Case Study about Reducing Damage in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods Supply Chain
Executive summary:~ The Aseptic Carton has many qualities. It is a low cost, environmentally friendly packaging material made from renewable resources, which make it attractive to filler manufacturers, retailers and consumers especially for liquid products such as milk and juice. In the United Kingdom several millions of cartons are purchased each year. However, it is also vulnerable to damage in the supply chain if handled inappropriately. The purpose of this study was to compare the different methods by which cartons are collated in bulk and distributed through the supply chain, and to identify the hazards for carton damage in each of those chains.
To achieve this, The Carton User Group (CUG) together with Pira International and the Lean Enterprise Research Centre (LERC) conducted a three-month project commencing in October 2002. The study examined the physical condition at six points in the supply chain of Tetra Brik and Combibloc one litre, “baseline”, aseptic drinks cartons, supplied to retail in four formats: Tetra on dollies, Tetra on pallets, Combi on dollies, Combi on pallets. The report concludes that there are much lower levels of damage present when the pallet or dolly is moved through the chain from manufacturer to store as a single item. However, where the pallet is broken down, either at distribution centres or stores, the amount and seriousness of damage increases significantly. Keep Reading…
