Industry Reusables Meeting Blamed in Price Fixing Scandal

In a number of respects, industry collaboration can be essential in optimizing reusable packaging systems. With respect to standardization, return of proprietary reusable containers to rightful owners, protocols for exchange and return, etc., collaboration can make the difference between programs that are merely adequate versus simply outstanding. Getting together with competitors can also pose a hazard, however, when anti-trust considerations are not fully managed.

Case in point, several South African bread and dairy producers met in December 2007 to discuss their common concern about crate theft. At the end of the meeting, however, the conversation drifted into the realm of product pricing, according to one of the companies implicated, and eventually came under the scrutiny of the Competition Commission of South Africa. Whether this was the only such meeting where such conversations took place is contested by the Commission, but it gives industry pause to reflect that while collaboration on reusable packaging management can help reduce the overall cost of delivering goods, care must be taken to consider competitive issues.

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