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Amazon Tries To Figure Out the Packaging Box Problem It Created (t.co)

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the a-middleground dept.

Have you noticed that your tiniest ecommerce items, which used to be shipped in a box, are now arriving in a padded envelope? WSJ reports: Amazon is trying to ship each order in one correctly sized package instead of multiple boxes, responding to rising shipping costs and consumers' concern about the environmental impact (Editor's note: the link may be paywalled) and general nuisance of all that cardboard. That means adding bubble envelopes, tweaking algorithms and negotiating with manufacturers to make smaller packaging specifically for online sales, not store shelves. [...] This year, Amazon added machines in its warehouses that create padded mailers on demand to fit smaller items, all of which used to go into the company's smallest-sized box. Almost half of all of Amazon's products fit into the new mailers and poly bags, says Kim Houchens, director of customer packaging experience. Her team has been working to improve algorithms that help decide which size box and how many items should be packed together in each shipment. The algorithms use machine learning to test out new combinations -- for example, shipping a breakable item in a smaller box with less cushioning. The algorithm can scan customer reviews and other data to see if it worked and adjust as needed.

12 of 169 comments (clear)

  1. Packaging... by muphin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    love the quote" The algorithms use machine learning to test out new combinations -- for example, shipping a breakable item in a smaller box with less cushioning. The algorithm can scan customer reviews and other data to see if it worked and adjust as needed."

    so peoples packages are now used for "testing"... well that lamp broke... oh well, try something new....that poor person at the end of it now has a broken lamp to deal with.

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    1. Re:Packaging... by nnull · · Score: 5, Informative

      Well, the good thing is, Amazon seems to have no problem replacing your product. I've already had Amazon ship me free stuff when my package was a week late, and when it does arrive, they don't want it back. Their customer service is excellent so I don't see why they can't experiment a little with the good coverage that they have.

    2. Re:Packaging... by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't know where you live, but if you leave an Amazon package on the porch in many areas, they'll certainly be picked up very soon, but I have my doubts that it's going to be an Amazon employee who does it.

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      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re: Packaging... by mrscorpio · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, "a bit inconvenienced" is how that scenario would be described, since we are talking about a Christmas present and not a meal. May all your inconveniences remain small and related to consumerism, not subsistence.

    4. Re: Packaging... by Anonymous+Brave+Guy · · Score: 4, Informative

      Amazon's customer service is very good, though.

      Sometimes it is. Sometimes it's terrible. I have a personal example just this week, where they shipped something obviously not in a good enough state to give as a gift. It's true that they sent a replacement straight away when I told them, but I don't think that's unusually impressive from an online retailer in this situation when I've already paid for fast delivery and the fault was all on their side. Meanwhile, I've spent probably a couple of hours by now dealing with hassle about how to return the original, because they have managed to hide necessary information about returns that used to be clearly shown on their web site and then provided actively misleading information when I contacted them directly to ask about it.

      For us here, the pattern seems to be that every 2-3 years, Amazon's customer service collapses horribly around this time of year. Then the next year it's usually much better, but it tails off again. I assume this is because when it gets bad enough, people really do start to shop elsewhere instead.

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    5. Re: Packaging... by djrosen · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yeah because Plastic bubble wrap in a padded envelope is much more planet friendly then a cardboard box.

  2. From cardboard to plastic... by EETech1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I would think the cardboard packages are much more reusable and recyclable than the plastic lined paper envelopes.

    Amazon should be leading the way into sustainable packaging, even multi use returnable packaging.

    1. Re:From cardboard to plastic... by thesupraman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Absolutely this.

      This is all about Amazon reducing shipping costs, NOTHING to do with environment.
      Plastic is many, many times worse than paper/cardboard in just about every environmental measurement, however this new packaging allows for a significantly larger of shipments for a given packaging volume - therefore lower costs for Amazon.

      But hey, is that any surprise? of course minimising shipping costs is a prime need for Amazon, but why do they have to try and greenwash it?

    2. Re:From cardboard to plastic... by nnull · · Score: 5, Informative

      I'm sure this is more than reducing shipping costs for Amazon. Yes, it does reduce the costs for Amazon overall. Plastic is unfortunately much cheaper and more durable than paper. Plastic packaging machines are much cheaper over all, easier to control and for the most part, less error prone. The various quality issues has forced me to move away from paper packaging, too much moisture cause it to curl and the machine jamming up all the time, waste of time. Paper might be more environmentally friendly, but in the manufacturing world, paper is not being cost friendly at all lately due to various QC issues at paper mills and box plants lately (If you buy paper containers, you know what I'm talking about).

      And then the bouncing up and down costs of packaging is just insane. It makes it difficult to plan long term when GP, IP or the other big mills decide to raise the prices dramatically for no reason at all (They've done so multiple times this year already). Then you have Asia wanting to dump their shit paper products onto the US market that somehow winds up in container manufacturers that used to be good. There's a whole lot of shit that's going on in the paper world that you're just not aware of.

      I can see why Amazon wants to move away from it too.

    3. Re: From cardboard to plastic... by Harold+Halloway · · Score: 4, Funny

      I think it's more likely that Amazon will become so large and rich that they will privatise America by buying it.

    4. Re: From cardboard to plastic... by vtcodger · · Score: 4, Informative

      As it happens I have one of Amazon's individual padded packages sitting on my table here. No way this material is biodegradable. It's possibly not even recyclable as it seems to have a paper(?) label grafted on. From an envionmental POV,I think cardboard -- which is both biodegradable and recyclable is probably vastly superior..

      --
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  3. Stores versus delivery by sjbe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If only there was a place you could go to buy goods at your convenience precisely when needed, avoiding the shipping step... That would be amazing!

    Well when they invent such a thing then I'll change my buying habits because the options now are anything but convenient. As it is I have FAR too busy a schedule to want to want to spend hours getting in my car, driving to a random location on a map, browsing through merchandise on a scavenger hunt, paying an exorbitant markup, and being unable to do something else more productive with my time.

    Oh and stores still ship stuff they just use YOUR vehicle to do the shipping instead of theirs. So unless you have a store with a star trek transporter I don't know about it's still getting shipped and probably less efficiently.