Task:

Karro Food Group invited Lindum to audit and assess the packaging operations at each site in order to:

• Clarify which sundry packaging products are currently in use
• Identify areas where products can be consolidated and rationalised, both within and between sites
• Identify areas where changes can be made to reduce cost-in-use and improve efficiencies.

Findings:

We identified the following issues across the 8 sites:

• The machine pallet wrap in use varied which meant usage was much higher than necessary and pallet presentation across the sites was inconsistent.
• A variety of products and colours of hand pallet wrap were in use, some under spec, causing inconsistency of pallet presentation and quality issues
• Poor performing product meant pallet wrap rolls were discarded before they were finished
• In a number of cases tape was inadequate and was not adhering to boxes causing issues in storage and transit. Significant issues with taping machines were wasting resource, time and money
• A corrugated cardboard layer pad for pallet stability was causing an issue with pallet wrapping. Paper sheets solved this issue and allowed tension settings on the pallet wrappers to increase, increasing the yield of the film.

Solution:

The solution was to introduce a consolidated range of high quality, branded products which perform across all the sites.

Carewrap™ Hand Film

Carewrap™ Machine Film

Carestretch™ Machine Film

Caregrip™ Anti-slip Layer Sheets

Alaska™ Tape

E-tape™ Range

Results:

57% cost saving and 66% environmental saving through:

• Less downtime through longer reel lengths and fewer roll changes on tape and pallet wrap
• Less cost as group-wide consolidated buying and correct specification pallet wrap delivering a higher yield through less pallet wrap per pallet
• Less waste due to less wrap being used and fewer pallet wrap and tape cores to dispose of
• Less storage space required and reduced logistics costs as 1 pallet of Caregrip™ anti-slip sheets delivers/holds the same as 7.5 pallets of layer pads
• Less management resource as the consolidation of transit packaging products means it’s now simpler to track and control packaging spend, whilst a single supplier for all packaging items results in reduced admin time too
• Less spoilt product through improved pallet stability which also improved carton performance by 25–30%, allowing carton spec to be decreased saving further costs
• Improved company image through consistently wrapped pallets and better pallet stability

What the customer had to say:

“Ourselves and Lindum worked together as a team to achieve a 66% environmental saving, as well as a 57% cost saving. This amazing and unbelievably simple save was achievable by implementing a few easy changes to the material that is used to wrap the finished products. Not only was our spend on wrap drastically decreased, the presentation of our finished products was increased and the stability of the pallets was improved tenfold. This really was a win-win for Lindum, us and our customers.”