With thousands of tonnes of transit packaging being disposed of every year in the UK, more and more companies are considering the use of reusable, multi-trip Returnable Transit Packaging (RTP) as opposed to disposable single-trip packaging. But when considering whether to buy or choose a pooled rental option, there are many things to consider.
That is why a lot of companies have approached the PPS Group, who for over 10 years have been providing clients throughout the UK and Europe with RTP rental and pooling solutions, supplying product from a comprehensive range of plastic pallets, trays, crates, boxes or IBC’s.
Jonathan Issatt, PPS Business Development Manager reported “When considering whether to buy Returnable Transit Packaging or opt for a pooled rental solution, PPS guide customers through a structured and reasoned review process that enables them to identify their individual needs and supports them in the decision process in order for them to make the most cost effective and flexible choice to meet their individual needs.
Manufactured from durable plastic, returnable transit packaging products are specifically designed for multiple trips over an extended life. They offer a rapid return on investment and a lower cost-per-trip than single trip packaging products.
TOP TEN REASONS TO CONSIDER RTP
Jonathan lists below, what he believes to be the top 10 benefits associated with using an RTP Pooled equipment solution.
1. FINANCIAL – pooled rental options are popular and provide a flexible method of funding the introduction of RTP as they offer all the benefits of ownership without major capital outlay and help to maintain a positive cash flow. It is simple and easy to budget for with one price per product (crate/pallet) for the full service that includes rental, wash, transport and management.
2. ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS – Renting and pooling RTP is a sustainable way of conducting business and works toward reducing a company’s carbon footprint. It also adheres to the legislative requirements of the Packaging Waste Directive that advocates that packaging be minimised and designed for recovery and re-use. RTP replaces one-trip disposable packaging that has negative environmental and economic impact. A reduction in waste and possible landfill charges has immediate cost savings and increases overall profitability.
PPS has successfully promoted the use of a range of plastic returnable transit equipment (RTE) replacing one-way trip cardboard boxes in the poultry industry and single-use expandable polystyrene fish boxes in the fish farming sector. In these specific examples cardboard boxes are simply scrapped due to soiling from the products being transported and the polystyrene boxes require considerable energy expenditure to crush them – in both cases the final products end up in landfill.
3. SAVINGS IN TRANSPORT & HANDLING – Returnable packaging is usually designed to be stacked or collapsible, reducing storage and transport space and the associated costs. Also, In the case of a major poultry producer replacing cardboard boxes with plastic nestable crates meant that for the same size of plastic crate (as the cardboard box) the client could pack 19 kgs of produce instead of 15 kgs for the one-way trip box. This meant more produce could be transported per truck, fewer journeys needed and of course the result being an extra carbon reduction achieved.
4. IMPROVED PROTECTION – Returnable packaging is manufactured and designed to be more robust and durable, helping to reduce the risk of product damage during transit and therefore decreases customer returns. Secure and rigid RTP are ideal for the transportation of fresh, perishable and valuable goods requiring optimum protection – and these can be hygienically washed and returned in to the loop.
5. BESPOKE SOLUTIONS – Where customers require, tailored solutions can be provided to meet specific materials handling needs in terms of size, distribution and with health and safety issues in mind.
6. CONSERVATION – More socially acceptable as the conservation of energy and raw materials throughout the supply chain has both environmental and economical benefits. Lower energy consumption for washing reusable RTP should be considered against higher energy costs for recycling cardboard and timber.
7 POOLING BENEFITS – this enables clients to concentrate their efforts, energies and resources into their core business and allows a specialist business to handle their returnable packaging. Pooling of a shared resource is cost effective – with one product for many users! Plastic crates can be used over and over again, making them far more versatile than single trip packaging materials such as cardboard boxes.
8 HYGIENICALLY CLEAN PRODUCT – on delivery, used plastic pool rented products can be collected and washed to BRC approved standards before being retuned into the supply chain for re-use. Most businesses operating strict hygienic standards can take the stock direct to the factory floor.
PPS have two modern and hygienic dedicated wash plants in the Midlands and Grimsby for washing of all its own returnable packaging and also extends this service to third parties on an ad hoc or contract basis.
9. TRACKING SYSTEMS – The success of a pooled rental system depends not only on fit-for-purpose packaging but also on effective control and management of the closed loop system.
PPS customers can access and monitor the precise location of all transit equipment using ‘ENABLE’, which is a bespoke PPS web-based online tracking system for management of product and unit distribution. Input of data can be integrated with customers own software systems or can be input directly via the PPS website. Receiving locations can also monitor deliveries to assess for collection needs.
10. FLEXIBILITY OF SERVICE – Products are available in large and small volumes for long or short term periods and therefore provides the maximum flexibility to cater for seasonal peaks and troughs. Customers no longer need to hold on to high levels of stock during seasonal lows.
In summary Jonathan concluded, “PPS can assist customers investigate the feasibility of replacing current single use packaging with standard or bespoke reusable packaging solutions and have been involved in many industrial sectors including food, fish, meat & poultry processing, retail, automotive, electronics, etc.
RTP pooled equipment solutions from PPS offer a simple and easy to manage solution, with controlled online management and predictable one-fee cost with no hidden extras and take the responsibility for retrieving packaging from third parties and ensuring it meets hygiene standards before returning it to the pool.”
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