Transport Packaging Choices
Productivity and sustainability should drive transport packaging choices.
Getting product from the point of production to the point of purchase, efficiently and effectively, has long been critical to a successful private label program for retailers and their manufacturer partners. Goods damaged in transit don’t sell and have to be returned. Products requiring extra handling at either the shipping or receiving end of the supply chain can quickly erode profit margins. Even worse, items that don’t arrive at the store can’t be sold.
A central component to ensuring that products get to the store on time and in good condition is the selection of the appropriate transport packaging. Transport packaging covers all devices and materials used to contain, aggregate and protect goods during handling, storage and transportation.
Adding to the challenge of selecting the right transport packaging for the private label products is the growing emphasis on economic, corporate, and environmental sustainability by both retailers and manufacturers. Environmental sustainability encompasses actions to ensure the health and continuation of ecological systems and requires managers consider every impact their processes could have on the ecosystem.
Although the combination of productivity and sustainability factors limit the transport packaging alternatives for private label manufacturers, there are still many options, each with its’ own pros and cons:
Master cartons or secondary packaging (e.g. Corrugated boxes, shrink-wrap plastic and reusable plastic containers (RPCs): Each is similar in terms of productivity – boxes and wrap needs to be removed and discarded, while RPCs need to be returned. In terms of product protection, certain items are not appropriate for shrink-wrap either due to weight or configuration. For sustainability, the science points toward RPCs, which can be used for dozens or even hundreds of transfers.
Tertiary packaging (e.g. shipping platforms or pallets): The choice is generally between pooled block pallets, 48x40 reusable stringer pallets (buy/sell) and one-way disposable platforms (slip sheets, odd-size pallets, etc). Depending on the supply chain, each system has its costs and benefits in terms of productivity. The sustainability issues with pallets revolve around reuse and recycling. Because of this, both pooled pallet models and 48x40 reusable stringer buy/sell models improve supply chain sustainability. Through reuse, pallet pooling has demonstrated environmental sustainability credentials. Life cycle inventory analysis shows that pooling creates significant reductions in solid waste, total energy and greenhouse gas emissions. Similarly, reusable stringer pallets that are 100% reusable, recyclable and built from a renewable resource also provide reduction in environmental impact.
Retailers and manufacturers should test their products using systems that measure the traumas incurred during the distribution cycle. This step will help ensure that transport packaging meets their productivity goals. These testing systems emulate real-life conditions of shipping, road or rail transit, receiving and storage to provide a true picture of how a product and unitized load will look once it arrives in the store. There are several academic and third party labs that conduct these kinds of tests, and some of the major pallet providers have their own test facilities.
To ensure environmental sustainability goals are met, retailers and manufacturers should consider implementing the following guidelines for their transportation and packaging partners:
- Integrate environmental considerations and eco-efficiency into business planning processes, product and service development and standard operating procedures.
- Work as partners with employees, suppliers, customers, service providers and other key environmental stakeholders to jointly achieve the highest possible environmental standards.
- Establish and enforce organizational accountability, responsibility and performance expectations related to environmental sustainability.
- Monitor industry and government advances and provide regular communications to employees, business partners and the public regarding environmental sustainability efforts and progress.
- By collaborating with transportation and packaging partners, private label manufacturers and their retail customers can move product through the supply chain in the most productive and environmentally sustainable way possible. As a bonus, they will also reduce unsaleables and out-of-stocks
* Candice Herndon, director, Environment & Regulatory Affairs, CHEP and LeRoi Cochran, director, Supply Chain Solutions, IFCO.
