Pallet hire company Chep has teamed up with major retailers and manufacturers to launch a project that will reduce the number of trips needed to collect empty pallets and manage returns more efficiently.
Its Managed Recovery programme is managed by the firm via a centralised Electronic Data Exchange that can be accessed offline or online. Suppliers and retailers chart the progress of pallets at each stage of the supply chain.
Under the previous system, retailers arranged to collect goods and deliver them to distribution centres. They would exchange full pallets for the same number of empty ones. Trucks making deliveries would then be at least partly filled with empty pallets awaiting return to suppliers.
However, under the new system, Chep takes responsibility for collecting empty pallets, freeing space on distribution vehicles for deliveries. In addition, the system allows for more efficient pallet return because Chep can fill its vehicles with pallets, rather than returning half-full vehicles.
Chep also said the system reduces confusion in the pallet-collecting process and cuts down on occasions where pallets are collected in error.
Trials of the system began a year ago. Chep said it was working with the top-five retailers in UK and Ireland and 300 manufacturers to implement the scheme.
“We estimate that by implementing this new service, our suppliers will eliminate the carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to supplying more than 2,300 homes with electricity for a year,” said Tesco transport director Alex Laffey.
“Following changes across the industry, including the introduction of factory-gate pricing, it became apparent that it could create problems with respect to manufacturers and producers recovering empty pallets,” said a spokesperson for the Grocery Industry Pallet User Group.
“We are pleased that Chep has looked at how this problem could be addressed and has developed an alternative service that will be beneficial to some customers and which has the potential to drive a decrease in vehicle movements.”