How can retailers save up to half a million euros in intangible operations such as the pallet management, picking or replacement time? Smurfit Kappa, one of the largest integrated manufacturers of paper-based packaging in the world with operations in Europe and America, has developed a wrap-around tray for milk cartons for them that offers significant savings, improved logistics and a greater perception of quality. sustainability.
A packaging whose structure has the same external measurements as those of the usual solutions for this sector and the same resistance, but its design has shorter side flaps than allow you to reduce the material used by 29%. This makes it possible for more units to fit on each pallet -which implies a lower number of pallets per year for the same SKUs- and, therefore, also fewer trucks and movements. In addition, it significantly reduces space in the warehouse.
Regarding its image, the new solution for milk cartons from Smurfit Kappa is developed in white recycled paper on the outside and brown on the inside and it uses only two printing colors thanks to the fact that it allows a better visualization of its content. In this way, it offers a better perception of sustainability to the final consumer compared to its predecessor, which used white paper coated on both sides and five colors.
Taking the distribution of 8 million units as an example, this enveloping tray offers savings to suppliers and retailers of 473,267 euros. In the case of palletizedWith this new solution, 3,500 boxes fit per pallet (2,100 with the usual tray), which means 1,524 fewer pallets, 40% fewer movements and a reduction of 23 trucks. Also, in terms of sustainability, this translates into 160 tons less CO2 into the environment, the equivalent of the emission of 22 people over the course of a year.
Anna Vargas, Retail Manager of Smurfit Kappa Spain, Portugal and Morocco, indicates that “This new corrugated cardboard packaging that we are presenting is fully recycled and 100% biodegradable, which also has a positive impact on retail with a higher economic return from the sale of this material after use and its ease of waste management. Our objective is to provide large stores with profitability and real value that reaches all their logistics, so we will continue working on creating innovative solutions that, in addition to allowing them to be more sustainable, help them improve all their logistics operations from start to finish. , with the consequent cost savings that this entails”.
SupplySmart, technology at the service of retail
To design this type of packaging, Smurfit Kappa has the methodology SupplySmart, which helps you assess risks, understand opportunities and improve the efficiency of your customers’ supply chains by exploring all their possibilities, to eliminate problems and increase your logistics efficiency. In this way, you demonstrate that small changes can create a big positive impact on your business. by helping them reduce logistics costsimproving the stacking of pallets, reducing the number of trucks, optimizing storage and generating significant environmental and cost benefits for retailers.
