At Spar's central warehouse in Wels, Austria, the food retailer and WITRON engineers are working on alternative solutions for stretch wrap to improve sustainability within the packaging processes.
Stretch wrap, a part of every supply chain, is used for securing products on pallets or roll containers to ensure stability during transportation.
WITRON works as a partner with its clients to develop and test alternatives to shrink wrap such as fixed curtains on roll containers.
It focuses on interacting with clients and integrating these solutions into the supply chain instead of providing a sustainable solution for no money.
WITRON believes that there is no point in one organisation optimising and delivering something great at the expense of others in the system.
Packaging has many aspects and tends to be complex. One client might want to optimise packaging for logistical reasons, while another might want it for aesthetics, and stores usually want it to be shelf-ready.
In such a scenario, it is uncertain whether the packaging of the future would be a tote, a pallet, or a completely new transport unit.
WITRON's idea is an integrated transport unit that allows the flexibility to deliver goods according to the requirements of the store or shelf.
Presently, it faces situations where it has to deliver the same SKU to the store in a case, in an overpack, or as a single unit in a tote with other items.
CEO of WITRON, Helmut Prieschenk, added, “We have to talk about sustainability, how to avoid waste, and ask everyone in the supply chain, how we can achieve our goals in the future.
“If a supermarket retailer reduces its plastic packaging and communicates it through advertisements, the stretch wrap should not be piled up in the backyard of the store.”
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