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Filterbuy manufactures and distributes air filters for homes and businesses. Across its three manufacturing locations, Filterbuy produces more than 100,000 filters a day and ships an average of 12,000–14,000 orders daily. During peak periods, volumes can reach 25,000–26,000 orders per day.[GH3.1]
That volume comes with a unique packaging challenge. Filterbuy offers approximately 700 standard variations of length, width, depth, and filtration rating, plus custom filters. Because customers can order different quantities and combinations of filters, every e-commerce order can have a different shape and size.
Before Packsize, Filterbuy relied on stock boxes. Employees had to look at each order, determine which box was the closest fit, locate that box, and bring it back to the packing station. This manual process not only significantly slowed down the fulfillment process, but the oversized boxes meant Filterbuy was often paying to ship empty space.
“We would have 30 different box sizes and you would have to physically look at a size and just guess what box we were using,” said Darren Bibey, Shipping Manager at Filterbuy. “There was a lot of in-between time looking at the package that you had and then locating the box that you needed, going to get that box, coming back, making sure it fit, and then doing it that way.”
The problem extended beyond the packaging process itself, bleeding into the customer experience. [GH4.1]
“When we first started talking with Paccurate and Packsize, we were seeing a lot of customer returns with damaged products, and also wasted space on our trailer,” said Yvonne Cory, Plant Manager at Filterbuy’s Ogden facility.
Filterbuy needed a more efficient way to package its highly variable order profiles [GH5.1]– one that could keep up with demand while reducing excess packaging and shipping volume.
Filterbuy partnered with Packsize and Paccurate to automate its packaging process and create a right-sized box for every order. Paccurate’s cartonization software calculates the exact box size and packaging configuration for each order that comes in. That information is then sent to Packsize’s EM7 [GH7.1]machine, which produces the right-sized box on-demand.
Together, the technologies replaced Filterbuy’s manual box selection process with a synchronized workflow.
“You don’t have to guess what box is what. Everything’s synchronized,” Bibey said. “You literally just grab the next box that comes out and it matches up with the next order going out.”
Paccurate also helps employees understand exactly how products should be packed. Its interface shows operators how to arrange the items in each order, making the process easier and more consistent.
“The biggest time saver I think we see with Paccurate is that you can literally just look at any order and it shows you how to box it,” Bibey said. “From our new hires to our more veteran employees, they can just look at that same screen and be told where to go, what to do, what to pack.”
At the Ogden facility, Packsize is now used for 100% of Filterbuy’s business-to-consumer fulfillment.
By right-sizing each order, Filterbuy saw a significant reduction in the amount of packaging material used across its fulfillment operation, including:
The biggest change, however, took place at the loading dock.
Before Packsize and Paccurate, Filterbuy’s Ogden facility was shipping approximately four truckloads each day. Today, that number has dropped to about two and a half.
The facility is also getting more product into each trailer. A full trailer previously held approximately 800 boxes. Now, a full trailer can hold as many as 1,000-1,100 boxes.
“It’s saved a lot of room,” Bibey said. “It’s reduced our cost with UPS just with not having another trailer on site, it’s reduced the amount of pickups that we need— it's been a game changer for us.”
The benefits extend to Filterbuy’s wholesale business, too. Paccurate helps the team determine how larger orders can be packaged as efficiently as possible, helping reduce the number of pallets required for LTL and full-truckload shipments.
“If we can send out one less pallet, that's a lot of money in the long scheme of things,” Bibey said. “It really just shows us the best way to pack it.”
Reducing excess space inside the box has also helped Filterbuy address another important challenge: damaged products.
Oversized boxes leave products with room to shift during transportation, which can lead to product damages. For Filterbuy, this quickly became a customer experience issue.
“With Paccurate and Packsize, everything's right-sized so there's no space,” Bibey said. “Everything is a lot sturdier going out. You don't get any of those collapsed boxes just because there's nothing inside of it.”
At the Ogden facility, Filterbuy’s damaged-product return rate is now less than half of the internal company target rate.
For Cory, that represents more than a reduction in returns. It helps protect the relationship Filterbuy has with its customers.
“A lot of times if a customer receives a package that is damaged, they might not reorder from us,” Cory said. “And so having that first good experience is very, very important.”
Introducing automation into a high-volume operation can create concerns about whether new technology will be able to keep pace with demand. For Filterbuy, the Packsize solution quickly proved that it could.
“After the first week we started getting used to it and now we can keep up with any demand that we have here,” Bibey said.
The team’s response to the technology was one of the more unexpected benefits of the project. Cory says employees from other departments now volunteer to work on the Packsize machines during busy periods, helping the operation handle seasonal increases in volume.
“The team loved it so much that I actually have employees in other departments that volunteer to work on the Packsize machines,” Cory said. “We keep setting the bar higher and higher on how many boxes per hour we need to get out the door because they're breaking records all the time.”
CJ Searcy, Vice President of Operations at Filterbuy, saw the same shift. What initially looked like large, complex equipment became something the team was excited to work with.
“It was fun to see a team that was, at first, a little bit shy and intimidated by new automation equipment, to now come to gravitate towards it,” Searcy said.
Filterbuy initially approached packaging automation as a way to reduce box size and shipping volume. The project has since grown into a broader partnership between Filterbuy, Packsize, and Paccurate.
Searcy credits the success of the project to the collaboration between the three companies.
“I think this project was made successful just from really great teamwork between Filterbuy, Packsize, and Paccurate,” Searcy said. “Generally, promises have been kept and we've got a lot of sharp people that have worked to make it a success.”
Cory also points to the support she received from Packsize throughout the project, from seeing the machines in action before implementation to working with the Packsize team during installation and after the system went live.
“I've loved that I've been able to go on site with Packsize and see the machines, meet the people behind the products,” Cory said. “And so for me, I just have loved the entire experience.”
For Filterbuy, the result is a packaging process that is better suited to the complexity and scale of its business. With Packsize producing the right-sized box on demand and Paccurate helping determine how each order should be packed, Filterbuy can ship more product in less space while creating a simpler, more consistent workflow for its team.
Want to learn how your operation can reduce packaging and shipping costs with right-sized packaging? Reach out to our packaging experts to request an evaluation.
