Hanko Kiessner named "Rainmaker" by DC Velocity

Hanko Kiessner

Hanko Kiessner is chief executive officer of Packsize International, a privately held "on-demand" packaging company he founded in the United States just over a decade ago. Packaging is in Kiessner's blood — his family's business in Germany has been providing corrugated materials since the 1960s. In a bid to expand the marketing opportunities for corrugated material, Kiessner started to experiment with corrugated converting machines in Europe in the 1990s. In 2002, he introduced the machines, which produce cartons tailored to the exact dimensions of their contents, to the U.S. market.

Kiessner is a member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, Warehousing Education and Research Council, and the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce. Ernst & Young recognized Kiessner with its 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Manufacturing and Distribution category for the Utah region. He holds undergraduate and graduate business degrees from the University of Utah.

Q: Packsize is your family's business. Can you tell us how it came to be?
A: My father started in Germany as a supplier of corrugated material, the same basic product that now feeds our machines. We developed the machines in the 1990s and introduced them to the United States in 2002 with a new business model that provides day-one savings. The corrugate and the equipment are a complete solution.

Q: Your company's business model is rather unique, in that you supply customers with the corrugated converting machines at no cost, as long as the customer buys its corrugate from Packsize. How did that model come about?
A: Well, it was born out of several years of no success. While I was in Europe trying to sell the packaging machines, it was not working. It was just too much for companies to make the initial investment. As I was driving on the autobahn one day, I had an epiphany, and this model was born. I concluded the machines were not yet saleable, but I believed in the product. So, we would have to give away the machines. I called the office and told them this, and they laughed at me. Then, when we opened the office in the United States, we tried this model and it worked.

Q: What are the advantages of this model?
A: The benefit of this model is that it makes it easy to become a customer of on-demand packaging.
Customers get the benefit of the machines without having to justify the upfront capital investment. It also provides ongoing savings on corrugated and fill materials, since less volume is used. Other benefits are reduced product damage and some labor savings. It also reduces shipping volumes by up to 40 percent, which translates into transportation savings. And the end customer's experience improves significantly since that customer receives a right-sized package.

Q: What are the biggest challenges you and the supply chain profession face today?
A: For us, the biggest challenge is that not everyone adopts the same technology at the same time. Usually, to get mass adoption, you need 15 percent or so of early adopters. We need to be patient to work through the early adoption phase.
On a grander scale, energy is the biggest challenge. Moving products will always require energy, but we need to be able to switch to new forms of energy.

Q: What has been the most satisfying part of your career?
A: The single most satisfying piece is that we have a product that meets sustainability objectives. Staples, for instance, is saving some 122,000 trees a year with on-demand packaging. That is less pollution, less bio-mass—basically, we are able to keep a small forest intact. We have also helped companies cut costs, such as in manufacturing, which has helped to save jobs here in the U.S. And lastly, we have a team at Packsize that is passionate about what we do and the impact we can make. It is exciting to build a business that can make money while doing the right thing.

On Demand Packaging Produces REAL Savings

This article might seem a little "obtuse" to the casual observer, but trust me, the numbers are real and the potential savings available are proven again and again by the adopters of this lean green technology. Right-sizing packaging is as simple to understand as opening the last product you received in the mail from someone you ordered it from - it likely had filler material in an over-sized box, most of which ended up headed toward a landfill somewhere. Customers are increasingly demanding that the companies who ship to them get it "right-sized" and that helps everybody - the company, the consumer and the planet.

So Just How Much Money Can On Demand Packaging® Save You?

June 19, 2013 | 0 comments

I recently came across an article written by Greg Newman of Agile Network titled "5 Reasons Your Distribution Center May Be Paying Too Much For Shipping." The article as a whole is well-written and informative, but there is one section in particular I wanted to highlight. The # 3 reason your distribution center may be paying too much for shipping is because you're "Shipping Too Much Air." To quote the article:

"Most customers have been buying cartons from the same supplier in the same sizes for many years. That’s good for the price of boxes, but it’s bad for freight costs. UPS tells us that not only do smaller tighter packed cartons cost less, but there is far less damage too. Take a look at your orders and see where you can save money. For example, the list price for a UPS Next Day Saver rate for a 15 pound 20”x12”x 14” carton from Philadelphia to Chicago is $141.19. Shave an inch off all sides, and the cost drops to $121.66 almost a $20 savings per carton!"

Sounds a little too good to be true, right? Well, that's why I went ahead and checked UPS's "Calculate Time and Cost" website on my own to try this out for myself. Take a look at my results below.

