Simple Solutions That Work! Issue 17

48 run continually. And because of this, they experience downtime which negatively effects productivity. A contract packager however, packs hundreds of work orders per day, which allows a constant flow of work and naturally increases efficiency. PACKAGING MATERIALS The packaging materials used for packaging service parts is much different from the materials used for the assembly packaging process. The parts shipping to an assembly plant tend to be packed in returnable metal racks or plastic dunnage, or returnable corrugated trays, which are used over and over again. Service parts are typically packed in corrugated boxes or if heavy enough, may require wood crating. These parts will eventually be shipping from the OEM manufacturer’s warehouse directly to the car or truck dealership. The packaging materials for service parts include corrugated, wood, foam, bags, bubble wrap, pad pack cushioning, tape, labels, inserts, rust inhibitors, pallets, and stretch wrap. These materials are needed to pack and protect the part in shipment and in long-term storage. Packaging materials also need to be purchased, managed, and stored. Every part we pack is built in our computer system and has a Bill of Material of the parts needed in the pack, and all material used in the pack. When we get an ASN (Advance Shipping Notice) from a customer that parts are on the way, our MRP system orders the material needed to package the parts. We have suppliers that come 2 and 3 times a day to deliver packaging material JIT for your parts. ECONOMIES OF SCALE Contract packagers order millions of dollars of corrugated and packaging supplies each year. The caliper for one OEM manufacturer is about the same size as the caliper we pack for other OEM manufacturers. This allows us to use the same box for both customers. Contract packagers naturally receive better pricing due to large volume buys and pass those savings on to customers. COMPUTER SYSTEMS How it works As soon as your parts ship and the Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN) is sent, the production work order is automatically produced in our computer systems, material is getting ordered, and routing to where the part is going to be packed is established. Material is tracked as soon as it is delivered and tracked through the process as