RIGHT SIZE PACKAGING DESIGN - RETURNABLE’S

Benefits of Right-Sized Returnable Containers

• Driver & facilitator for Material Flow Strategy
  • Right container / right quantity / right location
• Driver & facilitator for small container implementation
  • 80% or higher of new returnable container implementations will be hand delivered
• Plant environment improvement
  • Plant environment improvement
  • Fork Free enabler (Moving from Taxi Calls to Bus Routes)
• Safer work environment
  • Safer work environment
  • Reduce use of fork trucks from plant floor
• Packaging cost savings

Packaging cost savings

• Treat Returnable containers as important as production parts.
• All returnable containers must go back to internal markets and/or vendors in returnable program at their scheduled time.
• Do not use returnable containers as:
  • Storage for other production parts
  • Storage for personal items
  • Ice coolers
  • Seats or benches
  • Working tables

The design of a marketplace and warehouse processes follows the principle of “converting random events into predictable processes”. In order to achieve this we established the following guideline ranking the most important elements of our operations:

1. Accuracy (Takes priority and is not negotiable):
   • Right Part
   • Right Quantity
   • Right Container
2. Speed (Cycle time, second rank):
   • Right Time
3. Efficiency (Can be sacrificed and improved with Kaizen events):
   • Space
   • Resources

Being accurate in our inventories is one of the main drivers for the development of our process procedures. To accomplish our accuracy goal we have to design our receiving, storage, picking and delivering processes based on the elimination of elements that will allow random events to drive our operations.

One of the main drivers to eliminate randomness in our daily operations is the following storage principles:

• Every part number will have a dedicated storage location.
• Different part numbers cannot be storage at the same dedicated storage location.
• Random overflow storage will be allowed with the condition that only one part number can be stored at each random location.