised the way we store packaging within our business. We have a fantastic Account Manager who is available 24/7 and he is in our factory at a moment’s notice.”

Rachel Appleton, Head of Supply Chain and Purchasing