The Issue
Trading in a wide variety of consumer goods and supplying wholesale to a number of UK retail high-street outlets gave our client one particular headache. The UK retailers all insisted that deliveries to their distribution centres be made on standard pallets according to rigorous regulations.
With a variety of goods, of different sizes and weights, supplied by a number of different manufacturers our clients were faced with a bewildering array of different sized export cartons, few if any of which allowed efficient and economic pallet builds. Consequently it was difficult to both calculate unit shipping costs and, more especially, to avoid wasting money having to deliver pallets not loaded to their maximum capacity.
The Solution
Seaspace undertook a comprehensive review of our client’s commodity base, their packing requirements, the UK retailers’ delivery demands and various pallet load plans. The review considered the best use of industry standard export cartons along with bespoke designed cartons, maximising loads without compromising either the safety of the products or the rigid requirements of all parts and parties of the supply chain.
The Result
We put forward a small range of readily available and suitably sized cartons, accommodating the whole range of our client’s commodities. This range now maximises the carton and pallet loading capacity and so allows for more predictable budgeting, minimising the number of cartons needed to transport goods and allowing for efficient pallet builds. Thus everyone in the supply chain is happy and we’ve even done our bit to help the environment by reducing waste!