Multi-packing machine from bol.com the world’s first to custom pack multiple items in one box

Orders that consist of multiple items are often delivered to the customer in a box that is too big. Bol.com is now making a start on custom packing these kinds of orders with the ‘multi-packing machine’, the first of its kind worldwide. Loose items have largely been packed by bol.com by machine since 2015. But the multi-packing machine can scan the dimensions of multiple items at once and fold one cardboard box around them. What is unique is that the machine is suitable for such a diverse assortment as that of bol.com with 33 million items and almost as many different item sizes. Smarter, customized packaging means smaller packages, less packaging material and as little empty air as possible. As a result, better use is made of the space available in transportation vehicles, and fewer trips are needed to deliver the same number of items. This technology provides a new contribution to bol.com’s sustainable ambition to reduce the CO2 emissions of its own operations to 0 grams per package by 2025.

Vincent Weijers, Director of Logistics & Operations (COO) of bol.com: “Since 2015 we have been using packing machines for single item orders. We now have ten of those. But the biggest challenge in e-commerce, and therefore also for bol.com, is the custom packaging of multiple items at once of different shapes and sizes. There was no machine for that. Before, we could only pack an order of, for example, a cuddly toy, a frying pan and deodorant into one box manually. Not only does that take more time, but we are also bound to a number of fixed box sizes, which often leaves empty air in the packaging.”

“Together with manufacturer CMC, we spent years working on a solution that met our criteria. With this first multi-packing machine, we can now pack multiple items faster and more economically. In this way we are taking another step towards our sustainable ambition. In order to increase our capacity, we will be taking another five multi-packing machines into use at the beginning of next year and within a few years we want to increase that number to ten.”

Packing process of the multi-packing machine

Orders containing several articles arrive at the multi-packing machine in a crate on the conveyor belt. It scans the height, length and width of the various items, cuts the cardboard box to size and then folds it precisely around the items. The package then rolls automatically to the PostNL sorting department in the bol.com fulfillment center. The multi-packaging machine is used for both bol.com’s own products and the products of sales partners who outsource their logistics to bol.com.

Francesco Ponti, CEO of CMC: “We are very proud of our partnership with bol.com and the successful results in developing the multi-packing machine. This is the first fully automated machine of its kind in the world. What’s more, the multi-packing machine is fully integrated into the logistics process of bol.com. Together, we continuously strive for innovations to make packaging more sustainable and solutions with the lowest possible environmental impact.”

Minimizing CO2 emissions

The multi-packing machine is one of eleven machines that bol.com is currently using to maximize customized packaging. In addition to the multi-packing machine, bol.com uses packing machines for individual items. All packing machines save cardboard, but especially the reduction of air in packages reduces CO2 emissions. If the packages are smaller, fewer vans need to drive to deliver the same number of items.

Bol.com has reduced its own CO2 emissions per package by 39 percent over a two-year period, from 2018 to 2020. This concerns the work that bol.com directly influences. So from the moment items are in the fulfillment center to delivery to the customer’s front door, and everything in between. Making the packaging process more sustainable is also essential. By 2022 bol.com expects to be able to use 25 packing machines to pack the articles as custom-made as possible.