BY SUSAN K. LACEFIELD, EDITOR AT LARGE
PACKAGING AND LABELING
Material Handling
IT’S A MISTAKE A LOT OF COMPANIES MAKE: THINKING ABOUT THEIR
packaging in a fragmented fashion. What type of dunnage to use is considered independently from what type of box to use. The type of box is considered independently
of what type of pallet to use. The pallet is considered independently of what type of
stretch wrap or packaging film to use.
This fragmented approach can lead to a number of problems. First, companies
risk over-engineering their packaging—in other words, they end up using more,
higher-quality packaging than is strictly necessary, which inflates their costs. Or the
reverse happens: Looking to save money on packaging, companies start reducing the
amount or quality of a particular piece of packing material without considering how
the change will affect the unit load’s protective capabilities. Or, if they’re trying to
reduce product damage, they risk focusing on the wrong part of the packaging. For
example, if their corrugated boxes are consistently being crushed during transit, they
might assume the fix is switching to a higher-quality box, when changing their pallet
or stretch wrap might be a more cost-effective solution.
A better approach, according to many experts, is to think about packaging holistically and look at what’s known as the entire “unit load.” Unit load optimization and
design considers the combination of the product on the pallet with all of the materials
used to protect and secure it, including packaging material, corner posts, reinforcers,
packaging film, and straps. “It’s making sure that [all components of the] load work
together efficiently,” says Laszlo Horvath, director of the Center for Packaging and
Unit Load Design at Virginia Tech.
Focusing on the unit load gives companies a better idea of how a product will stand
up to supply chain-related stresses than they can get by simply testing the primary
packaging (the first layer of packaging), according to Ben Eugrin, director of the sup-
When companies go
to solve a packaging
problem—like figuring
out how to keep their
boxes from getting
crushed in transit—
they often focus on
just one aspect of their
packaging. They can
get a better, more
complete answer by
looking at the entire
unit load.
The complete package
SQUEEZE PLAY: At CHEP’s Innovation
Center, this compression test device is
used to determine whether a unit load
can be safely double- or triple-stacked in
warehouse storage. The product is placed
beneath the blue steel plate, which drops
down and applies force equivalent to one
or two loads to it for one hour.
