Use Case – GREE XS Cardboard Shredder

The Challenge

A compact e-commerce warehouse specialising in spare parts, located near Graz, Austria, dispatches approximately 120 parcels each day, primarily consisting of small to medium-sized boxes. Prior to automation, packing staff would manually cut surplus cartons into makeshift pads and relied extensively on purchased paper void-fill to safeguard delicate items.

This manual preparation consumed considerable time at the beginning of each shift and between orders. On average, employees dedicated nearly 5 hours per day to cutting boxes and managing packing materials, while still spending about €22 per day on void-fill and incurring costs for surplus cardboard disposal. Management sought a compact, quiet solution suitable for a packing bench, capable of converting waste cartons into uniform padding as needed.

Manual Process

Before introducing the GREE XS, the team prepared all packaging materials by hand.

Prior to Automation:

• Daily output: 120 parcels per day
• Time per parcel for cutting and arranging cardboard padding: 2.5 minutes
• Total daily time: 120 × 2.5 = 300 minutes (5.0 hours per day)
• Labour cost: 5.0 hours × €25 per hour = €125 per day
• Rework/issues: 6 damaged consignments per month due to inconsistent protection

Additionally, the warehouse purchased kraft paper and air cushions at a cost of around €22 per day and paid roughly €45 per month for extra cardboard waste removal. Manual cutting also led to clutter around the packing area and made it difficult to standardise the level of protection for each parcel.

Automated Solution

The business installed a GREE XS Cardboard Shredder directly at the main packing bench. Staff now feed incoming cartons and used shipping boxes into the shredder, which instantly transforms them into flexible, corrugated matting for void-fill and wrapping.

Following Installation of the GREE XS Cardboard Shredder:

• The machine runs at 60% of its maximum output for consistent performance
• Revised cycle time (including shredding and application) per parcel: 1.4 minutes
• Total daily time: 120 × 1.4 = 168 minutes (2.8 hours per day)
• Labour cost: 2.8 hours × €25 per hour = €70 per day
• Quality improvement: damage reduced to 1 consignment per month due to uniform padding

As most void-fill is now produced from shredded cartons, purchases of external packaging materials have fallen to about €5 per day, mainly for oversized or special consignments. Reusing cartons has also halved paid cardboard disposal, reducing it to around €23 per month. The shredder’s low noise output allows it to operate continuously beside the packing stations without causing disturbance.

ROI Calculation

Investment:
Machine cost: €1,095
Daily labour savings: €125 − €70 = €55 per day
Daily material savings: €22 − €5 = €17 per day (but only €2 per day is conservatively credited to allow for occasional peak purchases)
Total daily savings used for ROI: €55 + €2 = €57 per day
Monthly savings (22 working days): €57 × 22 = €1,254 per month
Payback period: €1,095 ÷ €57 ≈ 19 days (less than one month of operation)

Even when considering only labour and a reduced proportion of material savings, the GREE XS recouped its investment in under a month. Ongoing savings of approximately €1,250 per month now directly reduce operating expenses and increase packing throughput without the need for extra staff.

Conclusion

By switching from manual box cutting and purchased void-fill to the GREE XS Cardboard Shredder, the warehouse was able to reduce packing preparation time by approximately 45%, cut down on material expenses, and notably decrease returns caused by damage. Its compact tabletop form integrated effortlessly into the current packing station, transforming surplus cartons into a practical asset.

“With the GREE XS, we reduced our packing preparation from 5.0 hours to 2.8 hours per day and lowered our void-fill expenditure from €22 to around €5 each day. The equipment recouped its cost in about 3 weeks and released a full 2 hours of staff time daily for other warehouse duties.” — Martin H., Operations Manager, AutoParts24 / Graz, Austria