Returnable Packaging

Plastic containers are increasingly taking over from cardboard cartons in the distribution and manufacturing sector. The increasing costs of waste disposal are making payback periods shorter. It is better to avoid packaging waste in the first place than to be dispose later. Manufacturing plants which have suffered for years from having a variety of component cartons cluttering the shop floor now find themselves cleaner, tidier, safer environments. The result tends now is to have better ordered production area, improved inventory control, better product flow and more efficient running. Dust is reduced as cardboard disappears from the workplace, and damage to items also reduces. Containers can also be colour-coded to identify location or contents. The D.P.C. (Distribution Picking Container) is the latest advance in container design and performs both distribution and order picking functions. Companies changing to returnable plastic containers feel that the containers give them a more professional profile and they report improvements in customer satisfaction.

Advantages:
-After initial ‘pay back’ - less expensive than one trip packaging
-Longevity
-Constant tare
-Purchase as required
-Secure stacking in storage & transit
-Nests / folds for storage & to save on return transport costs
-Protection of contents
-Operator comfort & safety
-Can be manufactured in corporate colour and ‘branded’ with owners logo & details
-Traceability
-Weatherproof
-Retention of preserving agents
-Non-absorption of contaminants
-Hygienic & easy to clean by machine or pressure hose
-Recyclable

Disadvantages:
-Initially expensive
-weight
-Cost if not returned

Blanket Wrapping

Blanket wrap is to fully protect the product during the entire moving process. Do not remove the pads until the product is to be put in place. Secure the pads over the top and down all the 4 sides and even under the bottom of the product. This way it is fully protected no matter how it is carried or which way you set it down.

Sensitive electronic equipment blanket wrapped and secured with load bars and straps

Advantage:

• Increased loading capacity

• Maximum utilization of cube

• Elimination of packaging costs

• Reduced installation labor cost

Each trailer can be equiped with:

• Blanket pads

• Metal beams

• Sheets of plywood

• Straps

Trends in packaging

The packaging market is very dynamic and it is expected to grow significantly worldwide in the coming years. Now the emerging trends are Film-based packaging, Blanket Wrapping, Returnable Containers, Intermediate Bulk Containers, Pallet Pools, Plastic Pallets and Refrigerated Pallets.
The main trends of purposes are detailed below:

Convenience
– Increased demand for ready meals / easy cooking
– Single-house-holds, which leads to rapid demand for smaller, single portions
– Growth in consumption of snacks, which implies more packaging consumption

Maintaining Freshness
– Longer storage at home; longer shelf life in shop (less frequent shopping)
– Distribution logistic times are long, hence a longer packaged life is required
– Flexibility in supply chain

Cost Reduction
– Thinner films while keeping the same mechanical properties
– Higher extrusion rate. Hence, higher barrier and higher strength materials are needed
– An irregular thickness leads to the use of thicker layers than really needed. Having a material with a more regular thickness results in an average thickness close to the one you want, which leads to less material use

Transparency: see the packaged product for different reasons
– Design
– Blister
– Safety for instance in medical
– Selling argument: seeing the food with an attractive packaging has been shown to be critical in the customer choice of a specific product

More Complex Film Structures
Industrials need easier materials to process, allowing films of 7 to 9 layers

Function: Communication

This function in the logistical packaging is to allow information to be conveyed to the consumers. There basically three kinds of information needed to be conveyed. One is the content identification, the other is the tracking information and the last one is definitely the handling instruction of the product or pallet load.

Here are some examples of how information is being conveyed to the customers:

Symbols and labels
Many types of symbols for package labelling are nationally and internationally standardized. For consumer packaging, symbols exist for product certifications, trademarks, proof of purchase, etc. Some requirements and symbols exist to communicate aspects of consumer use and safety and also handling instructions. Recycling directions, Resin identification code (below), and package environmental claims have special codes and symbols. Shipments of hazardous material or dangerous goods have special information and symbols as required by UN, country, and specific carrier requirements.

Barcodes and Universal Product Codes
Barcodes and Universal Product Codes is use for identify the content of the pallet loads and also use for stock tracking.

RFID
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is an automatic transmission method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders.
An RFID tag is an object that can be applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification using radiowaves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader. This device is used for tracking and content identifying purposes.

Function: Convenience

Convenience this term in logistical Packaging simply means how the packaging enables the product to be used easily by the customers.

One good example of convenient packaging for customers is using the food industry. Consumer desire for convenience continues to drive food packaging innovation. From wine in single-serve “juice boxes” to microwavable franks, processors are coming up with impressive new ways to deliver convenience at home or on the run.

For products used at home, such as frozen foods or dried goods, packaging is more often designed to make the product easier to prepare, serve and/or store.

“The demand for convenience is affecting packaging in two ways,” One is smaller packaging formats that target the on-the-go consumer. The other is packaging that addresses portion control, either through a smaller package or a resealable package that lets consumers take what they want and reclose the package so the product doesn’t become stale.”

Some Example of convenient packaging
Recloseable zippers, long familiar on packaging for lunch meat and shredded cheese, are starting to appear more regularly on other products and larger package sizes. In all cases, the convenience of storing left-over product in the package is a driver.

Function: Protection

This is often regarded as the primary functions of the packaging: to protect its contents from outside environmental effects, be they water, moisture vapor, gases, odors, microorganisms, dust, shocks, vibrations, compressive forces, etc., and to protect the environment from the product. This is especially important for those products such as toxic chemicals which may seriously damage the environment.In the case of the majority of food products, the protection afforded by the package is an essential part of the reservation process. For example, aseptically packaged milk and fruit juices in cartons only remain aseptic for as long as the package provides protection; vacuum-packaged meat will not achieve its desired shelf life if package permits oxygen to enter. In general, once the integrity of the package is breached, the product is not longer preserved.
Packaging also protects or conserves much of the energy expended during the production and processing of the product. For example, to produce, transport, sell and store 1kg of bread requires 1.4 MJ of energy. This means that each unit of energy in the packaging protects eleven units of energy in the product. While eliminating the packaging might save 1.4 MJ of energy, it would also lead to spoilage of the bred and a consequent loss of 15.8 MJ of energy.

Function: Containment

This function of packaging is often being overlooked by many, but it is the basic function of packaging. With the exception of large, discrete products, all other products must be contained before they can be moved from one place to another. The “packaging”, whether it is a milk bottle or a bulk cement rail wagon, must contain the product to function successfully. Without containment, pollution will widespread.
The containment function of packaging makes a huge contribution to protecting the environment from numerous of products which are moved from one place to another on several occasions each day in any modern society. Faulty packaging (or underpackaging) would result in major pollution of the environment.

Packaging Functions

The various functions of packaging are divided into primary, secondary and tertiary functions. In primary functions it is primarily concern with the technical nature of the packaging; like protective, storage, loading and transport functions. Secondary functions relate to communications; sales, promotional, service and guarantee functions. Tertiary functions are additional funtion which relates to the extent of packaging materials or packaging containers that may be reused once the package contents have been used. The most significant example is the recycling of paper, paperboard and cardboard packaging as waste paper.

Here we will be focusing on the primary and secondary functions of packaging.