plastic dollies loaded with containers for order picking

Retail Chain Optimizes Delivery Costs with Plastic Dollies

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One of the most effective ways of cutting costs is looking at the way you deliver products and finding ways to optimize it. This is what one of our clients, an important retail chain, did. They realized that they were running high delivery costs because their packaging materials were not flexible and suitable for their needs. By choosing plastic dollies, the retailer managed to optimize both their costs and operations.

Paying Good Money for Shipping Air

The retail company has five large warehouses which supply their nationwide network of supermarkets. Each store received the products they ordered on a metallic roll cage. These packaging materials are solid and reliable, but not very flexible for order picking for several locations.

More precisely, it is impossible to pool orders for several stores on the same roll cage. Thus, each store had one metallic roll cage assigned. In many situations, they would be only half or three quarters full. Since the roll cages cannot be stacked, the trailers delivering merchandize where almost never filled to maximum capacity.

Thus, the retail company was paying a lot of money to ship thin air.

Logistic Packaging Specialists Weigh in on the Matter

From the very beginning, our packaging specialists realized that the client was losing a lot of money due to this failure to optimize trailer space. Since the company operates both large supermarkets and small corner shops, there are always significant variations in the quantity of products delivered to each location.

Thus, the metallic roll cages were absolutely inadequate for the client’s purposes. Our specialists had to find an order picking solutions which:

  • Is easy to handle by automated machined and employees
  • Is flexible with regard to the quantity of products packed on it
  • Can save space in store backrooms and in the central warehouses
  • Ensures the best usage of available trailer space.

Plastic Dollies and Foldable Small Containers: the Best Solution to the Client’s Problem

The simplest solution to this internal logistic loop we came up with is using foldable small containers on plastic dollies to prepare orders for each store.

Compared to the roll cages, plastic dollies offer a lot of freedom in stacking various numbers of containers. Moreover, the packing unit itself becomes stackable in a trailer.

Their simple design makes plastic dollies very easy to use by store employees with or without the aid of motorized vehicles.

Also, the foldable small containers offer a good protection to all types of goods, including fresh produce and fragile items.

The Client Implements Plastic Dollies in Their Supply Chain

The retail chain accepted our suggestion and replaced the metallic roll cages with plastic dollies. From the first shipping with the new packaging solutions, they noticed that they could deliver merchandize to more stores in the same trailer in just one trip.

Their employees were able to create solid and compact stacks, increasing the total product density per trailer significantly. Also, with fewer delivery trips, the retailer reduced its monthly shipping costs.

At the other end, store managers and employees were very happy with the new packaging option. The plastic dollies are easier to maneuver, especially between narrow store aisles. When they are empty, both the plastic dollies and foldable small containers occupy less space than just one metallic roll cage.

The Right Packaging Solution Makes Several Improvements in Your Operations

With this case study, the Logistic Packaging team wants to reinforce the idea that packaging is essential for your daily business operations. The adequate packaging solutions can help you save costs, optimize storage space and speed up your supply chain.

Our team of packaging specialists is always ready to help you find the right packaging materials for your specific applications. Whether it is plastic dollies or large pallet containers, you can be sure that the products we recommend are the best fit for your company. Send us an email to detail your packaging needs and start discussing with a packaging expert!