The coffee industry is very competitive. If you're looking for a way to solve labor shortages, speed up your processes, reduce errors, and improve packaging flexibility, you might want to follow the many manufacturers that are turning to palletizing automation as a valuable tool.
There are various advantages that come with using palletizing cobots in your packaging process.
Here are the top 8 benefits.
1. Maintain uptime at your end-of-line
The pandemic and labor shortages in certain industries have led to widespread disruptions in the supply chain. Businesses that adopted automation at an early stage have had more capacity to maintain production flow.
Since all your products pass through the palletizing stage, palletizing cobots can help maintain uptime, whatever the circumstances. See how Napco Brands increased its throughput by 15% with automated palletizing.
2. Reduce the burden on manual labor
One of the major benefits of using a palletizing cobot is that it reduces the burden on your workers. Palletizing is not an enjoyable task for humans to perform, as it is dull and repetitive.
With a cobot performing your palletizing tasks, you free up employees to work on other tasks that are more critical to the business and your customers.
3. Improve flexibility in the palletizing process
One of the best things about cobots is their flexibility. You can easily adapt them to meet unique needs and processes. From different product box sizes, surface materials, and shapes, to an extensive range of heights, pallet dimensions, and box patterns, cobots allow for quick changeovers.
They’re easy to configure and cost-effective to do yourself, no matter what your level of robotics knowledge.
4. Increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness
In such a competitive industry, you're probably looking for ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs where you can. Packaging processes are one area where automation can be highly effective.
Cobot palletizing is a lot more cost-effective than alternative palletizing solutions, such as conventional palletizing robots. Cobots also tend to require less maintenance and much less training.
5. Deploy and integrate with ease
Unlike traditional industrial or palletizing robots, which tend to require robotics expertise and weeks to set up, cobots are easier to deploy, fit alongside your existing manual processes, and are more accessible than the alternatives.
With the Robotiq Palletizing Cobot Application, you could be up and running in just a few hours. No need to design or program the connection between the robot controller and hardware; we’ve done it for you. All the elements included in the box are connected, so you don’t have to spend any time on this.
6. Help improve workplace safety
If you're still relying on manual palletizing, you run a higher risk of workplace injuries. Palletizing is a physically demanding task that can often result in injuries, particularly to the back.
By using cobots to palletize your products, you can improve workplace safety and reduce the risk of injuries. This can significantly reduce the number of work days lost to injury.
7. Reduce the chance of product damage
Product damage is one of the great risks of a palletizing process that isn't working properly. Humans are prone to accidentally dropping, mishandling, or incorrectly placing products. And it only takes one poorly placed box for the entire pallet to come crashing down during transit.
A cobot palletizing solution places product boxes precisely on the pallet, in the exact same way every time. Cobots help you improve consistency and ensure all products are packaged securely.
8. Keep your coffee business current
Along with all the practical impacts of adding a palletizing cobot to your process, investing in new technology also helps your company keep up with your competition.
Many coffee manufacturers are now turning to robotic automation to improve their processes. An example of this is using drones to map climate data on coffee farms. Reports have shown that in 10 minutes, drones can gather this data with a 93% accuracy rate, whereas farmers would have to spend hours gathering similar data on foot.
It's highly likely that your competitors are already considering or using palletizing automation. By being proactive, you help keep your company relevant in the industry.
When you consider all the benefits listed above, it's easy to see why so many coffee manufacturers are now moving to palletizing cobots to improve their packaging processes.
If you're looking for a way to automate your palletizing process, the Robotiq Palletizing Cobot Application is the best way to start. To see how it revolutionized Cascade Coffee's operations and team morale, see our case study.
To optimize your productivity and overcome your labor challenge, connect with a Robotiq expert.
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