Amazon plans to install hundreds of these automated packaging machines in European logistics centers. The technology will help to reduce the packaging volume of millions of deliveries. By the end of 2025, more than 70 machines will be coming to Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Spain – including over 30 in Germany alone. More will follow by 2027, the company says.
Customized packaging is more sustainable because it helps to reduce delivery emissions. The reduced use of materials, less packaging waste, and better utilization of the available space in the delivery vehicles means that more shipments can be transported with fewer vehicles, explains Amazon.
“Machine learning and automation enable us to create customized packaging while optimally protecting products,” says Pat Lindner, VP Mechatronics and Sustainable Packaging at Amazon.
Three New Technologies
Amazon relies on three new technologies to further reduce packaging:
- customized cartons: Cartons are used for heavier or fragile items that require more protection. For the first time in Europe, Amazon is introducing a machine to produce customized boxes. The technology is based on automation and precise measuring technology. Employees place the product in the machine, which uses sensors to measure the dimensions. It then automatically produces a suitable box. Finally, the machine applies the shipping label directly so that each parcel can be dispatched immediately.
- customized paper envelopes: Amazon’s packaging engineers have redesigned a machine that originally produced plastic envelopes and converted it so that it can cut customized paper bags. Sensors recognize the dimensions of a product, and the machine then creates customized protective packaging from hard-wearing, weather-resistant paper. Following successful tests in logistics centers in Germany and the UK, this new technology is now being rolled out in both countries as well as in France, Italy, and Spain. More than 70 of these machines will be installed by the end of 2025 – more than 30 of them in Germany. By using these machines, an average of more than 26 grams of packaging material can be saved per consignment. The paper bags used are up to 90 percent lighter than cartons of a similar size.
- innovative labelling: The Universal Robotic Labeller is a high-speed labelling machine that can apply smaller labels – 75 percent smaller than conventional labels – even to irregularly shaped products. The shipping labels can also be applied to products that are shipped in their original packaging. In many cases, this eliminates the need for additional Amazon packaging.
Over two thirds of all goods in Germany are transported in corrugated cardboard packaging. In e-commerce, the proportion of corrugated cardboard packaging is 90 percent. The recycling rate of the material is 95.3 percent.
Sustainable e-commerce
Kaufland is one of the largest online marketplaces in Germany and Europe, with up to 32 million online visitors per month and over 45 million products in more than 6.400 categories. What plans does Kaufland have to minimize packaging waste?
Kaufland spokesperson Dominik Knobloch clarifies: “Kaufland.de works according to the marketplace principle. Here, retailers sell their products in their own name and also handle shipping – including the packaging process – independently. Kaufland’s commitment to sustainability (CSR) is deeply rooted in its goals and processes. In order to make shipping as responsible as possible towards people, animals, and the environment, the marketplace is designed in such a way that the returns rate is well below average.”
All relevant product information is made available to customers even before they make a purchase, minimizing the likelihood of returns as soon as they order the item. The returns rate for all categories on the marketplace is in the single-digit percentage range.