King Toy reduces vacuum in Santa’s hood with Sparck Technologies

To support the very strong growth of its e-commerce activity, and cope with the end-of-year peak, King Cadeau chose 3D technology from Sparck Technologies. Installed at its warehouse in Rives-sur-Fure (Isère), this tailor-made automated packaging system allows the brand to optimize the loading of the Santa Claus bag and thus reduce the empty transported by 45%.

The end of year holidays are just around the corner! A pivotal period for toy brands which must face a strong peak in activity and ever-increasing e-commerce orders. Among the actors determined to make children's dreams come true, King Toy. The distribution brand has invested 15 million euros in the expansion of its logistics platform in Rives-sur-Fure, in the department of Isère. A strategic investment which allowed it to build three new cells, including one entirely dedicated to e-commerce orders. “Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the French have regained a taste for toys. We have recorded sales records on the Internet. To support this strong growth, we decided to increase our storage capacity and invest in an automated packaging system,” explains Abdelatif Karali, supply chain director of the group. Inaugurated in September, the platform was enlarged by 18,000 m2 and now covers 42,000 m2. The warehouse has 25,000 reserve storage locations, 30,000 picking locations on 160,000 m3 of useful storage.

Up to 500 packages per hour
To automate the packaging process for toys ordered on the Internet, King Cadeau chose 3D technology from Sparck Technologies. Installed in June, the company's CVP Impack system makes it possible to make tailor-made shipping boxes, capable of up to 500 packages per hour. In addition to productivity, it allows the distributor to make substantial packaging savings by eliminating the void in boxes and reducing the cushioning materials necessary to preserve product quality. Result: Kingtoy saved 20% on its cardboard purchases and reduced cushioning materials by 85% on all of its shipments. On the transport side, CVP Impack has finally reduced the empty space transported in trucks by 45%, thus having a favorable impact on the environment. “We are going to further divide by two, or even three, the number of trucks needed to deliver to our customers” underlines Abdelatif Karali. Ultimately, 600,000 e-commerce orders can be processed each year. Well-packaged toys, closed with paper tape, for 100% eco-friendly and recycling packages.