Key Facts
- Multi-level packaging and
palletizing planning - Calculation of the optimal packaging size
- Optimum filling of the shipping units
- system-supported
3D-packing instructions - Reduction of transport/shipping costs
- Avoidance of transport damage
The topic of packaging planning has become increasingly important in logistics in recent years. It costs time and money to ensure goods are optimally packed for storage, internal material flows and shipping. Optimised packaging thus gives you an edge over your competitors and helps to improve your market position.
The following applies to package and transport planning as well as packaging in shipping. The primary goal of packaging planning is to achieve a reliable and optimal pre-calculation of the shipping units, so that the customers can be guaranteed the smallest possible packaging – with zero transport of "air".
The pick-and-pack process is frequently used in the e-commerce sector. In this process, the goods are packed directly into the order package during picking. This eliminates subsequent packaging in shipping, which saves both time and money. With this concept, the size and contents of the shipping packages are already calculated in SAP EWM or SAP TM during production planning.
With traditional packaging methods, the shipping process can be very time-consuming and costly if many articles need to be dispatched. Again here, the suggestions generated during packaging planning can provide efficient support for your staff. To obtain an exact preview of the required cargo space for shipping or to implement either a system-based or fully automated palletising process, the calculated shipping units are re-planned as required in a second level of palletisation planning.
Using SAP EWM/TM Extended Case Calculation, all goods intended for storage, internal material flows or shipping can be optimally, cost-effectively and safely packed, palletised and shipped via guidance from the system.
Particularly in the e-commerce sector, in which there are typically only a few articles per shipping package, over-packaging errors can occur when using standard SAP EWM/TM packaging planning with water displacement. Despite volume reserves, it may be the case that the articles cannot be efficiently arranged in the shipping package due to their shape. This results in time-consuming repacking or flat-rate "shipping of air" by reducing the maximum volume for the calculation.