Numina Group Launches Pakt Pack and Ship System to ‘Democratize’ Warehouse Automation

Numina Group Inc. today announced the launch of Pakt, an automated pack and ship system designed for fulfillment operations. The Woodridge, Ill.-based company said it reduces barriers to entry for end-of-line automation, reducing pack and ship labor by 70% and increasing throughput capacity by more than 500%.

In addition, Pakt can connect with any fulfillment robotics, "unlocking full throughput capacity potential in e-commerce-driven warehouses, said Numina.

“The best measure of success for a fulfillment operation -- particularly in a post-pandemic world -- is getting goods quickly, accurately, and efficiently picked, packed, and shipped in time to meet customer delivery expectations,” said Cody Upp, vice president at Numina Group.

“The launch of Pakt is based on over 30 years of Numina Group’s warehouse automation expertise in supplying systems that enable businesses to lower labor costs and increase order throughput,” he added.

Numina Group described itself as an independent systems integrator that has designed and implemented hundreds of automation projects in diverse warehouses across North America. The company said it works with clients to identify process improvements and the right mix of materials handling technologies to deliver a rapid return on investment (ROI).

Pakt promises to reduce labor, bottlenecks

Pakt is designed for distribution centers (DCs) that have eight or more employees in their packing and shipping departments, Numina explained. The modular design of the productized system allows it to scale from 800 to 20,000 cartons and full-case parcels a day.

High-touch processes increase labor costs and the potential for mistakes, and they can limit a businesses’ ability to meet daily peak and seasonal demand, said the company. Pakt eliminates the bottlenecks and labor that exist after picking, ensuring operations can fulfill orders faster and meet customer delivery expectations, it claimed.

“The name of the game is preventing errors from leaving your DC,” noted Upp. “Our goal is to remove all complexity in designing, implementing, and running the automation for the last 100 feet of fulfillment and distribution centers.”

Click image to enlarge. Source: Numina Group

Numina builds on RDS

Pakt’s components are powered by Numina Group's Real-time Distribution Software (RDS), a warehouse execution system and warehouse control software (WES-WCS) platform. The suite of predeveloped modules includes order-release optimization for managing the latest autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and goods-to-person (G2P) systems.

RDS can also manage voice and pick-to-light systems, automated pack and ship conveyor systems, cartonization, cartonization, conveyor system control, weight and vision audit, print and apply labeling, and high-speed sortation, said the company.

Pakt's components include:

• Scan, weigh, vision audit: Ensures that the right products have been picked into the right shipping container based on weight while capturing an image of the carton content
• Print, fold, insertion (PFI): Automatically inserts any packing slips, marketing materials, or compliance documentation into shipping container using a robotic arm
• Void and auto-taping: Rules-based, system-directed void insertion, as well as automatic taping of the shipping container
• Print and apply: Automatically manifests, prints, and applies labels for shipping, ASN (advance shipping notice), UCC (Uniform Commercial Code), packing slips, packing sheets, and more
• Shipping sortation: Automatically sorts shipping containers based on parcel carriers, LTL (less-than-truckload), FTL (full truckload), and exception designations

“The fact of the matter is there is still a tremendous amount of non-value-added labor being incurred in both packing and shipping that should be automated out of the operation,” continued Upp. “At Numina, we intimately understand the importance of improving picking, packing, and shipping productivity and the constraints that exist in the absence of advanced technology.”