Talking Points:
- The unit load packaging sector continues to generate momentum in the area of small footprint (half and quarter) pallets as well as mini-bulk containers.
- The new Green Ox® & Box addresses the need for “Less-Than-Pallet™” unit loads with a convenient, lightweight solution that can be shipped unassembled in kit form to anywhere in the U.S., making it an attractive option for small companies or logistics providers.
- The Green Ox & Box facilitates more efficient handling of LTP unit loads, including through narrow man doors, and can eliminate the need for transport containers within the box
- Constructed from corrugated cardboard, the size is easily customizable to fit the need of the application, for example, to optimize the packing of Bankers Boxes®.
- Corrugated cardboard allows for ease of graphics to enhance branding and communication, and of course, is easily recycled.
The transport and unit load packaging market continues to dial in on the small pallet or mini-bulk container market with an eye to providing better unitization opportunities for the handling of small loads. Green Ox® Pallet Technology has now entered this growing segment, which it refers to as the “Less-Than-Pallet Load” market, with its Green Ox & Box. The company describes the Green Ox & Box as an “all-in-one” packing and shipping kit that includes a corrugated cardboard Green Ox pallet base, along with corrugated side walls and top cap.
The Opportunity for Less-Than-Pallet™
The growing interest in LTP (Less-Than-Pallet™) has been reflected by such offerings as quarter and half pallets as well as half and quarter pallet pooling. Likewise, mini-bulk containers have also become a product range of interest, designed to better serve a variety of material handling needs. Now comes the Green Ox & Box. Due to its corrugated construction, it can be easily customized to meet the sizing requirements of a particular application.
“A lot of people are stuck on units of measure,” observes Bert Herring, President of BioFiber Solutions International (BFSI), a unique supplier of copy paper and other products derived from agricultural residuals and other wastes. He is familiar with the Green Ox & Box line, and senses that it could meet needs in the market. He takes the example of copy paper manufacturers. “They like to talk regarding truckloads, or at the smallest increment, in pallet loads,”Herring says, but emphasizes that many offices or schools take shipments of less than a pallet load, and so the advantages of a small unit of measure start to become apparent regarding efficient delivery. He points out the effect that Amazon and e-commerce have had on changing how people think about units of measure, allowing the possibility for increasingly small units.
Introducing the Green Ox & Box
“At around 30 pounds, the Green Ox & Box can easily be shipped unassembled anywhere in the U.S., or sold “off the shelf” at major retailers,” explains Adam Pener, President of Green Ox Pallet Technology.
The Green Ox & Box (O&B) assembles in less than 3 minutes. The 36×36” version offers 27 cubic feet of cargo space. The kit includes top and bottom trays, four sides, four corners and an assembled Green Ox pallet. Once the unit is constructed and loaded, Green Ox recommends the application of stretch wrap or banding to help secure the load.
Aside from ease of customization, O&B delivers other benefits, including branding on the box, and small footprint sizing which promotes ease of navigation through narrow door openings such as found in restaurant coolers and freezers. As a result, the need to depalletize product is avoided.
Application Versatility
“The striking part of the release of our 36″-cubed Green Ox and Box is how versatile the market views the product,” Pener continues. ” A leading CPG manufacturer sees it as “mobile advertising” because we white label the product. We can also customize the dimensions to match the customer’s optimum load volume and measurements. For example, our first client, Info-Data Services (IDS), is placing its O&B’s onsite for customers to use as a storage box for Bankers Boxes of paper files. Once full, IDS will retrieve the O&B, process the paper and store the client’s data. Naturally, IDS is likewise attributing value to the advertising opportunity.”
Another interesting feature, the O&B kit can be easily delivered to a business via a small parcel delivery service such as FedEx.
“Practically speaking, the use that comes to mind is food delivery,” Pener states when asked about other potential applications for O&B. “In fact, we’ve developed a smaller-sized “Mini” Green Ox & Box specifically for that purpose. As things stand, every day, truck drivers across the country unload their palletized shipments, wheel them into a restaurant or school cafeteria, and spend countless hours unloading the pallet and stocking cooling units by hand.
“It’s an insanely inefficient process caused by the fact that many restaurant refrigerators and freezers can’t accommodate a 48 x 40 pallet. The Green Ox & Box solves the dimensional issues while optimizing space in the cooling unit.”
In addition, O&B’s improve food safety issue by providing a sterile pallet that removes the possibility of cross-contamination. Also noteworthy, with the corrugated pallet’s seamless design (no nails, staples, or splinters), the risk of puncture to product or workers is eliminated.
Green Ox is also eyeing the opportunity for other LTP shipment requirements, such as the air freight of sensitive merchandise, as well as delivery to college campuses or smaller retail stores. Used as a bulk shipper, it can also eliminate the need for transport containers within an O&B, thereby helping to reduce solid waste generation. Herring draws an analogy to just putting reams of copy paper within an O&B rather than placing the paper boxes and paper inside of the unit.
According to Pener, early response has been “Beyond belief.”
“We set out to solve shipping headaches for small businesses and democratize the palletized freight market by making it more affordable and accessible to America’s small businesses,” Pener summarizes. “By changing the unit size, we’re opening the market to small businesses that are stuck in a 48 x 40 pallet paradigm that doesn’t fit their business, boxes and/or client’s interests.” In the process, he continues, the excitement that customers are expressing regarding mobile branding on O&B is also helping to drive new opportunities.
To find out more about the Green Ox & Box, visit Green Ox Pallets.