1. Client: Sealed Air Product Care
Project: MBS Textbook Exchange Case Study
Date: April 2, 2014
Sealed Air Solution a Textbook Example of Successful Packaging Automation
Despite recent technological advances that have made classroom content digitally available to students,
the traditional print textbook market remains solid across campuses nationwide, particularly for used
books. Students are accustomed to the value and ease with which they can purchase and resell
textbooks at local campus bookstores.
For MBS Textbook Exchange, staying ahead of technological trends and providing optimal service to
customers has transformed the upstart company into one of the largest used textbook wholesalers in the
country. However, for a company that prides itself on its ability to innovate, MBS Textbook Exchange
recognized inefficiencies in its packaging process in the late 2000s that impacted both operational costs
and package appearance.
Partnering with Sealed Air, a leading total solutions provider of protective packaging designs, materials
and automated systems, enabled MBS Textbook Exchange to close the book on several major
challenges and author a new era of enhanced operations through automation.
Reading Between the Lines
In the late 1990s, MBS Textbook Exchange emerged as one of the first used book wholesalers to offer
direct online ordering for collegiate bookstores. The company expanded its capabilities even further with
the introduction of its Textbooks.com online division a few years later, opening its services and website to
direct customer sales.
“Overall, online orders from stores and consumers account for more than 90 percent of our total intake,
with single direct customer orders comprising a significant portion of this demand,” said Michael Pitt,
director of automation for MBS Textbook Exchange. “Students who order textbooks online are most likely
purchasing a single copy for their own use, as opposed to a bookstore that will order multiple copies for
resale. Obviously, processing, packaging and shipping a single book order drastically differs from the
steps we typically employ to process, package and ship a stack of books.”
In an increasingly crowded marketplace, MBS Textbook Exchange differentiated itself by promising quick
and accurate delivery. The company’s “Out the Door in 24” guarantee ensures that customers who place
an order by 12 p.m. on a given day will have their books shipped within 24 hours. With order volume and
direct-to-consumer business accelerating, this pledge became increasingly difficult to meet.
“As our business expanded, it became evident that we needed to make dynamic changes to our
packaging approach,” added Pitt. “Textbook ordering has historically been a last-minute process,
especially during the peak late summer and early winter seasons, and we could not afford to have our
systems become overwhelmed any longer.”
Turning the Page on Packaging Operations
In 2009, MBS Textbook Exchange began exploring options for new systems capable of handling its
growing order volume.

2. “We kept our eyes open at every tradeshow we visited for a system that would help us improve our
throughput, reduce labor costs and distribute a better looking and performing package to our customers,”
said Pitt.
MBS Textbook Exchange’s previous operational model featured four cold-seal machines that sheltered
products between two sheets of cohesive material. Each system required up to four employees to
operate, making the end-to-end packaging process overwhelming at points. Individual staffers were
assigned to scan books and boxes, move packages through available lanes, generate and apply invoices,
initiate cold seals, and close and secure packages – Pitt estimates these lines produced an average of 7-
8 packages per minute. As business continued to grow, MBS Textbook Exchange faced a potential
dilemma in balancing speed versus quality.
While customers received their orders within the promised window, the stiff cardboard systems enclosing
textbooks were far from user friendly. Some customers complained that the “clunky cardboard sandwich”
easily popped open and presented a content loss risk, while others struggled to open their packages at
all. This format also proved challenging when MBS Textbook Exchange introduced and began delivering
online access cards, as many customers ripped their cards while attempting to remove them from the
package.
“Fielding calls from customers struggling to open their package, and having to resend orders in mailers,
required far more of our time and resources than necessary,” said Pitt. “These ordeals further
emphasized how much we needed a system that would get packaging right the first time, and allow us to
devote the effort spent correcting our mistakes to grow our business elsewhere.”
During this time, Sealed Air learned of MBS Textbook Exchange’s interest in exploring automated
packaging solutions and contacted the wholesaler to talk further. Pitt explained the company’s intentions
to simplify its cold-seal process to reduce labor and operating costs while expanding its throughput.
“Above all else, MBS Textbook Exchange’s fundamental need is ensuring that every package features
the correct label and goes to the right place the first time around,” said Lou Suffern, e-commerce
solutions director for Sealed Air Product Care. “While we demonstrated a few of our automated systems
to MBS Textbook Exchange, we immediately recognized that our I-Pack®
solution could deliver the
functionalities the retailer sought, and do so exceptionally well.”
Sealed Air’s I-Pack®
system offers an automated solution for void-reduction packaging. Once items are
placed inside a box, the system formats, adjusts and lids the package accordingto the most efficient
height, removing excess space and material. The I-Pack®
system also equips packages with a built-in
tear strip for easy opening and a stronger, more tightly-sealed box for enhanced protection.
By using the I-Pack®
system, MBS Textbook Exchange could implement more compact packaging around
shipped items and eliminate the bulky, clunky format its customers disliked. Additionally, the I-Pack®
system would automate every step of the packaging process after books are scanned and placed in
containers, limiting the only need for human handling to the beginning and end of the process while
eliminating multiple manual steps in between.

