Retail operations have witnessed a transformation with ecommerce mandating the need for high speed packing, dispatch and warehousing. The need for high speed operations, make it impossible for manual processes to meet the requirements.  The largest warehousing operations involve automation in many processes and strapping machines are important equipment that help in quickly packaging material intended for onward dispatch. It is necessary to ensure that automation in warehousing and supply chains are part of a streamlined process to ensure that the pace of operations does not compromise on other aspects. Here are a few important tips for managers who source strapping and wrapping machines.

This will ideally be the first point for consideration. Depending on the nature of the merchandise in the carton, and various other parameters including the type of transportation, strap tension is determined. And strap tension differs from material to material. For instance, plastic, polyester and polypropylene offer higher strap tension. This is because of the nature of the material. Therefore managers who choose warehousing machinery and materials to handle the strapping, need to make the right choice of material after considering the standards that can be achieved and the need for achieving specific standards. 

The packaging of products that move across long distances should typically be kept as light as possible. This needs to be achieved without compromising the quality of strapping achieved. The use of heavy materials such as steel will be necessary when the products require to be strapped with superior material for holding the packing in place. However, wherever the products do not demand the use of heavy strapping it would always be prudent to rely on lightweight and robust strapping choices. This will keep the costs low and will reduce the overall weight of the shipment.

Machines that are used at the end of assembly lines and in warehousing operations need to seamlessly fit in with the other processes. For instance, if the pace of operations are very high, then a fully automatic machine will help to ensure that the processes run at optimum speed. However, if the other packing operations take more time than the speed with which the wrapping is completed, it would be prudent to opt for a semi-automatic machine, thereby matching the speed of all operations and achieving reduction in capex.

Managers handling operations at warehouses and assembly lines at manufacturing units have their task cut out. For instance, there is a need to identify the most suitable machine, and ensure that personnel are comfortable in handling the operations, regardless of the automatic or semi-automatic capability of the machines. Safety is another aspect that needs to be considered as the automatic machines that handle stainless steel straps need to be operated with the right kind of safety precautions to prevent mishaps. The feeding and retracting of straps requires to be handled with care to prevent accidents and curt down on wastage.