whereas the humble pallet has been a basis of the supply and transport chains for all industries for as long as about anybody alive today can memorize, a silent revolution is now in progress that could see their role weaken in at least one industry sector. at the recently held australian institute of packaging aip national conference at queensland&rsquos gold coast, spokespersons of two established competitors in the business of local pallet&ndashloscam and chep &ndash found themselves in conformity that companies such as themselves increasingly had to concentrate on a sector they have had little exposure to until recent times &ndash the shelf of supermarket. as retailers in australia such as woolworths and coles move ahead down the path towards requiring shelfready packaging srp right from their external suppliers, both companies mention their part in the retail sector is varying as they are compelled to consider the environment of store more than the distribution centre of backroom storage areas. david edwards is the general manager of business development department at loscam asia pacific. david mentioned that it&rsquos becoming a truth that the traditional pallet companies like them are moving into the sector of packaging chain. edward&rsquos claim is supported up by renee holbrook, the director of strategic marketing at chep. renne mentions that to the extent that retail is concerned, companies like loscam and chep are no longer just logistics and transport suppliers. renee said that they are not so much a manufacturer of packaging, but they have constantly been a service provider to packaging industry. they see their role in the supply chain as an integrator, and furthermore, now that role is taking on a new dimension. renee further mentioned that what they are seeing for them in the bottling pallets and display area is it is coming out of an alcove. they have seen it being used with aldi. however, that is now growing outside. both companies say, in recent years, a major area of concentration has been how they can alter their services and products to meet the requirements of the major supermarket chains for effective and easy storing of products direct in their stores&rsquo aisles. for loscam, edwards mentions, this has destined an addition of its earlier efforts in such fields as providing bulk fresh products for the store environment. he says that they have been more into providing displayready units instead of shelf ready to date. their focus has been on fast moving produce traditionally produce such as crates of vegetables. however, that trend is now moving into other fields such as beverages. he mentions that, in many ways, this trend can be considered element of the likely evolution of bulk transport and palletising. he says that the pallet is the simplest type of returnable packaging, and has served them well. then came returnable and collapsible plastic crates &ndash rpcs &ndash and they started to look at bulkier, larger bins and crates for produce and vegetables that could go on a shop floor and with which a retailer can refill more products in a much shorter span of time. he mentions, today, the challenge is for innovative bulk packaging systems to shift into the shelf space. they are now seeing display pallets, designed with the intention to go down production lines, and then also transport into actual stores.&rdquo he says, the advantages of such systems, cover both the pointofsale and warehousing spaces. at back of stores, these actually come into their own, but they now have great advancements for store packers. loscam, for example, to lower the wheels, have a foot pedal, so they can simply be moved to the retail space. chep&rsquos holbrook mentions the development has also compelled companies like hers to consider an aspect that has performed a little part in their everyday business to date &ndash aesthetics. she says that it brings visuals to the design challenge. they have primarily been palletisers up to now, but now they also need to think regarding the retail space. as chep design for a piece of packaging, which can shift from the manufacturer to the consumer, they are also including a brand new role for packaging. chep have always wanted to optimise plants, optimise trucks, and now they are adding merchandising to that, as well. for that, they have to look at the shop floor, which seems completely different from the distribution centre. nowadays, they are starting to see few of the fully kitted europeanstyle merchandising units in australia. one research from europe reveals that about 65 percent of supply chain expenses are in &lsquothe last mile&rsquo &ndash their phrase for the shelf space &ndash and they are now trying to help minimize that. whereas, for retailers, the trend of the bulk transport solutions into the retail space is offering many benefits, it has nevertheless needed some tradeoffs, both say. holbrook says that retail infrastructure is dissimilar in scale from distribution. it is not automated but manual, and it is human scale. that means for companies like chep, they need scale to be cost effective to ensure they can be competitive and offer flexibility. holbrook further said that returnable packaging is also reliant on regular sizes, and they have to look at formats of size that work in the logistics space and to the instore environment, as well. she says various requirements of retailers for such retailready systems are really not an easy fit for each other. for instance, she mentions, woolworths&rsquo &lsquofive easys&rsquo &ndash the chain&rsquos affirmed philosophies for srp easy to open easy to shelf easy to shop easy to identify and easy to dispose &ndash did not all the time lend themselves simply to a single integrated solution. she says that designing for product protection or for pack strength versus the five easys is not all the time considered to be complementary. principles are another sector of challenge. from the perspective of chep, in the 1950s, the traditional pallet was invented, and it was never imagined to be used on a shop floor, as well. she also mentioned that once they design it, to keep it relevant, they rely on standards, so they need to make sure the retailers are on the same level in their requirements. she said that they are fortunate in australia that most bottles and caps, for instance, are pretty standard. however, it can be an issue in other fmcg segments or other countries. nevertheless, loscam&rsquos edwards estimates that, in the near future, a trend towards returnable bulk packaging in the supply chain will be moving further into other sectors. he says that the yoghurt sector, for instance, is calling out for a solution. for refrigeration, cardboard boxes are not compatible, and with high damage to the yoghurt packs, they can fall apart. for that, they have invested in developing packaging with polycarbonate sides and polypropylene bases. they are good, robust for temperature control, are simply disassembled and assembled. further down the path, if the experience of europe has to be considered, soon cartons may make way for returnable pallets and bins in such areas as snack food. he says that they have also started making samples for snacks, as well as removing the carton from the supply chain, as well. httpwww.packagingnews.com.aunewspalletingchangestopackaging
