Commonly known “Euro-pallets” seem so obvious that they are hardly worth noting. However, they do have a price, which starts to matter at a significant scale of operations. Especially in the current economic slowdown, companies cannot afford to waste the pallets on which they transport goods. Until now, controlling pallet circulation was difficult due to the lack of tools that would allow monitoring their movement. Consequently, they were often lost or returned to the sender in a condition unsuitable for further use.
– An entire industry of pallet buy-back centers has emerged around this, often operating on the edge of the law. The value of the pallets in circulation exceeds hundreds of thousands of zlotys monthly. This is an amount that cannot be ignored – explains Mariusz Wasiak, Transport Director at DSV.
Monitoring pallet circulation is particularly difficult for companies operating in multiple locations and within a group of independent entities. Therefore, the DSV Group, which has branches throughout Poland and operates within three operating companies, inspired the creation of an IT system that allows for the control of pallet movement. It is based on the flow of information between warehouse management systems (WMS), systems where customers place transport orders, and the transport management system (TMS). Storing and transmitting information between them and the branches allows for tracking the fate of the carriers, making it easier to settle them and recover them from contractors or subcontractors.
– Precise knowledge of elementary events is the basis for any optimization, and consequently, for cost reduction. We knew that building an effective pallet recovery system had to start with tracking them across all links in the distribution process. The MOP (Inter-branch Pallet Circulation) project showed that meticulous registration of seemingly minor information about the recipient, the ordering party, the driver, the return location, or the condition and number of pallets influences savings on an organization-wide scale – comments the Vice President of the Management Board of Quantum Software SA.
– Work on creating a rational system for managing returnable packaging, of which EUR pallets are a special case, lasted many months. Describing the complex relationships between the packaging owner, the logistics operator, the carrier, the recipient, and the “returnable packaging warehouse” in the context of various classification criteria was one of the most difficult stages. In addition, the system had to be easy and user-friendly. After six months of testing the system, today we also look at returnable packaging management in the context of added value to our services. Especially since MOP allows for the settlement of every type of returnable packaging – adds Mariusz Wasiak, Transport Director at DSV.