With COVID-19 caused downturn, the upfront costs related to new equipment and employee training can increase. However, at the same time, hygiene and quality needs are growing too for entirely safeguarding the end-product users – stressing the importance of Automated Packaging Lines.

The automated packaging technologies make it simpler than ever to automate manual procedures and offer human contact-less products. Further, companies are looking to accomplish more with their automated machinery investments to deliver an extensive range of quality products.

And these products need to be fully hygienic, accurate, not at all contaminated or affected by any virus to make a far-reaching supply chain and productive packaging lines. Here is more about automated packaging lines and how they can offer benefits to end-product users.

1. Role of Automation and Quality Assurance Solutions

In the past, automation solutions were not always fit enough to completely automate all the tasks of overseeing quality control in the packaging line. Rather, the tiresome and recurring works of inspecting all products were left to human workers.

Now, with the development of innovative automated technologies, companies can get equipped to “see” and “catch” nearly 100% of errors. Meanwhile, Quality Assurance (QA) Solutions work diligently, which means the automation capabilities to catch the mistakes and act on it are advantageous, valuable, and swift to process. Blending with other automated equipment in the packaging procedure; this offers highly reliable packaging and better hygiene for end-product users.

2. End-to-End Quality Assurance throughout Supply Chain

In the past few years, product manufacturers used to just focus on the final products and their quality attributes. However, today quality assurance is in every stage of product development starting right from the manufacturing plant to the diverse phases of the supply chain to eCommerce and other selling channels and finally received by the end-product consumer. The hygiene is facilitated and positively kept in control throughout the channels keeping products safe, secure as well as sound.

3. Lack of Personnel or Human Resources drives Automation

Today it is exceptionally tough to find appropriate personnel and skilled human resources at fitting costs. Principally if less repetitive tasks and activities are involved. It is for these grounds that today not only more prominent companies, but even SME’s are faced with the query of meeting the day to day needs resourcefully and cost-effectively.

Lack of personnel is one of the most significant factors causing companies to accept and move towards automation. Rising human resource costs due to the intense competitive situation are having a greater impact on the supply chain and increasing the product costs for end-users. However, by automating the processes, you can reduce the overall costs of your products benefiting the end-users.

4. Reliable Monitoring, Tracking and Scaling with Quality Assurance Solutions

The areas of use for automation solutions within the packaging processes start from product Infeed to loading right up to primary product inspection and secondary packaging at the end of the line. One part of the procedure, which can unquestionably be automated prudently, is monitoring and inspection of the products. If the human element is still utilized for all these activities when it comes to quality assurance of the products, with manual weighing, packaging, and labelling, it is not possible to scale your production lines.

Even random sampling is more probably inadequate to meet the statutory requirements and can’t eventually assure consumer safety. This scenario is because the quality assurance requirements are incredibly complicated, particularly in the FMCG, Food, and Pharmaceutical industry. The product and packaging have to be steadfast as per the benchmarks when it comes to quality checking to enable end-users.

5. Facilitating Automation, Quality Assurance, and Track & Trace Solutions

Facilitating automation initiates with automated washing, air-jet cleaning, sealing, capping, labelling, coding & vision inspection, mix up prevention, automated weighing, pick & place, automated printing & applying, pasting, and tracking products with inclusive reports through automation-based solutions.

Coming back to Quality Assurance Solutions, they help companies in preventing errors, defects, and product issues so that the end consumer has the right product in his hand.

On the other end, Track & Trace Solutions ensure that each shipment is within the company’s knowledge, each batch is tracked as well as traced, and the company has the absolute grasp of their products for users from anywhere across the world.

Key Takeaways

To maintain and sustain hygiene, companies will invest in automated packaging lines and upgrade the existing ones with automation in diverse industry mix depending on their product users.

Product and packaging transformations will be seen in all market segments covering the major ones which are Food, FMCG as well as Pharmaceutical domains, which are directly driven by the consumer’s requirements of quality, convenience, hygiene, and sanitation.