3. Passing the Final Exam
While MBS Textbook Exchange understood automation was necessary to work more efficiently, a
previously unsuccessful automation attempt in 2003 made the decision more complex. However,
demonstrations from the experienced and knowledgeable Sealed Air team convinced Pitt that the
transition to the new system would be fairly seamless.
Following a brief testing period, Sealed Air and MBS Textbook Exchange began implementing the I-Pack®
solution in early 2010.
“We could tell early on that (Pitt) and his team were ready to install the machine and get going as soon as
possible,” said Suffern. “The installation happened during the course of a few days. MBS Textbook
Exchange closed its operations on a Friday, we moved the I-Pack®
in over the weekend and were up and
running by the following Monday.”
Sealed Air’s service team also worked with MBS Textbook Exchange to implement sturdy adhesives that
would keep lid flaps attached to each I-Pack®
package after opening, preventing opening during shipping
while better enhancing customers’ abilities to reuse the boxes to ship textbooks back.
Looking “Foreword”
Several years into its partnership with Sealed Air, MBS Textbook Exchange has enjoyed the benefits of
its newly-automated packaging process. By using the I-Pack®
system, MBS Textbook Exchange has
significantly improved its packaging efficiency. Whereas previously four cold-seal machines produced
1,600 packages-per-hour combined, the single I-Pack®
system achieves a rate of 850 packages-per-hour
by itself.
“In terms of space, the single I-Pack®
machine occupies the same area in our processing plants as our
four previous cold-seal machines did, but streamlining and consolidating packages to a single machine
helps us get them out the door faster,” said Pitt. “We can typically operate the I-Pack®
system and
shipping line with three employees, a significant reduction in labor requirements.”
With automated processes ensuring successful invoice processing, label printing and package sealing,
MBS Textbook Exchange has been able to reduce its package processing labor costs by 50 percent, in
addition to requiring fewer hands on deck during seasonal rushes.
“The I-Pack®
system has proven much easier for our employees to maneuver from several perspectives,”
adds Pitt. “Our team no longer has to reload heavy rolls of paper into packaging systems. Additionally,
running the cold-seal was previously a job our team dreaded. Now they don’t have to worry about who is
responsible for either.”
Beyond its internal improvements, the I-Pack®
system has enabled MBS Textbook Exchange to better
serve its customers and business partners, of which Pitt estimates wholesalers compose nearly two-
thirds. Pitt notes that the company has fielded half as many customer calls reporting damage or
requesting reshipment as it did before implementing the I-Pack®
system. MBS Textbook Exchange also
has expanded its label configuration and production capabilities through the I-Pack®
system. Whereas its
previous cold-seal machines could only process labels for one carrier, the new machines allow MBS
Textbook Exchange to further increase operational savings by choosing the most economical option
among several carriers.

4. While MBS Textbook Exchange has discussed the possibility of implementing a second I-Pack®
machine
at its production facility with Sealed Air, nothing firm is in place just yet. However, the wholesaler admits it
is continually seeking new ways to automate its business further.
“When we started our partnership with Sealed Air, we were looking for a seamless, cost friendly way to
get the right book in the right box with the right label, and get it to the right person,” said Pitt. “The I-Pack®
system has delivered these results to us in ways we never expected, and we can now look ahead to
additional avenues where automation can help us reduce costs, work more efficiently and deliver a better
looking package our customers will be happy with.”
“Our relationship with MBS Textbook Exchange is just one example of the total solutions value we deliver
to our customers,” said Suffern. “Through close consultation and reevaluation of its business needs,
we’ve been able to provide MBS Textbook Exchange with an automated system that delivers packages
both at a rate and with a look the company can be proud of, and which is scalable enough to meet the
company’s anticipated growth in years to come.”