The cosmetics industry faces a lot of complex requirements: it has to meet the fast delivery demands of ecommerce retail and the strict hygiene rules of the pharma industry. In this case study we will show how an innovative packaging solution – anti-slip plastic pallets – solved both issues for an important cosmetics producer in Europe.
The Challenges of Handling and Storing Cosmetic Products
To understand the client’s need for anti-slip plastic pallets, the Logistic Packaging specialists first had to assess the specific challenges involved in handling and storing their products.
Cosmetics are fragile products. They are packaged in glass jars and bottles, which can easily shatter. At the same time, just like any kind of product getting in contact with the human body, they must be free of all kinds of contaminants. This means that these products require special conditions for handling, storage and shipping:
- Maximum hygiene
- Protection against mechanical shocks
- Protection against dust, spillage and other contaminants.
The Client’s Current Situation: Modern Production Facility, Unreliable Packaging Solutions
During the last years, the client invested in modern automatic conveyor systems and material handling devices for their production facility. The products are not touched by any employee from the moment the raw materials enter the production process, and until the finished items are loaded on pallets and stored in the warehouse.
Unfortunately, the company still used the old packaging solutions, which proved to be unreliable in the automated flow. The wooden pallets and cardboard boxes would slip and fall off conveyor belts and from the grip of robotic arms. The result: a lot of damaged products, reducing the company’s ability to grow its profits, despite the high demand for its merchandize.
The Logistic Packaging Team Analyzes the Client’s Problem
From the very beginning, our packaging experts understood that the main problem was the mismatch between the advanced production technology and the old packaging materials. The pallets and boxes wee designed for manual handling, lacking the specific design features required for conveyor belts and robotic arms.
We realized that the cosmetics producer needs a modern packaging solution, with several specific features:
- Designed for use in automated production flow
- Meeting high standards of hygiene
- Offering protection to fragile products during handling.
The product line that meets all these requirements is our range of anti-slip plastic pallets.
Reasons Why We Recommended Anti-Slip Plastic Pallets
Anti-slip plastic pallets offer all the benefits of medium to heavy duty closed deck pallets:
- They are 2-way pallets that can be used by forklift and other automated devices
- They do not splinter and have a sturdy build, adequate for intense use
- They do not absorb liquids and other contaminants
- They help create stable stacks of products.
In addition to these benefits, anti-slip plastic pallets have a pressed in special surface that offers supplementary grip to products placed on them. This surface prevents loaded boxes from slipping and falling during handling.
The pallets can be cleaned and sanitized using standard industrial washing facilities and a short washing cycle.
The Client’s Decision
The cosmetics producer realized that the only way of optimizing their operations and growing their business is replacing the old packaging materials with modern and reliable returnable packages.
The first batch of anti-slip plastic pallets was implemented in their production facility and storage operations. The first results indicate that the client noted a steady decrease in the percentage of damaged products during the handling operations.
They are committed to continuing to improve their logistic operation and we are proud to be their long term partners for success.
Logistic Packaging is committed to help companies in all industries find modern and efficient packaging and logistics solutions to optimize costs and increase their profitability. Our consultants are ready to discuss your specific business challenges, so send us an email or schedule a Skype video call with us!