As soon as someone within a company is appointed to be responsible for packaging, it can save many thousands of euros. This argues Johan Faes, director of Faes Group in the LogistiekProfs theatre during Logistica.
According to Faes, an important principle from the logistics sector should also be used in the packaging sector: 4PL, also known as Fourth Party Logistics. A party that takes everything to do with logistics off a company's hands. "Why is this still so little used for packaging, when we ship so much these days?" wonders Faes.
It would bring many benefits, he argues. "Packaging is often something no one and at the same time everyone is responsible for. Once you make someone really responsible, things will go a lot better." It also still goes wrong quite often, according to a study Faes Group did together with the University of Groningen. "The direct and indirect costs if a shipment goes wrong run into millions of euros at the three companies we studied."
Communication
It should be possible to do better, but that requires a change, Faes argues. "First of all, communication has to change. Between employees and in the warehouse, for example, where some people have no idea what they are packing, where it goes and what should be done with it. That is crucial." But global communication is also important. That's where Faes Group came up with Packassist, an application that, by scanning the barcode, can tell exactly what will happen to the parcel.
That barcode on the parcel is the next thing to change, according to Faes. "Ensure uniformity and make agreements on coding your parcels. Those who get that right can save a lot of processing time in international trade: if customs slowly starts to recognise your parcels, it can save you a lot of time."
Finally, he advocates the use of data. "We collect all kinds of data from our consumers. Make use of this by analysing the good aspects, but also the times when things go wrong. Those who know how to map this properly can prevent mistakes."
On Wednesday 11 November, Johan Faes will give a second lecture on the subject of packaging at the LogistiekProfs theatre. Would you like to attend this lecture? You can register for free here!
Editorial LogistiekProfs
