Reduce product damage, limit disservices at the point of sale, avoid food waste and the consequent production of waste. Conad, an Italian food retailer, identified these objectives as underlying a project it developed together with CPR System, a cooperative pooler and historical partner in the joint management of pallets and recyclable packaging for the transport of products.
In order to better manage the distribution of perishable products under its own brand (cured meats and cheeses), a new plastic pallet was developed (100% recyclable polypropylene), lightweight and suitable for manual lifting. The company says it is a good example of circular economy, developed to reuse materials in successive phases or cycles.
Conad was awarded the project “Logistics of the year 2018”, a recognition that Assologistica presents every year to the most innovative companies in the sector.
“Conad has placed a strong focus on sustainable development in recent years,” stated Andrea Mantelli, Conad’s supply chain director. “The commitment has grown and is highlighted by all the initiatives put in place to reduce the environmental impact of distribution activities. Conad products are successful thanks to a combination of factors: quality, attention to supplier selection, supply chain controls, convenience, but also optimization of distribution flows. The latter, on which we have worked hard, in terms of logistics centralization and the development of innovative projects. The award is the recognition of our commitment to sustainability and a project that improves the quality of the environment by improving the modes of transport.”
“The partnership with Conad has allowed us to develop important projects aimed at preserving the quality of fresh products and food safety, optimizing transport, making them more efficient and reducing their environmental impact,”, emphasized Francesco Avanzini, the president of CPR System. CPR is sustainable and we consider sustainability an opportunity also for the economic development of the country. The award crowns a long-standing commitment, which we pursue to provide the modern distribution with the best and most effective answers, with a view to a circular economy that is increasingly our distinctive character.”
The new pallets provide better cube utilization and weigh less than corresponding wood pallets, according to Conad, resulting in better freight utilization and reducing product damage by 20%. The generation of wood and nail waste is also eliminated.
“It is above all the environment that benefits from it: the emissions of greenhouse gases – that is CO2 – related to transport are reduced by 42% compared to the traditional system with wooden pallets due to the lower mass of plastic pallets, to the higher quantities transportable of products and, therefore, to the lower number of vehicle journeys,” the Conad announcement concludes.