Articles
Quill Corporation Cleans Up for Customers with Sealed Air Corporation's Fill-Air™ Inflatable Packaging System
October 21, 1999
Terry Schwarting, Director of Distribution at Quill's Lincolnshire, Illiniois headquarters, first became aware of the problem in 1996 when the response cards Quill sent to customers came back with numerous complaints about the mess associated with polystyrene peanuts.
The Customer is Always Right
"We were happy with the polystyrene peanuts but in survey after survey, our customers responded with pretty emotional comments about our choice of packing material," said Schwarting. "We realized quite quickly that if we continued doing something that our customers just didn't like, they would go somewhere else."
Because the majority of Quill's 800,000 strong customer base is made up of small- to medium-sized businesses, schools, and organizations whose office managers were very vocal about the peanuts, Schwarting knew he had to act fast.
"I needed a win-win situation that allowed me to give the customers no-fuss, no-muss packaging without raising our material and labor costs."
Schwarting decided early on that kraft paper would not meet these criteria because the weight of the material would increase the cost per package. A major drawback, because Quill pays shipping and handling on orders of $45 or more. The other option was an inflatable air bag that would provide void fill and cushioning for Quill's products without annoying the customer or adding shipping weight.
Sealed Air to the Rescue
Schwarting experimented with a number of packaging materials and systems at Quill's smaller start-up locations only to discover that he would need a faster option for the high-volume distribution center in Lincolnshire, which processes more than 5,000 orders daily. That faster option arrived in the form of Sealed Air's Fill-Air™ inflatable packaging system. Sealed Air Corp. representative, Bob Staral approached Schwarting with information about the new technology and immediately captured his interest. The Fill-Air™ inflatable packaging system produces a continuous perforated chain of air-filled cushions that can be easily torn off and inserted into cartons for fast, high-volume void-fill packaging applications.
After learning more about the system and the rigorous testing procedure conducted by Sealed Air Corporation, Schwarting signed up for the automated on-line packaging system. In June 1997, Staral installed the free standing, mobile, Fill-Air™ inflatable packaging system at Quill's 442,000 square foot Lincolnshire facility.
At the time, Quill employed almost 60 people at Lincolnshire to pick and pack orders. Each picker used an order form generated by Quill's computer system to identify the size of the carton to be used and the items to be inserted. Each order was then placed on a conveyor belt to be verified by a checker. An operator would then dispense polystyrene peanuts through an overhead hopper system before sealing the box.
Because the peanuts tended to fly around and scatter on the floor, a janitor spent up to 3 hours a day cleaning up the packaging area. The peanuts were blown directly into the hopper from a truck stationed at the loading dock.
The Fill-Air™ inflatable packaging system fit easily into the on-line process by replacing the hopper and eliminating clean-up time. Only one operator is now needed to operate the system. The operator tears off the required number of dispensed air cushions and inserts them into each box before sending it through a case sealer.
Customers Give Fill-Air™ System Two Thumbs Up
A Packaging Value Analysis comparing the old and new processes revealed that the Fill-Air™ inflatable packaging system added no additional labor or material costs. Quill also sent out customer response cards for feedback on the new packaging – the results were overwhelming.
"There was no contest – Sealed Air got us the ‘win-win' we were looking for," said Schwarting. "We received a 95% positive response rate for the Fill-Air™ bags with praise for the neater packaging and comments about how much easier it was to find the products in the box."
When the testing period was over in October 1997, Quill ordered Fill-Air™ inflatable packaging systems for its regional distribution centers in Lebanon, PA; Canton, GA; Dallas, TX; Ontario, CA; Columbus, OH; and Agawam, MA.
Schwarting also added a second Fill-Air™ inflatable packaging system at Quill's largest distribution center in Lincolnshire. The second Fill-Air™ system enables packers at this facility's ability to handle peak hour orders between 4 and 7 p.m.
"Sealed Air Corporation has given us the tools to be even more responsive to our customers without compromising our own needs, " said Schwarting. "We're looking forward to working with Sealed Air as we face even greater opportunities for global expansion in the future."
Fill-Air is a trademark of Sealed Air Corporation
