A Secondary Packaging Solution Development Suitable for E-groceries through the Identification of Food Product and Logistic Requirements

En sekundär förpackningslösning Utveckling Lämplig för E-livsmedel genom identifiering av livsmedelsprodukt och logistikkrav

In English

Författare

Rémi Vandichel
Silvia D'Alesio

Summary, in English

Secondary packaging solutions presently used to package food goods in e-commerce supply chain are either taken from old supply chains, or sub-optimally developed in a non-holistic manner. Due to the increase use of the Internet in Europe to perform online food purchases, secondary packaging must be adapted to meet these new needs. Therefore, a secondary packaging solution for a Dutch e-grocer was devised through a case study and the identification of food product and logistic requirements for such a packaging. Identified requirements were found to be fulfilled by the use of packaging features. Food product requirements that have to be considered during the development of a secondary packaging for food in e-commerce benefit product quality assurance. These requirements are the control of temperature over time, the reduction of product damage and the separation of food product types. Logistics requirements that must be considered for secondary packaging solutions for food in e-commerce relate to last mile logistics. This entails fulfilment, transportation, delivery and return-logistics. Applying these results during the secondary packaging solution development for the case study resulted in the finding of suitable value-adding packaging features to address the above mentioned requirements. Separators in the secondary packaging facilitate eased fulfilment, increase the stackability of packaging, as it provides a larger surface area on which more crates can be stacked. Increased stackability influences volume efficiency and reduces the need for extra packaging levels. Time temperature indicators increase quality assurance and a deposit-refund system can induce incentive for customers to return the used packaging levels.

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