Case Studies

Medpets

When your pet is happy, you are too!

Since its founding in 2006 Medpets has become the online health shop for many people’s pets, offering a wide range of quality pet products. The company is serious about exemplary customer support, including putting the health of pets first by keeping a veterinarian or veterinary colleague on hand at all times to help with advice.

Customer needs

Reducing costs

Faced with 20 separate manual packing stations, the company was moving to a new warehouse in part to allow them to automate properly so they would need far fewer, more efficient stations.

Improving sustainability

Reducing air volume in packaging was a priority, because it would mean smaller packages and cut down on filling waste substantially each year.

Enhancing the customer experience

Opening a box is an important moment of interaction with a brand, and Medpets wanted to improve the customer experience with a well-designed, branded box that was very recognizable and easy to open.

Our solutions

Medpets had used Ranpak Void Fill materials for several years, so asked the Ranpak Automation department to conduct a thorough analysis of existing packaging. We saw that we could solve 80% of packaging needs using two Form’it!™ Case erectors and two Cut’it!™ EVO machines. As soon as their new warehouse was available, Medpets opted for a Cut’it! EVO for small and medium boxes and everything was completed within three months.

Packers can now choose from either of two standard-size pre-assembled cases, which travel on a conveyor to the packing tables where a unique barcode is applied. This barcode reveals order information after scanning. Medpets has benefited from subsequent development of the new generation Cut’it! EVO and they enjoy constant updates so that the machine improves over time. ROI was exceptional, paying back in just 1.5 years instead of the expected 2.5 years.

Business results

Reduced costs

The resulting efficiency gains mean that Medpets now needs far fewer staff to cope with daily peaks. Filling material has been eliminated entirely, which has resulted in such large savings that the new machines will have paid for themselves within just one year.

Increased productivity

More than 80% of Medpets orders now go through the new machines. The workload experienced during daily peaks can now be managed with only four packing stations in place of the previous 20 stations, processing over 1200 orders per hour. Eight different boxes have also been simplified to just two box sizes thanks to the height reduction machines, ensuring better operational efficiency.

Maintaining the brand

What was previously a range of different packaging footprints, all closed with a simple branded tape, has been changed to more uniform packaging – giving customers a predictable and recognizable customer experience and emphasizing a commitment to sustainability.

Ready for the grow

The purchase of two Ranpak machines has made Medpets equipped for future growth. Current sales are running at over two million packages each year, and the new resource means this can be doubled easily before any more equipment is needed.

Testimonials

“We are now able to process all orders during our daily peaks with only four packing stations instead of 20.”

Bart Jakobsen Supply chain manager Medpets