Success Story: Small device packs big impact

Overview

MAGNET engineer Aaron Marshall designed this hands-free universal package opener for American Greetings. The opener quickly and efficiently slits protective wrapping on greeting cards, no matter how thick the wrapping is.

A merchandiser glides a cellophane-wrapped card package through the universal package opener in one efficient move.

Key requirements were that the blade be completely hidden and that the device could be attached quickly and easily to either side of any kind of packing cart.

"It was a great process. We spoke a couple times before we pushed off and it was a great working relationship." —Scott Waters, Supply Chain Project Manager at American Greetings.

Even if that Father’s Day greeting card seems like it was made especially for your dad, the truth is that it was produced and packaged with thousands others like it.

The greeting cards that line the shelves of countless retailers throughout the country are produced, packaged and shipped in bulk. Merchandisers are responsible for unpacking the cards and organizing them at each individual store. It is their job to make each card look like the perfect fit for whatever the occasion.

American Greetings recognized the challenge the shrink-wrap packaging posed for its merchandisers and its business. For one, the people responsible for putting the cards on the shelves were spending substantial amounts of time and energy just opening the card packages. Since merchandisers are paid hourly, it distracted from the time they could spend filling and organizing the store.

“If we can reduce a half second - a quarter second - that’s going to rack up some dollars,” said Scott Waters, Supply Chain Project Manager at American Greetings.

Waters observed that productivity slowed over the course of a shift. Repeatedly doing the same movements to open dozens of cellephone packages was causing unnecessary fatigue.

During a department revision, merchandisers may be responsible for stocking an entire store. That can be up to 1,000 cards.

The greeting card company also realized the safety risks involved in the process. Some merchandisers reported health problems from the repetitive process. Others had resorted to using their own blades to cut through the cellophane. Because the job requires employees to constantly move and use their hands, American Greetings knew an open blade posed a serious safety risk.

“Safety was our number one concern,” said Waters. He said the project would not have gone ahead if the tool did not make the job safer and more efficient.

So, in the beginning of 2007, American Greetings approached MAGNET and told them they wanted something that would make it easier for merchandisers to stock its greeting cards.

“It was a great process. We spoke a couple times before we pushed off and it was a great working relationship,” said Waters.

Approach

When MAGNET engineer Aaron Marshall took on this challenge, he did not know much about how greetings cards got onto store shelves. But it did not take him long to figure it out.

Marshall ventured to multiple stores to understand how merchandisers work. They spent afternoons in places like Target, Walmart and Rite Aid to observe exactly what the process was like.

“I watched 12 people open cards, and 12 people opened cards differently,” said Marshall.

It was this field work that fueled the design for what would become the final version of the card package opener.

It did not take long for Marshall to realize how much movement the job required. Merchandisers are constantly reaching into a cart to retrieve the cards and then stretching their arms to put them on the shelves. They have to bend over to put them on the bottom row and reach up to slip them into the top.

For that reason, a hand or finger tool was ruled out. Hands are important to the process and wearing something on them could slow down the process. The idea of somehow placing a blade around a lanyard was also ruled because the constant movement the job required could make wearing something around the neck dangerous.

“I was pretty impressed how quickly Aaron got it,” said Waters. “After two or three sessions out there, he really understood the pains and frustrations people have that a lot of people in the company don’t understand.”

Marshall realized the blade could not be exposed. So, he came up with a rectangular design that had a slit in the middle that merchandisers could easily slide the card packages through to open. It would be near impossible for anyone to cut themselves.

But figuring out how to make the product safe was only part of the problem. It was also imperative the cards not be damaged during the process. On top of that, there were four different types of shrink wrap American Greetings cards came in. Some were perforated on one or two sides while others weren’t perforated at all. Other cards came in especially thick wraps.

Designing an opener that would be universal enough to cut through these different style wraps was the most difficult part of the year-long process, said Marshall. He constantly tinkered with the blade height and spring tension until he developed something that effectively opens almost all the packages without damaging them.

With a safe and effective design set, the next challenge MAGNET and American Greetings faced was figuring out how the merchandisers could use it without decreasing productivity.

“From the production standpoint, you can’t add a step, then you’re adding time,” said Marshall.

Marshall knew it needed to be mounted to something, but the question was what. From his field research, he realized merchandisers used shopping carts in most stores to cart the boxes of cards around. It made sense to mount the card opener to the carts.

But there is no universal cart. Each store has shopping carts that are different sizes, and Walmart has a special cart for distributors to use. Marshall tried to get it to mount to the handle of the carts, but it would slip off. The solution was to have the card cutter mount to the side of the cart with a washer that would hold it securely in place. This design allowed it to work on all carts the merchandisers use.

Evolution

It is estimated the card opener will save American Greetings $250,000. Those savings will be a result of workers being able to open more card packs faster. Merchandisers no longer have to worry about wasting time opening the cards.

Since October 2008, 1merchandisers throughout the country have been using device. It is catching on fast, but American Greetings is still having some problems convincing the most veteran members of their merchandising staff to use it. Some people have been doing it their own way for 20 or 30 years.

“All the feedback we got was positive. But we’re creatures of habit, it’s going to take some time,” said Marshall.

Waters is confident that as word of mouth spreads, more of the part-time associates become more open to using the product.