Unitechnik: clever carton planning for more efficient shipping

The new EU packaging regulation PPWR is coming: In addition to production and retail companies, the logistics sector is also affected by the new regulations. In future, special attention must be paid to the volume of cardboard packaging used in shipping. Unitechnik Systems GmbH already offers practical solutions to comply with the new regulations.

The European Council adopted the “Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation” (PPWR) on 16.12.2024. It is now being published and will come into force 20 days later in July 2026. With the new regulation, the European Union aims to reduce waste, promote recycling and enforce more sustainable packaging. In the intralogistics sector, this primarily affects order picking and shipping. From the end of 2025, the companies affected must ensure that the carton size is optimally adapted to the product in order to avoid excessive material consumption and reduce the volume to be transported. From then on, the proportion of filling materials such as bubble wrap or foam may only make up a maximum of 50 percent of the carton volume. In general, oversized cardboard boxes should no longer be used for a specific shipping volume. There are two approaches to avoiding over-packaging: adaptable cartons and the proactive selection of the right carton size for each order. Unitechnik has integrated both approaches at the Overath site of Soennecken eG, the leading trade cooperation for office and home office products and services in German-speaking countries.

Tetris in the shipping carton

In order to proactively provide the right carton size for each order, the volume that all items in an order will take up must be calculated before picking. With Case Calculation in the UniWare warehouse management system, Unitechnik offers an AI-based tool that performs precisely this task. The basis for this is the high quality of the item master data in the system. At Soennecken, picking is carried out using the pick-and-pack method directly into the shipping carton. UniWare knows in advance from the article master data exactly how large each article is and whether the respective articles can be nested inside each other. The best-fitting carton is placed on a tray and moves automatically from one picking station to the next. Case Calculation also determines the optimum packing sequence. The size, weight, sensitivity and value of the items are taken into account. The result is the use of the smallest possible cartons and a minimum returns rate.

Incisive carton planning

When using the largest carton type, however, Soennecken uses an additional system - a carton lidding machine. This uses a sensor to detect the fill level of the carton, which is open at the top. The machine then cuts into the carton at all four corners so that the sides can simply be folded shut. Finally, a lid is placed on top to complete the packaging process. The system enables Soennecken to individually reduce the size of shipping cartons and reduce the free volume to a minimum. The cooperative thus creates additional storage space in the trucks, reduces shipping costs and already meets the requirements of the new EU packaging regulation.

The new EU PPWR regulation primarily affects order picking and shipping.

At Soennecken, picking is carried out using the pick-and-pack method directly into the shipping carton.