Packaging registration: do you see the challenges? And what can you do?
Packaging registration is complicated, with its many different aspects often recorded separately in Excel. In this article we list the challenges you may encounter. Do you recognize them? And are you aware that the right packaging registration system can save time, money and a lot of stress?
Reusable load carriers are used increasingly in all kinds of industries. They offer an environmentally friendly solution for transporting and storing products. But where disposable packaging causes a waste problem, reusable packaging presents a different challenge: proper packaging registration. Anyone who works in logistics knows the struggle of keeping accurate records in multiple systems and Excel sheets.
Most probably, you’ll recognize the challenges related to the registration of returnable transport items. But returnable packaging is here to stay, whether you work in floriculture, fishing, the automotive or any other industry. So what can you do?
A first and important challenge is to keep track of the number of RTIs you have in stock, where they are and where they’re going. You easily turn out to have too many or too few. And sometimes you’ll discover that the items you need are not where you need them. Stock disparities are difficult to trace back to specific carriers, buyers or suppliers.
As it’s difficult to find out exactly when and by whom specific packaging items were delivered and determining whether balances are correct can be almost impossible. Rental costs are difficult to check, which may lead to paying too much. Responsibilities for transportation, loss of items and damages are registered separately, again making it difficult to keep track.
RTIs: costly, time-consuming, chaotic and stressful? It doesn’t need to be. PackControl is packaging registration made easy in 1 system.
When it comes to deposit settlement on reusable load carriers, you easily lose track. Too often, balance statements and invoices are approved without a thorough check or they’re only reconciled periodically, over longer periods. You’re lacking insight and costs get too high without you noticing.
In peak seasons you take too many returnable transport items in stock, because you don’t know exactly how many items you have left and having too little packaging in stock would be a much bigger problem. As a result, costs are rising rapidly. If you had more insight, you could plan precisely, especially if returns could be planned better.
Reusable packaging is transferred from warehouse to warehouse, from supplier to customer and back to the pooling company. You agree on responsibilities with carriers, counterparties and the pooling providers. But how can you make sure these are adhered to? Are agreements properly applied to every shipment, invoice and balance overview?
These challenges make your supply chain complex and inefficient. Storing data in systems like your ERP, CRM and WMS does help. But having to look things up in multiple systems, Excel sheets and perhaps even on paper leads to lower efficiency and higher costs.
There is a new software solution that combines all packaging data together in one system. It is called PackControl and it can be quickly implemented and paired with other financial and management systems as well as PowerBI. You can even register RFID tags for each item, to provide an even more complete picture.
Would you like to discover how it works? Let us give you a free demo. You can easily make an appointment via this link.