May 31, 2024

Carriers, too, can reduce packaging costs and improve margins

Carriers, too, can reduce packaging costs and improve margins

Being a forwarder or transporter you are often responsible for exchanging euro pallets, CC containers or other RTIs. If so, you’ll want to know exactly what has been picked up or dropped off at which location, as losing items will eat away from your already limited margins. There’s a way to keep control of items.

As a carrier, you are often responsible for exchanging returnable transport items at the end customer. Not doing so would make you lose valuable business, so you don't really have a choice. How can you ensure a correct registration of RTIs, even if there seem to be exceptions for every trip? Below you’ll find a few tips to make it easier.

Make sure agreements are clear and well-recorded

The exchange of euro pallets, CC containers and other reusable transport items often depends on the agreements made with specific clients. The clearer the agreements, conditions and exceptions are, the easier it will be to ensure that the costs for lost items do not fall on your shoulders. So make sure you record everything contractually and store it in such a way that you can easily find it.

Keep a tight schedule

The starting point should be to begin and end a trip with an empty trailer, but we all know that’s beside your daily practice, as you’ll often start with pallets or a number of empty containers already there. At the end of the day, you’ll want your registration to be correct, so you can calculate the costs without overpaying. A tight trip planning with proper registration of loading and unloading at every address will give control over the figures.

Proper registration of RTIs can make a big difference to your margins

Register deviations in realtime

Too often you do not get the correct number of returned items when exchanging pallets at the end customer. Worse still, sometimes there’s no exchange at all. This can become a problem, especially at the unloading address, as you often have no relationship with that party. It helps if you have agreed in advance how to deal with this. All in all, it’s important to keep track of the exact numbers loaded or unloaded during a trip, so you can prove where differences occurred and who’s responsible.

Correctly calculate costs

You run a high-volume, low-margin business and as a result the impact of deviating RTI quantities is high. Costs can be settled more easily if you know exactly what happened. That is why correct registration is so important. It puts you in a stronger position with your client. And that will benefit your margins.

Calculating correct rents for CC containers

Whilst CC containers are pooling packaging, they are often used in an exchange system. If you are a supplier of CC containers which you rent out a correct rental registration is important. It can save you a lot of income if you always know exactly where all containers are and who bears the costs.

Automate your packaging registration

A good registration of your packaging, whether it is euro pallets, CC containers or other reusable items, is of great importance for your margins. Especially if large volumes are moved, the loss of too many items can cost you your already low margins.

PackControl packaging software helps you automate your packaging registration

Save yourself a lot of work, as this software will let you:

  • Record and automatically apply agreements, exceptions, and contracts
  • Import trip schedules from your TMS
  • Import and auto-review transaction data
  • Record deviations during the journey
  • Make sure all numbers are correct
  • Share transactions with others, for verification and substantiation
  • Automatically calculate (deposit) costs to be settled
  • Make rental calculations based on the correct numbers, dates and any waiting days

PackControl packaging software gives you control over your packaging registration. This way you keep a grip on the correct numbers and you are never faced with unwanted costs again.

Would you like to know more? Browse through our website, or contact us for more information.