With the global contract packaging market growing at more than 12 per cent annually, Kuehne + Nagel has developed an innovative one-stop-shop contract packaging solution combining enhanced capabilities and additional services. KN Packaging aims at meeting the customers' complex service requirements.

This new value-added service offering is now being implemented in Kuehne + Nagel facilities worldwide focusing on three areas: the use of state-of-the art software, the deployment of the latest collaborative robots and the cooperation with local packaging providers.

With a cloud-based solution offered by Nulogy, the leading developer of contract packaging software worldwide, Kuehne + Nagel improves its customer service by adding instant connectivity and full transparency. The software provides customers with a targeted and traceable solution for their contract packaging needs.

Kuehne + Nagel has signed a strategic partnership with Universal Robots, one of the leading companies in the field of collaborative robots (cobots), to drive process automisation and increase productivity. Designed to assist warehouse workers in a variety of packaging tasks, the integration of cobots will lead to a significant reduction in turnaround times.

Kuehne + Nagel has also identified a number of selected packaging providers at country level. Global customers will benefit from the advantages of local material sourcing, design and engineering complying with local requirements and market preferences.

Gianfranco Sgro, member of the Management Board of Kuehne + Nagel International AG responsible for Contract Logistics, says: At Kuehne + Nagel we aim at innovating systems and processes to seamlessly serve our customers and to make processes much faster, better and leaner, regardless of industries or geographies. With this strategic enhancement of our contract packaging services, we expect to see significant growth across a number of key markets and anticipate deploying hundreds of cobots in our operations in the next few years.