What is plastic reusable packaging?
Plastic reusable packaging products are used to move, store and distribute product within a single operation or entire supply chain. From raw material to finished goods, plastic reusable packaging safely and efficiently moves material/product along different points of the supply chain and ultimately to its destination. It is ideal for multiple trip applications in a closed-loop environment or well-managed supply chain. It can also be used effectively in a managed open-loop system, with reverse logistics in place to return empty containers or pallets for re-use or replenishment.
Products can include.
- Hand-held containers, bins, boxes or totes
- Pallets, slip sheets, top frames and top caps
- Divider sheets
- Bulk containers, bins, boxes or totes
- Protective interior dunnage (custom)
- Storage containers and metal systems
- Custom designed and engineered packaging
By design, plastic reusable packaging products offer durable, rigid construction; contoured surfaces; easy-to-grasp handles; high levels of recyclability and vast identification options. These dimensionally consistent containers and pallets are easy to handle and interface effortlessly with all types of high-speed automated equipment. In fact, some products are specially designed to be “hands-free” and solely handled by robots or conveyors. Plastic packaging has no nails or loose corrugated flaps to halt a high-speed system. And, in high-volume industries, hundreds of thousands of dollars are lost when an automated system is stopped.
Whether shipping plastic bottles to a soft drink bottler for filling; trim parts to an automotive manufacturer; electronic components to a computer manufacturer or consumer goods to the mass retailer, plastic reusable containers and pallets will help move product faster, better, safer and more cost effectively.
Plastic reusable packaging is integrated in a single operation or entire supply chain to take the place of single-use corrugated shipping and storage boxes and limited-use wood pallets. Users experience a rapid return on their packaging investment…many times in 6-18 months or less.
Experienced reusable packaging providers analyze a single operation or entire supply chain, conduct a financial justification, design a solution and implement a packaging program for sustained cost reduction and supply chain efficiency. Supply chain systems are dynamic and the packaging programs that support them must evolve, as well. New product launches, quality improvements, changing production processes and new labor practices may require new and innovative packaging. Experienced packaging providers will continually re-evaluate for future opportunities for optimization.
Why Plastic Reusable Packaging?
The development and implementation of reusable packaging programs result in sustained optimization and overall cost reduction through:
Improved flow of product –The contoured, lightweight design of reusable packaging allows product to travel safely and efficiently to its destination.
Reduced packaging waste (from the disposal of corrugated boxes or wood pallets) – The disposal of corrugated and wood waste is costly in terms of disposal fees and non-value added labor incurred for set-up and/or breakdown. The long service life of reusable packaging allows it to be used over and over again in place of one-time use corrugated boxes and wood pallets.
Reduced packaging costs – Annual packaging costs plummet with plastic reusable containers and their protective interior dunnage. Containers can last 5 to 10 years, reducing packaging material costs to pennies per trip by allocating the initial investment over their useful life. Recurring charges for one-time-use packaging are avoided and waste is reduced significantly compared to expendable packaging.