Packaging Corner: Bulk containers deliver parts, cost savings

Major North American original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)—including automotive, industrial machinery and appliance makers—have long relied on reusable, plastic bulk containers to transport components from suppliers to assembly lines. During the recession, companies seized the opportunity to further expand the use of containers, says Scott Krebs, senior product category manager for BulkPak containers at Orbis.

“In addition to holding onto those assets longer, many companies took advantage of slower production to push idle reusable containers even deeper into their supply chains,” Krebs says. “When they were busy, their traditional reusable program only went to Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers; during the slowdown they extended it to Tier 3 and Tier 4 suppliers.”

The advantage, says Krebs, is two-fold. In addition to eliminating more expendable packaging and its associated costs further into the supply chain, the companies involved have improved their lean manufacturing and sustainability practices.

In the same vein, Krebs says that OEMs are always looking at how parts and inventory handling impact costs within their supply chain operations. With most components trucked from supplier to assembly, transportation and logistics efficiencies have become a key area of focus because they represent up to 80% of costs, he says.

“Bulk containers used in these applications have a 45 x 48-inch footprint. When transported in a 53-foot trailer, 13 containers sit side-by-side down the length of the trailer for 26 positions,” Krebs explains. “But that doesn’t completely maximize the volume of the trailer.”

Many OEMs have identified that wasted trailer space as an opportunity for better efficiency, says Krebs. “Re-engineering the sidewalls to a 44.5-inch footprint allows two additional containers to fit the space in 14 side-by-side positions. That lets OEMs fit more of their product into a single truckload without requiring any changes to line-side processes: The tops and bottoms of the containers still inter-stack, for example.”

Further, bulk container sidewalls have been redesigned to create a shorter collapsed height for return shipping, allowing a nine-high (instead of the previous eight) to fit a trailer, says Krebs.

Read more Packaging Corner columns.