SLAM and Sustainability

July 31, 2025|Conveyors & Sortation, Distribution Centers/Warehouse, Material Handling

Right-size automation can reduce void fill and corrugated materials and increase packaging sustainability. © KN Studio – stock.adobe.com

Automating the final 100 feet of operations can lessen your environmental impact, while increasing your savings.

Contributed By: MHI’s SLAM Industry Group

The Material Handling Industry’s SLAM (scan, label, apply and manifest) industry group exists as the authoritative resource for transforming today’s end of line fulfilment operations to address today’s challenges and to be compliant for upcoming regulations. At the recent Warehouse Education and Resource Council (WERC) annual conference, SLAM group members Gina Baldwin of Felins, Garland Martin of Packsize, and Gina Ylagan of Packsize, presented on the topic of “Sustainability: How it Fits and Pays Off Within the Last 100 Feet of Fulfillment.”

To understand how SLAM and sustainability go hand in hand, it’s helpful to look at shipment trends in North America. According to Ylagan, the number of packages shipped per year in the region stands at 27 percent to the rest of the world’s 73 percent. As the numbers grow, sustainability becomes an ever more important piece of the equation, and regulations reflect that.

In Europe, there is legislation aimed at reducing waste in shipping through both greenhouse gas reduction and packaging/packaging waste regulations. In the United States, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy that measures packaging and ways to reduce excess spaces in shipping related to lower waste and emissions. Non-compliance leads to financial fines, legal action, product bans and more. The program is managed on a state-to-state basis, so it’s important to understand what that looks like in the states where you operate.

In addition to growing regulations surrounding packaging and sustainability, general rate increases from small parcel shippers is going up an average of 5.9 percent annually for both UPS and Fed-ex globally, according to Ylagan. “Costs could rise by as much as 12 percent to 16 percent, driven by changes in carrier strategies to optimize their networks, incentivize specific dimensions and weights, and penalize outliers through surcharges,” she said.

By automating your SLAM line to include right-size automation to reducing the airspace within a shipping box, you gain industry advantages, says Ylagan. For instance, you could reduce void fill by 60 percent, corrugated materials by 26 percent, and increase packaging speed, all through right sizing. The result is improved customer experience and a better brand image.

Other impacts from right-sized packaging include a 42 percent reduction in cubic volume, a 31 percent point increase in average carton fill rate, and a 26 percent reduction in billable weight.

Sustainability can pay off, says Ylagan. “Shipping costs involve more than weight, with factors like dimensional weight pricing, oversized fees, and rate increases,” she said. “The cost to ship product has never been higher, and right-size technology provides a sustainable solution that can positively impact the planet, and your bottom line.”

WHERE SUSTAINABILITY AND AUTOMATION MEET

During the packing process, if you’re working with manual pack stations, you’re overall seeing less throughput. You’ll have too many boxes and bags to choose from, you’ll have inconsistencies in your void fill, experience returns due to damage and will end up disappointing customers with the unboxing experience.

Adding automation, however, will lead to reduced costs, increased and predictable productivity with less operator touch, protecting the products throughout the shipping journey. Customers will be happier with the unboxing experience, and you’ll be more likely to be more competitive in the marketplace and keep a customer in that manner.

Some options for sustainable packaging include bundling multis with banding, which you can accomplish with semi- or fully automated systems. The materials can be 100 percent plastic free, recyclable, and add brand recognition to your products.

When examining right-size packaging options, you should consider several factors, according to Baldwin. These include:

The product mix
Box vs. mailer
Paper vs. plastic mailers
Singles vs. multi’s
Semi-automated vs. fully automated

Right-size mailers are another savings and sustainability increasing option. They can include polybags with recycled content, and thinner materials that offer equal durability. Paper mailers are also available, including custom printing options. By moving from manual to automated, you can increase throughput by 300 percent and decrease labor savings by 30 cents a pack.

Overall savings from automated SLAM lines, according to Martin, can average as much as a 50 percent reduction in shipped package volumes, a 30 percent reduction in materials, and up to an 88 percent labor reduction when converting from fully manual to fully automated packaging. “You’ll experienced fewer damaged parcels, increased throughput and reduced order errors,” he explains. “End users benefit, too, with easy to recycle containers, positive unboxing, and easy returns.”

The environment benefits, as well, with reduced or eliminated void fill, biodegradable packages like corrugated, and more boxes per truckload, lowering carbon footprints.

If all this intrigues, where do you go from here? According to Martin, you should develop smart objectives and incremental wins. “If you’re using poly mailers, switch to mailers with recycled content or thinner material,” he said. “Reduce the use of single-use plastics with paper banding. Right size your boxes or mailers, instead of using fixed sizes.”

Interested in more information? Reach out to your partners and the SLAM resource companies for more information. WMHS

About the Contributors

MHI’s SLAM Industry Group (www.mhi.org/slam) provides education and thought leadership for “the last 100 feet” of warehouse and distribution operations. The group is made up of the companies that make the solutions and technologies that go into ecommerce fulfillment processes.