Don’t Let Your Boxes Break Your Automation: A Guide for UK Businesses

For UK businesses, packaging automation is no longer optional; labour shortages, rising costs, and relentless e-commerce growth have made it a strategic necessity. And yet, many automation investments fail, not because of the machinery, but because of the packaging itself.

Manor Packaging have trading experience supplying tens of thousands of boxes every week to many blue chip companies. Not every case erector is the same. Many have specific requirements to avoid machine jams and downtime. Manor Packaging’s case erect standard boxes are specifically designed to combat the delicate automation requirements cases erectors demand to ensure a smooth and efficient production operation.

With our world-class 96–98.5% OTIF delivery and assured material supply through CorrBoard UK, you’ll never have to worry about automation downtime caused by late or inconsistent boxes. Manor Packaging ensures your automation goals are a success from day one.

Why Standard Boxes Cripple Automation ROI

An automated line is more than just a conveyor belt; it’s a networked system where a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) acts as the brain, taking in data from dozens of precise sensors to command motors and robotic arms. These systems operate on predictability, so when the packaging they handle is inconsistent, it introduces chaos into a highly-tuned environment, leading to predictable failures:

• Machine Jams: Minor variations in box size, score lines, or board thickness cause feeding errors and bring your entire production line to a halt.
• Sensor Errors: Inconsistent dimensions lead to misreads, causing misapplied labels, incorrect or filling errors and boxes not sealing securely..
• Product Damage: A box that isn’t structurally sound for high-speed conveying can collapse, leading to waste, rework and downtime.

Inconsistent packaging is the fastest way to bring an automated line to a halt. Treating the box as a low-cost commodity, rather than a critical machine component, is a recipe for constant downtime and inefficiency.

The Manor Packaging Solution: Engineering for a High-Performance System

A successful automation journey requires a packaging partner who understands the mechanics of your operation. At Manor Packaging, our consultative, design-led approach ensures your packaging is a catalyst for peak performance.

• Precision Engineering – We build packaging to exact machine tolerances. By utilising state-of-the-art production processes, we ensure uniform dimensions and seamless integration with case erectors, fillers, and sealers.
• Structural Integrity – We design boxes to withstand the stresses of robotic handling by analysing your operational demands to select the optimal flute profile and board grade, to ensure your packaging maintains its integrity throughout the entire automated process.
• Intelligent Design – We use our structural design expertise to create packaging that is “right-sized”, avoiding the costly mistake of unnecessarily shipping air and eliminating the need for process steps like void-fill, reducing your capital investment, simplifying the line, and lowering your ongoing consumable costs.

From innovating shelf-ready packaging for a local chocolate manufacturer to developing automation-friendly transit boxes for large food manufacturers and logistics operations, we’ve repeatedly demonstrated our ability to address common packaging mistakes that undermine efficiency.

A Quick 4-Point Check for Automation Readiness

Here’s a quick 4-point check to see if your operation is ready for automation.

Analyse Your Operations: (Where are the pain points?)

• Where do your production bottlenecks occur?
• Do you have trouble meeting customer demand? 
• Are you turning away orders because of capacity constraints?
• What are your order inaccuracy, rework, and in-transit damage rates?
• Have you calculated your ‘total packaging  cost’? The unit cost of the box + the cost of the time it takes to erect and fill the box.

Calculate the Financial Viability: (What is the true ROI?)

• Have you calculated the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) including integration, training, and maintenance, and not just the upfront cost of the machinery?
• How severely are rising labour costs or staff shortages impacting your profitability?
• Have you calculated “hidden” ROI factors, like reduced shipping costs from right-sized packaging?

Evaluate Your Workforce & Culture: (Who will run the automated packaging system?)

• Do you have an in-house team with the technical skills for basic maintenance and troubleshooting?
• Has leadership developed a clear change management plan to bring your employees on board?
• Are you prepared to invest in comprehensive training for operators and maintenance staff?

Assess Your Infrastructure: (Where will it fit?)

• Is your current facility layout suitable for installing a new packaging line?
• Can your existing warehouse management (WMS) or ERP systems integrate with modern automation protocols?
• How standardised are your current product SKUs and packaging formats?

Sustainability as a Direct Outcome of Efficiency

Automation and innovative packaging design work in tandem to help meet ambitious environmental goals. Our tailored, made-to-size boxes reduce waste at the source, and smaller packaging means more goods on each delivery trip, cutting your transport emissions.

Our commitment to a quality promise extends to sustainable materials. Our FSC®-certified materials are manufactured at CorrBoard UK on a corrugator powered by its own Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant, making the manufacture of the raw material carbon neutral – a unique process in the UK. This is just one of many reasons that Corrugated Packaging is the Smart Choice for Modern Supply Chains.

The automation journey is a significant strategic undertaking, and its success begins with the fundamental recognition that your packaging is not just a container; it is a core component of your production system. Partnering with bespoke e-commerce box solutions experts, who can engineer your packaging with the same precision as your machinery, is the key to success. To further streamline your supply chain, our Stock & Serve packaging inventory management program can eliminate warehousing headaches and ensure just-in-time delivery.

Book an Automation Readiness Consultation with our packaging specialists, or request a free packaging audit. Together, we’ll analyse your supply chain and identify how automation-ready packaging can cut costs, improve efficiency, and strengthen your brand.