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Box optimisation for DS Smith

We optimised the number of different box sizes required to fulfil customer orders, reducing material waste and shipping costs.

Challenge

DS Smith are one Europe’s largest producers of cardboard boxes, with clients across retail and fast-moving consumer goods brands. The industry standard box fill rate is a staggering 50%. Wasted packaging damages our environment, provides less protection to the product it contains, and increases the manufacturing and shipping costs of the business that produces it. Recognising this, DS Smith chose Satalia to improve their manufacturing efficiency.

  • Average box fill rate for industry is ~50%.
  • 000’s of customers, each with different product dimensions.

Outcomes

22%

reduction in material usage

Outcomes

22%

reduction in material usage

Solution

We developed a box optimisation tool which, given a customer order — a list of products, their dimensions and weights — would suggest the optimal configuration of box sizes to fulfil that order. The objective being to maximise the fill rate of all boxes.

Using historical order and wastage data, we also suggested the exact quantity of material required to fulfil their made-to-fit orders; orders in which they custom made box sizes from a single sheet of cardboard to ensure exactly the right fit.