Here we have a 15 lb. box being shipped from Philly to Chicago with 20"x14"x12" dimensions:

And here is the same package with a one-inch cut on all sides of the box:

As you can see, the prices are a little different than the ones listed in the article (I attribute this to not knowing the exact zip code Mr. Newman used in his test), but the results of the cut are the same.

	20"x14"x 12"	19"x 13"x 11"	Difference
Next Day Air Early AM	$198.33	$184.20	$14.13
Next Day Air	$165.33	$151.20	$14.13
Next Day Air Saver	$157.69	$136.35	$21.34

We see not only a $20 cut to the next day saver price, but also a $14 cut to other next day shipment prices. Do you realize what a huge deal this is? If you ship a dozen or more boxes a day, the cost-savings per year quickly become astronomical! I'd like to invite you to do a little investigative research of your own and see how much you can save with right-sized boxes. Your wallet - and the environment - will thank you for it.

For more information, please visit us at Packsize.com. We're growing, and we're hiring. Check out the jobs available on our careers tab.

Packsize Responds to Voice of the Customer

Packsize International is putting big smiles on the faces of their customers. When you order goods online to be delivered, you're the customer of our customers. Many have complained when they open a package from the large online retailers that their goods come in a box way too big filled with styrofoam peanuts, air pillows or crumbled up newspaper. Our customers have been listening to their customers who open those boxes, and we've solved the problem for everyone. A typical example of inefficient packaging is not hard to find, as these pictures illustrate:

60% void in this box - shipping air

This box contained some stereo components, and came filled with styrofoam peanuts that filled a bag (see below). Shipping "air" is a very costly proposition, since shippers are charging for the space inside the box whether it's filled or not. Customers hate receiving boxes like these because of the waste generated by the fillers.

Last year I ordered a handbag on line for my wife. The box I got was five times larger than the contents and it was filled with crushed newsprint.

Here's the bag of peanuts - all waste

Consumers are now demanding that their providers offer a more intelligent solution. Without identifying the company in these pictures, the story has a happy ending. This company, like Staples, has adopted Packsize technology and is well on its way to reducing their overall costs associated with their corrugated supply chain by 60%.

These are significant costs that can be completely eliminated. We engage our potential new customers with a complimentary business case to prove the cost savings before we ask for a commitment from them. We want to make certain we have surfaced all their packaging and shipping inefficiencies associated with current operations, then suggest what might happen if they adopt On Demand Packaging(TM).

A recent article appeared in DC Velosity describing the Packsize revolution in packaging, and specifically the gains Staples has made by answering the voice of their customer in demanding more efficient packaging. Not the least of the benefits cited by Staples is the increased sustainability of their corrugated supply chain, but their decision has dramatically reduced their carbon footprint annually. And that's a good thing for Mother Earth.

It's a compelling story that is rapidly gaining acceptance as companies increasingly give heed to the voice of their customer.

Staples Announces Adoption of Packsize Technology

In a long-awaited announcement today, Staples, the number two online retailer in America, has implemented On Demand Packaging. They will call their internal system "Smart-size packaging."

The press release, issued this morning, states in part: "Staples has implemented Smart-size packaging in several facilities in its nationwide network of delivery fulfillment centers, and will continue the roll-out through 2013."

Packsize is helping Staples reduce air pillows by 60%.

Packsize is helping Staples reduce its corrugated needs by 20%.

To date, Packsize technology is deployed in 12 Staples facilities with an entire network rollout scheduled for completion next year.


Staples is the world’s largest office products company and second largest internet retailer. The company provides products, services and expertise in office supplies, copy & print, technology, facilities and breakroom, and furniture. Staples invented the office superstore concept in 1986 and now has annual sales of $25 billion, ranking second in the world in eCommerce sales. With 88,000 associates worldwide, Staples operates in 26 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia, making it easy for businesses of all sizes, and consumers. The company is headquartered outside Boston. More information about Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS) is available at www.staples.com/media.


Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Salt Lake City, Packsize International LLC is the world’s leading provider of lean packaging systems for businesses with complex corrugated packaging needs. Recognized by Inc. 5000 and listed by Forbes as one of America’s Most Promising Companies, Packsize delivers an alternative to the existing corrugated supply chain with On Demand Packaging®. For more information, visit www.packsize.com/press.

To learn more about how Packsize can help your organization realize the same efficiencies Staples is reporting, please contact David Goates, at (801) 944-4814, ext. 142, or dave.goates@packsize.com.