Under the dual pressures of "explosive growth in order volume + continuous rise in labor costs" in the e-commerce industry, traditional manual carton erecting and sealing operations have become an efficiency bottleneck in the logistics and warehousing link. A national e-commerce logistics enterprise (hereinafter referred to as "Enterprise A"), which mainly engages in the warehousing and distribution of home appliances and daily necessities, saw its average daily order volume exceed 12,000 in 2025. The manual carton erecting and sealing link, plagued by low efficiency, high error rate and high cost, led to repeated cases of delayed order delivery. To address this pain point, Enterprise A introduced 3 units of a certain brand of automatic carton erector-sealers in June 2025. After a 6-month trial operation, it achieved a triple breakthrough in operational efficiency, cost control and order fulfillment rate. The following is a detailed breakdown of the case.
Before introducing the equipment, Enterprise A adopted a "4-person/group" manual carton erecting and sealing mode, which was responsible for carton erecting, bottom sealing and sealing after packing for ordered goods. During Q1 2025 (with an average daily order volume of 10,000), obvious shortcomings emerged:
1. Efficiency Bottleneck: The manual carton erecting speed was about 35 cartons per person per hour. Bottom sealing and carton sealing required repeated folding and tape application, with a single carton operation taking approximately 1.7 minutes. A 4-person team could only handle 840 orders per day, and an additional 2 night-shift teams had to be arranged to meet the order demand;
2. High Costs: The monthly salary of front-line operators was 5,500 RMB per person. The monthly labor cost for a 4-person team was 22,000 RMB. Including night-shift subsidies and social security expenses, the annual labor cost exceeded 300,000 RMB;
3. High Error Rate: Manual tape application was prone to problems such as "tape deviation" and "carton damage". During Q1, the goods transportation damage rate caused by insecure carton sealing reached 1.2%, resulting in a monthly damage compensation cost of approximately 15,000 RMB.
To meet Enterprise A's needs of "multi-category cartons (size range: 200×150×100mm - 600×400×300mm) and high-rhythm operations", the finally selected automatic carton erector-sealer (Model: KFX-800) had the following core configurations to ensure seamless integration with the existing production line:
Core Configuration | Technical Parameters | Adaptable Scenarios |
Carton Erecting Speed | 80-120 cartons per hour | Meeting the peak demand of 12,000 orders per day |
Carton Size Compatibility | Minimum 200×150×100mm, Maximum 600×400×300mm | Covering 98% of the commodity packaging specifications of Enterprise A |
Carton Sealing Method | Automatic hot-melt adhesive sealing (supporting single/double adhesive lines) | Adhesive tape bonding strength increased by 3 times, reducing the damage rate |
Control System | Touch screen operation + PLC programming, supporting order data linkage | Docking with Enterprise A's WMS system to realize automated flow of "order - carton erecting - carton sealing" |
Fault Early Warning | Automatic alarm for adhesive shortage, carton jamming and mismatched sizes | Reducing equipment downtime and improving availability rate |
After the trial operation from June to December 2024, Enterprise A verified the application value of the automatic carton erector-sealer by comparing key indicators before and after the equipment introduction. The specific data are as follows:
(I) Efficiency Improvement: Single Carton Operation Time Reduced by 65%, Labor Demand Decreased by 75%
Indicator | Before Introduction (Manual Mode) | After Introduction (Equipment Mode) | Change Range |
Single Carton Operation Time | 1.7 minutes/carton | 0.6 minutes/carton | Reduced by 65% |
Average Daily Processed Orders | 840 orders/4-person team | 2,400 orders/1 person + 3 units of equipment | Increased by 185% |
Labor Allocation | 8 people (4 for day shift + 4 for night shift) | 2 people (equipment operation and maintenance + assistance) | Decreased by 75% |
Chart 1: Bar Chart of Efficiency Comparison between "Manual vs. Equipment" in Carton Erection and Sealing Link of Enterprise A
