TOKYO -- Japanese parcel courier Yamato Holdings on Monday unveiled an automated packing system that can box goods about 10 times as fast as humans.
The equipment for a Kanagawa Prefecture logistics center automatically packs parcels for such customers as online retailers. It is capable of measuring the dimensions of each item or a group of items and packing it with minimum free space by creating on the spot a custom-made cardboard box closely fitting the dimensions.
Labeling is also printed automatically for a finished box whose length, width and height when added together can vary from 60cm to 160cm. Processing capacity maxes out at 456 boxes an hour.
The system at subsidiary Yamato Logistics was purchased from France's Neopost via Yamato Packing Technology Institute.
It also reduces the use of cushioning materials, since items are packed tightly. The resulting smaller box sizes enable trucks to carry more parcels in a single run.
(Nikkei)
