Materials Handling/Packaging Field Research Assignment
Packaging and handling are important to businesses. Packaging is used to promote a product, protects the product and consumer, and informs the prospective consumer and handlers throughout the supply chain. In addition, with assistance from technology advancements, a well designed and constructed package aids in product handling throughout the supply chain. This paper will evaluate three frequently purchased consumer products: Purina canned dog food, Purina bagged dry dog food, and Greenies boxed dog treats. A comparison of the Purina dry dog food and the boxed Greenie’s dog treats packaging will also be made. The packaging will be evaluated and compared to identify if the packaging assists or hinders material handling for the logistics provider. Finally, recommendations will be made for packaging changes and the reasoning behind the recommendations.
Table of Contents
1. Materials Handling/Packaging Field Research Assignment
2. The Impacts of Technology on Material Handling and Package Design
3. Aspects that Hinder or Assist in Material Handling by the Logistics Provider
4. Recommendations
Research Objectives and Topics
This paper examines how product packaging impacts the efficiency of material handling within the supply chain by evaluating and comparing the packaging designs of three common consumer dog products to identify logistical strengths and weaknesses.
- Analysis of packaging technology and its role in supply chain automation.
- Evaluation of material handling challenges associated with traditional bag packaging.
- Comparison of packaging logistics between soft bags and structured boxes.
- Investigation into the effectiveness of RFID and bar coding in modern distribution.
- Development of logistics-friendly recommendations for packaging design.
Excerpt from the Book
Aspects that Hinder or Assist in Material Handling by the Logistics Provider
Examining and comparing two consumer products a 50- pound bag of Purina dry dog food and a box of Greenie dog treats revealed several issues. Although each package contained a UPC code and appropriate labels regarding type of product, safety issues, storage requirements, and the amount of recyclable material used in the packaging that assist the movement of goods by a logistics provider several aspects exist that hinder the material handling of the bagged dry dog food. Among these issues include: the physical make up of the package, mixed shipments on a pallet, increased labor to allocate product from one shipping container to another, inability to ship in boxes, difficult to use RFID technology on individual bags, and bar codes easily blemished.
The bagged dog food product has a basic anti-tampering device in the form of a cloth thread sewn seal at the top of each bag. The bags are made from paper plastic combination easily damaged by dropping or from puncturing from the forks of a fork lift. Unless a single product type is shipped only on one pallet and uses RFID, the risk of damage and shrinkage increases when manual labor is used as part of the regrouping allocating or sorting of various product types into individual orders. Unless an organization uses 1D bar codes that “increases its redundancy thus making it more resistant to degradation and obliteration and making it easier to scan”, continual shifting and movement of the awkward bags rubs the UPC codes off and eventually becomes difficult if not impossible to scan farther down the logistics chain like at the retail store (Allen, 2010, p. 2, para. 5).
Summary of Chapters
Materials Handling/Packaging Field Research Assignment: Provides an overview of the study's scope, identifying the three dog food products being evaluated to determine if their packaging hinders or assists logistics providers.
The Impacts of Technology on Material Handling and Package Design: Discusses how advancements like RFID, bar coding, and automated storage and retrieval systems have revolutionized product movement and the importance of package design in these systems.
Aspects that Hinder or Assist in Material Handling by the Logistics Provider: Compares the logistical performance of dog food bags versus boxed treats, highlighting the physical vulnerabilities of bags and the efficiency of rigid, cube-based packaging.
Recommendations: Proposes specific design changes for the evaluated products, suggesting a transition to rectangular, handle-equipped boxes to improve handling efficiency and reduce supply chain errors.
Keywords
Materials Handling, Product Packaging, Logistics, Supply Chain, RFID, Bar Coding, UPC, Automation, Inventory Integrity, AS/RS, Distribution, Logistics-friendly, Shrinkage, Efficiency, Package Design
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research?
The paper focuses on how packaging design influences the efficiency of material handling and distribution processes within a supply chain.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The main themes include technology integration (RFID/bar codes), the physical impact of packaging materials on handling, and logistical optimization for retail products.
What is the core objective or research question of this study?
The objective is to evaluate whether specific consumer product packaging assists or hinders logistics providers and to recommend improvements based on these findings.
Which scientific methods are utilized in this paper?
The author uses a comparative case study approach, analyzing and contrasting the packaging of three specific dog food products to draw conclusions about logistical best practices.
What content is addressed in the main sections?
The main sections cover the technological context of modern logistics, a comparative analysis of bag versus box packaging, and actionable design recommendations.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include materials handling, logistics, packaging design, RFID, supply chain efficiency, and automated storage.
Why are standard dog food bags considered problematic for logistics?
They are prone to damage, difficult to stack efficiently, and challenging for RFID or scanner integration compared to rigid, box-based containers.
What specific design change does the author suggest for dry dog food?
The author recommends transitioning from bags to a rectangular box design with handles and a reusable lid to improve structural stability and scanning consistency.
How does the author characterize the Greenie dog treat packaging?
The author identifies it as an example of sound logistics design, as its box shape minimizes wasted space and supports automated handling systems.
- Arbeit zitieren
- James Tallant (Autor:in), 2010, Materials Handling And Packaging Field Research, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/167344
