8
Once we quickly achieved an $800,000 turnaround on our annual pallet spend, however, he became a huge champion of the program, and things got progressively better. There were positive spin offs in terms of product damage reduction and productivity gains, but we weren’t sophisticated enough to track such things at that time. We did note a reduction in lost time accidents related to pallet usage, which probably translated into a saving of over $100,000 per year.
The thing is that reusables for the most part still don’t manage themselves, at least not yet. There is a reluctance to spend the time and effort to mange them because they are just supply chain packaging and business leaders are, after all, trying to keep a business on track by “keeping their eyes on the prize”. Returnable packaging is supposed to go to the right trading partners, at the right count and condition, and it is supposed to return in a timely fashion, in the right quantity. It is far too often expected to just execute as envisioned. Oddly enough, there is too often surprise and disbelief when it does not.
The reality is, however, that people make reusable programs work. And unfortunately, front line packaging handling and decision making can be a distraction. On top of that, training can be relentless in the current labor environment and high turnover rates. There is hope that smart packaging and packaging sensitive automation will increasingly take human error out of the equation, but can your business afford to wait?
One company that has opted to tackle container management through a training emphasis is Jettainer. The outsourced Unit Load Device (ULD) provider has signed up for the “Ten Rules for ULDs”, publichsed by ULD CARE, a non-profit Canadian corporation focused on preventing damage to ULDs through raising awareness. The IATA reports that there are 900,00 ULDs in circulation, with a replacement cost of over $1 billion annually and damage repair costs of $330 million.
Photo credit: Jettainer
Continued from Page 4