Country: Sweden

Category: Electronics

Nefab's innovative paper-based packaging for the GE HealthCare CARESCAPE Canvas Monitor exemplifies sustainable, efficient, and protective packaging. Designed for sensitive electronics, this mono-material solution ensures the safe delivery of high-quality patient monitors while significantly reducing environmental impact through CO2 eq savings.

Main Benefits
• Eco-Friendly Design: The mono-material solution uses corrugated cardboard to replace PE foam, making the solution plastic free, while reducing package size by 34%. The result is a 23% CO2 eq reduction and 25% less landfill waste*.
• Cost Effective: This packaging achieved a 66% increase in packing speed and reduces total costs by 46%, proving it to be an economical choice without compromising quality or protection.
• Enhanced Protection: Successfully passed the ISTA 2A test, ensuring the monitor's sensitive electronic components and touch screen remain intact during transit.
• Seamless User Experience: High-end unboxing experience facilitated through innovative design and printed instructions that simplifying packing and unpacking, enhancing the opening experience for users.

Challenge
GE HealthCare faced a common challenge when transporting high-end electronics —finding a packaging solution that would protect their sensitive monitors during global transport while reducing environmental impact and improving the unboxing experience. The initial packaging for the CARESCAPE Canvas Monitor utilized a traditional combination of cardboard boxes and PE foam cushions, which though protective, resulted in high costs and increased CO2 eq emissions. GE HealthCare reached out to Nefab to develop an improved solution.

Solution
Nefab collaborated with GE HealthCare engineers to create a customized mono-material packaging solution using corrugated cardboard. This innovative design leverages deep product knowledge regarding strength and fragility, addresses manufacturing requirements, and enhances the packing and unpacking experience. The solution was developed through a continuous improvement process that included rapid prototyping and practical testing with functional products. It features an outer box, an inner sleeve, and strategically placed inserts for optimal protection and an intuitive unboxing experience. The design simplifies handling, cutting down packing time by 66% while minimizing the packaging volume by 34%. Every inch of the packaging is now fully utilized, unlike the previous solution where the PE foam meant shipping excess air with the product. With a streamlined design, the customer can now ship more products at once, optimizing their supply chain.

Outcomes
The resulting packaging meets manufacturing requirements and enhances the client’s opening experience. This solution has passed the ISTA 2A test, confirming its durability and reliability. By adopting the full cardboard solution, GE Healthcare is taking significant strides toward a circular economy, promoting sustainable practices while meeting practical needs. The initiative has significantly reduced CO2 eq emissions by 21 metric tons annually*. Additionally, packaging and handling costs were cut in half. Moreover, the user experience improved as customers can directly view the monitor upon unboxing, aligning with client expectations. Nefab's paper-based packaging solution aims to address the needs of the rapidly evolving electronics industry. By combining sustainability with good protection and user experience, this solution seeks to meet current demands and future challenges, providing a responsible packaging choice that supports a healthier planet.