Trial Project: Cost reduction of cartons through material optimization

1. Basic Details
1. Program Name: Road to USA.

2. Customer Name: POLO RALPH LAUREN.

3. Sales Order Number: 1241510041

4. Sales Order Delivery Date: 05/11/2023

5. Mode of Transport (from TGCL to customer): Sea

6. Product Dimensions: 274 x 274 cm

7. Pieces per Carton: 12

8. Carton Details:

a. Description: CTN-56-34-39CM-5PLY-STPLS-OD-MS-CT

b. Compressive Strength: 550 kgF

c. Bursting Strength: 12 Kg/cm2

d. Material Code: 301015346.

9. Carton Order Qty: 800 pieces

2. Comparison of carton samples with in-use carton

**Generally for the above structure we have looked for 32 BF of paper, but due to unavailability of paper we had to go with the option of 28 BF papers
Description In-Use Carton Sample 1 Sample 2
Supplier Saumya Packaging Nitin Paper Converters Emami Packaging
Material Paper Paper Paper Paper Paper Paper
Used Orientation Flute Orientation Flute Orientation Flute
GSM BF GSM BF GSM BF
Ply 1 –Plain 180 28 Ply 1 - Plain 180 28 Ply 1 - Plain 250 28*
Ply 2 – Ply 2 – Ply 2 -
Corrugated 150 20 B Corrugated 180 18 B Corrugated 250 28* C
Ply 3 –Plain 150 20 Ply 3 - Plain 180 28
Ply 4 – Ply 4 – Ply 3 - Plain 250 28*
Corrugated 150 20 C Corrugated 180 18 C
Ply 5 – Ply 5 - Plain 180 28
Plain 180 28
Fluting
Profile

Price of Rs. 57.12 Rs. 62.97 Rs. 51.88

Product
Price Paper prices negotiated with Vendor Paper prices yet to be negotiated Paper prices yet to be negotiated
Negotiation with Vendor with Vendor
Bursting 15.2 Kg/cm2 17.9 Kg/cm2 14.1 Kg/cm2
Strength
Compressive 678 kgF 808 kgF 625 kgF
Strength

**Generally for the above structure we have looked for 32 BF of paper, but due to unavailability of paper we had to go with the option of 28 BF papers
 Visual
Inspection

**Generally for the above structure we have looked for 32 BF of paper, but due to unavailability of paper we had to go with the option of 28 BF papers
Descriptive The sample had a significant amount of
Analysis
transverse deformation with relatively
high fracture points when subjected to
perpendicular load this is due to the
paper combination used in flute 2,3 and
liner 2. 150 GSM paper is a less formed
paper as they have higher proportion of
short fibers, fines, fillers throughout the better formed paper than 150 GSM
sheet thickness. Lower GSM of paper
tend to exhibit more dot gain and a
mottled appearance as they have more
weak and thick spots thereby it is
observed that lower the GSM, higher is
the bulk and higher is the strength loss.
Also, it is observed that when subjected
to perpendicular load 5-ply sample disposed across the layers resulting
offered by Mittal packaging, tend to bend
around its edge as they have relatively
lower thickness compared to the other
samples.
The sample had negligible amount
of transverse deformation with
insignificant fracture points when
subjected to perpendicular load
this is mainly due to the uniform
GSM chosen across the structure.
180 GSM paper is relatively a
as they have comparatively lower
proportion of short fibers, fines,
fillers throughout the sheet
thickness. Also with uniform
GSM, the thickness of structure
remains well distributed, and the
perpendicular load gets evenly
to better load bearing capacity.
The sample had lower amount of
transverse deformation with lower
fracture points when subjected to
perpendicular load. 250 GSM of
paper has a large proportion of well
beaten long fibers of hard wood trees
with a lower proportion of fines and
fillers throughout the sheet
thickness. Higher GSM of paper
have a uniform appearance with
relatively lower density of weak and
thick spots, thereby it is observed
that higher the GSM, lower is the
bulk and lower is the strength loss.
In a 3-ply structure, the combination
of paper GSM & BF is critical for
determining its load bearing ability,
generally higher BF is preferred on
the liners compared to fluting
medium as the long fibers in liners
distributes the load across the given
area uniformly and thereby reducing
the proportion of load in the fluting
medium subsequently.

**Generally for the above structure we have looked for 32 BF of paper, but due to unavailability of paper we had to go with the option of 28 BF papers
 3. Conclusion
The desired compressive and bursting strength of 5 ply cartons can be achieved in 3 ply cartons as well at an approximately
8% lower cost. Also, it is observed that the bursting strength and compressive strength calculation seems to miss out some
factors which potentially should be taken care of. Furthermore, it is observed that after consolidation of SKU there is a
potential of achieving MOQ of supplier and we can get some cost-benefit out of it as well.

4. Recommendations
We want to place 50% of cartons of an upcoming program in our methodology to evaluate its success in bulk orders. Upon
successful completion we wish to place 75% cartons and then 100% carton of domestic order in our said method to
determine its potential savings from existing method.

**Generally for the above structure we have looked for 32 BF of paper, but due to unavailability of paper we had to go with the option of 28 BF papers