(A bar chart should be inserted here, with the X-axis representing "Single Carton Time, Daily Orders, Labor Allocation" and the Y-axis representing the corresponding values. Two sets of data, "Manual" and "Equipment", are included to visually show the efficiency difference)
(II) Cost Reduction: Annual Comprehensive Cost Reduced by 282,000 RMB, ROI Cycle of 10 Months
1. Direct Cost Savings:
Labor Cost: Reduced from 300,000 RMB per year to 24,000 RMB per year (2 people × 6,000 RMB/month × 12 months), with an annual savings of 276,000 RMB;
Damage Compensation Cost: The goods damage rate decreased from 1.2% to 0.3%, and the monthly compensation cost dropped from 15,000 RMB to 4,000 RMB, with an annual savings of 132,000 RMB;
2. Equipment Investment Cost:
The purchase price of 3 units of equipment was 450,000 RMB. Including installation and commissioning fees, the total investment was 480,000 RMB;
Equipment Operation and Maintenance Cost: The monthly average consumption materials (hot-melt adhesive, spare parts) cost 8,000 RMB, with an annual operation and maintenance cost of 96,000 RMB;
3. Return on Investment (ROI):
Annual Net Cost Savings = (Labor Savings + Damage Compensation Savings) - Operation and Maintenance Cost = (276,000 + 132,000) - 96,000 = 312,000 RMB;
ROI Cycle = Total Investment ÷ Annual Net Savings = 480,000 ÷ 312,000 ≈ 1.55 years (in actual operation, due to the growth of order volume, the cost was recovered in 10 months).
Chart 2: Pie Chart of Annual Cost Structure Comparison in Carton Erection and Sealing Link of Enterprise A
(A pie chart should be inserted here, including two groups: "Before Introduction" and "After Introduction". Each group covers "Labor Cost, Damage Cost, Other Costs" to show the change in cost proportion)
(III) Fulfillment Capacity Improvement: Order On-time Rate Increased from 92% to 99.5%
After the equipment introduction, the carton erecting and sealing link no longer relied on manual efficiency. Even during the peak order periods of "618" and "Double 11" (with an average daily order volume of 25,000), the 3 units of equipment could still maintain a stable speed of 100 cartons per hour. Cooperating with the automated assembly line, the total process time of orders from "warehousing - sorting - carton erecting and sealing - packing - outbound" was reduced from 4.5 hours to 2.2 hours. The order on-time delivery rate increased from 92% to 99.5%, and the customer complaint rate decreased by 60%.
1. Applicable Scenarios:
E-commerce logistics and manufacturing warehousing enterprises with an average daily order volume of more than 500 and relatively standardized carton specifications;
Enterprises with high requirements for order fulfillment timeliness (such as next-day delivery, same-day delivery) and labor cost accounting for more than 30%;
2. Key Selection Points:
Prioritize equipment with "wide size compatibility" to avoid equipment idleness caused by changes in commodity packaging;
Require the equipment to support "data linkage" and be able to dock with WMS and ERP systems to realize full-process automation;
Pay attention to the after-sales service of manufacturers, and give priority to suppliers with "24-hour operation and maintenance response + regular maintenance" to reduce the risk of equipment downtime.
The case of Enterprise A shows that the automatic carton erector-sealer is not simply a "machine replacing labor", but a reconstruction of the warehousing operation process through "automation technology + data linkage". From the data perspective, after the equipment introduction, it achieved triple values of "40% efficiency improvement + 35% cost reduction + 7.5 percentage points increase in fulfillment rate". Especially during the peak e-commerce order periods, it demonstrated far greater stability and pressure resistance than manual work. For logistics and warehousing enterprises facing "labor shortage and efficiency bottlenecks", the automatic carton erector-sealer has become a core tool for cost reduction and efficiency improvement. Its characteristics of short investment return cycle and strong adaptability also make it a "entry-level preferred equipment" for logistics automation upgrading.
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