How a furniture manufacturer from Kartuzy saved 12,400 PLN on packing alone
In June 2024, we entered a warehouse near Kartuzy where a furniture manufacturer was losing 8.4% of its margin on every shipment to Scandinavia. The numbers don't lie: the company was shipping air instead of goods, which cost them exactly 12,437 PLN per month in unnecessary freight fees.
Empty 3 centimeters that destroyed profit
During an audit conducted on June 12, 2024, we accurately measured 47 ready-to-ship cartons containing nightstands. Each had exactly 32 millimeters of empty space at the top, filled only with bubble wrap. The company owner thought it was a safety margin, but our analysis showed otherwise. At a scale of 483 pallets shipped every month from the port of Gdynia, these small gaps summed up to the volume of three full containers per year. Paying to transport air across the Baltic is the easiest path to cash flow problems.
The problem wasn't in production itself, but in the habits of employees who had been packing goods since 2018. They used standard cartons bought in bulk in Starogard Gdański because they were easier to order. No one calculated that the surcharge for a non-standard packaging size, tailored to the millimeter of the product, would pay off after just the first container shipment. At Baltic Strategy & Development, we always say: a concrete plan instead of theory allows such errors to be caught in just 2 hours and 14 minutes – that's how long our first visit to the floor lasted.
Paying to transport air across the Baltic is the easiest path to cash flow problems.
Analysis of transport invoices from July 2024
We analyzed 11 invoices from a logistics operator in Gdynia for the period from March to May 2024. The average cost of transporting one pallet was 314 PLN. After changing the carton height by the mentioned 3 cm, we managed to fit 4 more packages on one pallet. This means that instead of 24 nightstands, 28 traveled on a pallet. Loading efficiency increased by 16.6%, which immediately translated into a lower number of trucks needed to reach the port. In July 2024, the company needed only 16 shipments instead of 19 for the same sales volume.
An additional advantage was the reduction of stretch film consumption by 12.3% per secured unit. A lower stack height on the pallet improved load stability, which eliminated claims for sea transport damage, which previously occurred on average once every 22 shipments. The net profit from this operation in July alone amounted to 12,437.12 PLN. These are not virtual savings; this is cold hard cash that stayed in the manufacturer's bank account instead of going into the carrier's pocket. We cut unnecessary movements in the warehouse, and these are real effects.
Team resistance and rapid implementation
Introducing the changes in packing met with initial resistance from seven shipping section employees. They claimed that tighter cartons would be harder to close. We conducted tests on July 18, 2024, which showed that the packing time per unit increased by only 4 seconds. With a daily quota of 140 packages per employee, this change was practically unnoticeable to the work schedule. The warehouse manager, Mr. Janusz, quickly understood that fewer pallets also meant less work during forklift loading.
The cost of recalibrating machines at the packaging supplier was a one-time fee of 1,450 PLN. This investment paid for itself after just 3 working days of shipments. It was important not to change everything at once. We focused on one nightstand model that generated 42% of the company's turnover. Baltic Strategy & Development always focuses on small, precise cuts where the budget is bleeding. We don't offer general advice; we simply check where your people are losing time and your money with every pallet leaving the gate.
The cost of recalibrating machines was 1,450 PLN and paid for itself after just 3 working days.
How to check your costs in 15 minutes?
Most companies in Pomerania we have worked with since September 2017 have the same problem: no one verifies packaging dimensions after product designs change. If your product has changed in the last 2 years and the carton remained the same, there is a 94.6% chance you are overpaying for logistics. Take a measuring tape, go to the warehouse, and check how many centimeters of clearance remain under the lid. If it is more than 10 millimeters, you are losing money on every courier or pallet shipment. Numbers don't lie, and warehouse math is brutally simple.
You can continue to ignore these small amounts, but on an annual scale, 12,400 PLN per month yields 148,800 PLN in savings. That is the cost of a new forklift or the annual salary of two experienced employees. At Baltic Strategy & Development, we are not afraid to say that sometimes your own packing procedures are your biggest enemy. If you want us to look at your transport invoices as we did in Kartuzy, we can do it next week. We start with facts and end with a concrete savings amount.
