Key Takeaways
- Resized from 32″ x 15″ x 8″ to 29″ x 15″ x 8″ to fit Verst’s Locus robotic shelving system
- Produced with a precision cut-and-weld process — no new mold or tooling required
- 100-unit initial order, followed by a 100-unit repeat order from a second Verst location
- Verst nicknamed the finished totes “Luxury Salon Totes”
The opportunity
Verst was implementing Locus robotics picking technology in its distribution center, but the totes available to the operation weren’t keeping pace with the new workflow. Orders could be too large for one tote, products could spill over during travel, and splitting a purchase order between multiple totes created downstream fulfillment risk.
Solo Products solved the problem by modifying an existing HDPE tote into a precise custom size that fit the robot shelf system while giving Verst the capacity and durability it needed.
The Challenge: One Order Needed to Stay One Order
The existing totes were too small for many of the orders. Completed orders could reach approximately 50-60 lbs., and the limited tote size meant products could overflow or fall out as the robot moved through the warehouse.
That created a bigger operational problem: when a single purchase order had to be split between two totes, packers and shippers could lose visibility that both containers belonged to the same order. The result could be leftover product, partial orders, and unnecessary fulfillment errors.
The Solution: Custom Fabrication, Built Around the Robot
Verst needed a tote that would fit the shelf system on its robots, maximize usable space for each order, provide enough height to help contain product, and remain strong enough for repeated use with heavier loads.
Solo Products started with an existing 32 x 15 x 8 in. HDPE tote and converted it to the customer’s exact 29 x 15 x 8 in. requirement using Solo’s container repair and modification capabilities — specifically, a precision cut-and-weld process.
Three inches of excess HDPE was removed. The tote sections were then aligned to the required dimensions and welded back together using additional HDPE material, creating a reusable custom configuration without the need to develop a completely new molded tote.
- Custom sizing: 29 x 15 x 8 in. finished dimensions to match the customer’s robotic shelf space
- Cut-and-weld fabrication: an existing HDPE tote was precisely cut, reconfigured, aligned, and welded to the required size
- Reusable construction: the solution retained the durability and reusability of a rigid HDPE material-handling tote
- Application-specific design: the tote was built around the actual workflow of the picker, robot, packer, and shipper rather than forcing the operation to use a standard size
The Result: A Solution That Scaled
The custom totes fit Verst’s robotic picking system and gave the operation a more capable container for larger orders. By helping keep a purchase order consolidated into one tote, the solution also improved continuity between picking, packing, and shipping.
Verst initially ordered 100 custom totes. The customer responded positively enough that another Verst location requested the same solution, resulting in a second order for an additional 100 totes.
Verst referred to the finished containers as “Luxury Salon Totes” — a fitting description for a solution that was customized around the realities of a high-throughput distribution operation rather than pulled from a standard catalog.
Custom 29 x 15 x 8 in. tote in Verst’s robotic picking operation.
The custom tote provided the capacity Verst needed for individual salon-product orders.
More Than a Tote
This project is a clear example of Solo Products’ custom fabrication capability: when an off-the-shelf container does not fit the equipment, workflow, or load requirements, we can modify an existing plastic tote — or one of our other reusable totes — to create a purpose-built reusable packaging solution.
