You are here: Home › IFCO Magazine -lehti › Why IFCO reusable plastic containers... choose Country & Language: Belgium / Suomi Palvelut ja tuotteet Tietoja IFCOsta Kestävyys Lue lisää Ottaa yhteyttä MyIFCO Why IFCO reusable packaging containers are optimal for warehouse automation written by IFCO SYSTEMS, 6th tammikuu 2021, in Asiakasreferenssit share share share Sturdy, stackable, and standardized containers work best with automated systems. And IFCO RPCs offer these advantages. As retailers turn to automation to meet supply chain demands and make their logistics more efficient, they can rely on IFCO to help them. Containers that truly fit for purpose Not one tab, not one latch, not one air hole in an IFCO reusable packaging container (RPC) is intended as decoration. Each feature serves a technical necessity and the containers’ aesthetics arise from functionality. When selecting IFCO RPCs for automated systems, teams of IFCO engineers work closely with retailers as well as equipment manufacturers to make sure that the containers are truly fit for purpose. It can be stability to keep the container securely in the stack or it might be there to make it compatible with another product. It might be a feature that allows the RPC to move optimally on a conveyor or to provide better ventilation during refrigeration." Large European retailers might have a fruit and vegetable assortment that includes some 300 products. So it is critical to select the IFCO RPC that is right for each product, while making sure that each container is compatible with the automated equipment – as well as with any other existing packaging that will be handled by the robotic systems in a logistics center. With more than 70 types of IFCO RPCs, experts can test a range of containers, for example, to find out which bottom deck configuration travels most smoothly over rollers. "Every corner, every eyelet of an RPC is there for a reason" Michael Pooley, IFCO CEO And visa versa – when designing warehouse automation, the equipment engineers can adapt the systems to the containers they plan to transport, such as by adjusting the spacing of rollers or by determining that the containers travel along the conveyors in a specific direction. Adapting systems to established products inevitably saves costs, both in development and over the long term. Michael Pooley says, "Automated high-bay shelves and automatic order picking systems in logistics centers work best with standardized containers, such as IFCO RPCs." Even the smallest deviation of a few millimeters in container size can create a huge disadvantage for automated logistics centers that might be handling more than a million containers every month. Reducing strain in the supply chain The trend towards warehouse automation in grocery retailing is set to increase in the coming years. Many of the largest retailers in European countries including Switzerland, France, and Finland, with their highly regulated and cost-intensive labor markets, rely at least in part on automation – and other players in the market are considering it. By installing such systems, retailers ease the physically strenuous work of lifting, layer picking and stacking containers. Labor laws may allow only a certain amount of weight to be lifted during the course of a shift. Or regulations may limit the weight of a single manually lifted load to 15 kilograms, for example. Yet standard sales units for certain products, such as oranges from Spain, commonly weigh about 20 kilograms, plus the container. While these laws are appropriate for employees’ health, they leave retailers few alternatives other than to partially or fully automate their logistics. "Warehouse automation offers a solution to the changing demands of the produce supply chain," says Michael Pooley, IFCO CEO The fascinating precision of automation When growers pack the fruits and vegetables in IFCO reusable packaging containers, it reduces handling during the entire supply chain and greatly facilitates automated processes in the logistics center. What goes on inside an automated warehouse? Palettes containing produce and groceries arrive at a logistics center from near and far – stacked high with IFCO RPCs. The palettes then enter the infeed, where the automated system reads the bar codes. It records each sales unit – a crate of apples, for example – and ensures it belongs to a certain delivery. It also identifies each incoming IFCO RPC by its measurements. Once inside the logistics center, groceries are usually stored in refrigerated or cooled warehouses, and rarely at a temperature that is comfortable for workers who might be there for hours at a time. Moisture and humidity are also necessary for fresh produce, but unpleasant for people. Reducing human exposure to these undesirable working conditions is another reason to introduce automation. Such cold and damp conditions may also be too extreme for single-use packaging. It can absorb moisture and lose its shape, or its dimensions might change slightly. Because an automated system continues to scan the container at various points during handling and storage, it no longer recognizes a single-use box that was identified earlier. Michael Pooley explains that IFCO RPCs maintain their shape because they are made of stable, moisture-resistant polypropylene. As goods move through the warehouse, robots and conveyors sort the sales units. Here, the configuration on the bottom of the IFCO reusable packaging containers ensures smooth passage over rollers or conveyors. Once sales units are separated, each IFCO RPC travels on its own plastic tray to a specific place on high-bay shelves in the tray warehouse. In this way, sales units are identified both by the date they enter into the system as well as where they are stored in the shelves. Commissioning orders and transporting individual sales units in IFCO RPCs to the outfeed becomes fast, cost-efficient and precise. A high percentage of IFCO RPCs also mean less packaging waste. However, challenges still exist. The next generation After the standard container dimensions have been established, these must remain consistent to ensure that automated systems continue to operate smoothly. Even the slightest change in color, form or material between product generations may make it necessary to calibrate the machines again. Setting up an automated system with a new container is costly. "It takes a long time to develop new containers, not only because of the optimization of the product itself, but also because they need to be compatible with previous applications," says Michael Pooley. This high level of product compatibility and standardization in IFCO RPCs is illustrated by our nearly 1.5 billion grocery shipments around the world to more than 50 countries. When developing solutions to supply chain demands, automation companies, supply chain experts and retailers trust IFCO, the global leader for RPC packaging, for its ongoing technical customer support. As retailers look to meet tomorrow’s challenges, varying degrees of warehouse automation will be inevitable. And IFCO reusable packaging containers can help accelerate the uptake of automation. Lets’s meet tomorrow’s supply chain challenges together! Contact us today Related articles The fascination of handling fresh produce with warehouse automation Preserving meat quality: using IFCO RPCs for meat warehouse automation These articles will also be interesting for you Reference case Neurather Gärtner: tomato plants, tomato virus, sustainability Lue lisää Preserving meat quality: using IFCO RPCs for meat warehouse automation Lue lisää How IFCO Meat RPCs generate efficiency for Argentina’s La Anónima Lue lisää Stay up to date Want the latest fresh food packaging industry knowledge delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our newsletter and get the latest news, trends, articles and more! Haluan saada IFCOlta viestejä ja annan suostumukseni henkilötietojeni käsittelyyn. Haluaisimme ottaa sinuun ajoittain yhteyttä kertoaksemme sinulle tuotteistamme ja palveluistamme sekä muusta sinua mahdollisesti kiinnostavasta sisällöstä. Jos annat suostumuksesi, laita rasti ruutuun. Voit peruuttaa suostumuksesi milloin tahansa. Lisätietoa taustalla olevasta henkilötietojen käsittelystä on tietosuojakäytännössämme. * Subscribe now! Etsi paikallinen tukikeskus. Autamme mielellämme! Ratkaisut elintarvikkeille Hedelmät ja vihannekset Banaanilaa Liha Leipomotuotteet Kananmunat Kala ja äyriäiset Muut ratkaisut Tutustu tuotteisiimme "The IFCO Way" SmartCycle™ Tilaaminen Nouto Puhdistus Automaatio Sinun etusi Alhaisemmat kustannukset Elintarvikkeiden laatu Ympäristövaikutukset One-touch system Digitaaliset palvelut Laske etusi Tietoja IFCOsta IFCO Magazine -lehti IFCO maailmanlaajuisesti Kestävyys Työpaikat IFCOlla Governance Change country or language Belgium / Suomi MyIFCO Login MyIFCO © 2021 IFCO SYSTEMS Cookie settings Imprint & Legal Privacy notice