trans-o-flex delivers millionth shipment with reusable box

The express service trans-o-flex recently delivered the millionth shipment in a reusable box for the pharmaceutical manufacturer MSD. As the first manufacturing pharmaceutical company, MSD began transitioning the shipping of its products to all customers to a newly developed reusable box system in early 2021, which offers benefits for both the environment and the recipients.

(Weinheim/Munich) According to MSD, this has allowed them to reduce their CO2 footprint by more than half compared to previously used single-use cardboard packaging, and to decrease water consumption by 80 percent. Additionally, the already low breakage rate of products has been further reduced by a third. Not least, recipients regularly provide positive feedback about the reusable containers. “In addition to being environmentally friendly, they appreciate that the boxes are smaller than the cartons, as less filling material is needed to protect the goods,” says trans-o-flex CEO Wolfgang P. Albeck. “Moreover, recipients repeatedly emphasize that they are relieved because they have to dispose of less cardboard and filling material.”

The boxes that trans-o-flex offers its customers under the name tof.ecobox can be used for all transports with trans-o-flex Express and trans-o-flex ThermoMed, both with active temperature control at 2–8 °C and 15–25 °C, as well as without temperature control. Four different sizes are available. The smallest measures 30 x 20 x 16 cm, while the largest measures 60 x 40 x 34 cm. All boxes are stackable, whether empty or full. The box pool is operated by Smart Container Loop GmbH, a company that belongs to the Schoeller Group, which has over 30 years of experience with reusable transport containers.

Special software developed for box management

To optimally manage the boxes at the lowest costs, trans-o-flex IT-Service GmbH, in collaboration with Smart Container Loop, has developed a new software specifically for this purpose. It manages additional processes, corrects errors, and provides a flawless basis for billing the boxes. “The basis for this is our classic scans for each package at every transport interface,” says Wolfgang P. Albeck, CEO of trans-o-flex. This way, shippers receive an overview of all shipped boxes, their location, and duration of stay. “With the new software, we not only transmit information about when a specific box is where. It is also checked whether the previously transmitted box number is correct.” If not, the correct box number is automatically recorded in the system. “This makes box management as simple and transparent as possible and achieves a traceable and cause-related cost accounting.”

Ideally, the reusable boxes are used for regularly supplied recipients. After delivery, the further process is as follows: During the next delivery, the trans-o-flex driver takes the empty boxes back and drops them off at the trans-o-flex location when picking up new goods. At the trans-o-flex location, the boxes are stacked on pallets and then transported bundled for cleaning. They are then sent for the next shipment to the respective customer or their warehouse service provider.

Demand for reusable containers is increasing

Interest in transports in reusable containers is reportedly increasing significantly, according to Albeck. “While we transported a total of around 1.1 million packages in tof.ecoboxes in 2022, we expect 1.7 million ecobox shipments this year, which is over 50 percent more.”

Photo: © trans-o-flex