Axiom GB has manufactured
and installed an automated
packing solution at Lakeland’s
mail order distribution centre
in Kendal. The new system
has been designed to almost
double the productivity of the
operation while reducing
costs and presenting a neat
parcel to the customer.

At the start of the picking
process, Axiom’s automated
packing solution presents
boxes from the carton erector
machines to the packers –
either a large box from the
upper level conveyor or a
smaller one from the lower
level. At this stage a small
barcode has already been
applied to box, the packer
assigns an order number to
the barcode and then packs
the order from the picking
trolley before placing it on the
middle conveyor.

This ‘takeaway’ conveyor
transports the boxes of
completed orders to one of
two lidding machines. Here
the system senses the height
of the products inside the box,
it scores and folds the box
down to the appropriate
height, then applies the lid.

Scanning the barcode
further around the system
allows the correct address
label to be applied. The
conveyor then takes the parcel
to the dispatch bay where it
goes into the back of a waiting
trailer via a boom loader.