Nissan is transforming its North American supply chain by prioritising smart packaging to enhance transport efficiency, reduce trailer usage, cut logistics costs, and improve environmental performance. At the Automotive Logistics and Supply Chain Global conference, Iván Dávila, Nissan Group of the Americas’ director of inbound logistics and supply chain management, detailed the company’s comprehensive packaging optimisation strategy.

The strategy begins with a seemingly simple objective: maximise the number of standard parts per rack (SNP). For example, Nissan previously shipped a part using racks configured in three layers of ten parts. This arrangement allowed 2,160 parts per trailer, requiring 230 trailers annually. After thorough analysis and simulation, Nissan redesigned the packaging to hold 36 parts in a single layer, removing internal dunnage. This enabled 4,300 parts per trailer and cut trailer usage to just 115 per year — a 50% transport optimisation gain.

In another example involving a component for the Nissan Rogue, Nissan compared Japanese and U.S. rack designs. Despite Japan’s rack fitting more parts per unit (SNP 50 vs. 45), the U.S. version achieved a 38% improvement in transport cost due to a better trailer fill rate (TFR of 88% vs. 70%). The U.S. rack packed 3,510 parts per trailer compared to Japan’s 2,200 — showing that intelligent rack design can often outweigh raw SNP metrics.

However, Dávila stressed that packaging efficiency must start at the product design phase. He cited an updated headlamp design that reduced parts per rack from 24 to 12. Consequently, trailers required annually jumped from 1,000 to 1,600. Compounding the inefficiency was the shift in sourcing location from Alabama to San Luis Potosí, Mexico — resulting in a 54% loss in transport efficiency.

“Part dimensions drive transportation efficiency – the larger the parts, the lower the SNP and the fewer parts per trailer,” said Dávila.

In another comparison, a part redesign led to a dramatic difference in efficiency. One version (Structure A) required 780 trailers annually with an SNP of 16. A different design (Structure B) allowed for 126 parts per rack, reducing trailers to 160 per year — an 80% gain in transport efficiency.

To sustain and scale such gains, Nissan is focusing on several key areas:

• Early involvement of packaging engineers in the product development cycle to influence design based on logistics implications.
• Standardisation of EV components to streamline packaging and transport.
• Use of 3D printing to simulate packaging setups during prototype phases — already implemented successfully in Mexico.
• Adoption of lighter and recyclable materials to reduce weight and increase sustainability.
• Integration of IoT sensors for real-time monitoring of vibration and temperature, along with RFID and geolocation technologies for part tracking.

Packaging’s influence is also expanding within Nissan’s internal logistics. Opportunities include improving part movement through autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs), automated storage and retrieval systems, and even humanoid robots. These systems can greatly benefit from packaging tailored for robotic handling, further improving throughput and consistency.

Dávila concluded by emphasising the role of packaging as a strategic lever in Nissan’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and cost efficiency. “The earlier we connect design with logistics, the more we can do for efficiency, cost, and the environment,” he said.

By embedding packaging into the DNA of product and supply chain development, Nissan is proving that logistics optimisation doesn’t have to come at the cost of quality or flexibility. Instead, it becomes a driver of innovation and sustainability.