Millions of crates and pallets that are supposed to be returnable and reusable go missing every year, forcing companies into expensive replacement purchases.

But one manufacturer of those crates has found that those losses can be cut dramatically just by keeping better track of assets. Rehrig Pacific Company has developed a program for tracking crates and pallets that is cutting costs for its customers.

While it’s easy to dismiss the loss of crates and pallets as a casualty of theft, the company, through a partnership with clients, hired private investigators to look into losses in South Florida, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Atlanta. Their conclusion, according to Rehrig, was that a very small portion of the losses were actually caused by threat—the rest were lost due to negligence.

In response, Rehrig’s Asset Management Program assesses distribution, examines the flow of cases, determines problem areas and helps customers develop management plans, often including retraining of employees, to keep better track of the client’s assets. Read the complete story…

The Postal Service wants them back, and the agency is sending postal inspectors around to area businesses to collect.

Blame it on the recession. No one is immune, not even the USPS. Saddled with a $2.8 billion deficit, the agency has been forced to pinch pennies in an effort to save all the money it can. The Postal Service has launched what is being called the “Equipment Recovery Project” in an effort to reclaim its crates, trays and pallets.

“Last year the Postal Service spent $40 million on mail transportation equipment such as pallets,” said Tony Robinson, a U.S. postal inspector in Birmingham. “This year, we’ll spend another $40 million.”
USPS Postal inspectors are visiting businesses to reclaim property such as mail crates, trays and pallets. A downtown Birmingham business was using hundreds of crates for storage.

Businesses come into possession of the equipment when mail is being delivered or when it has a huge volume of mail it wants to send. The equipment is delivered to the business to transport the mailing to the post office.

“You can’t get it confused with anything else because of the way it’s marked,” Robinson said. “With the economy the way that it is, the Postal Service wants to make sure that the money they’re spending is being used properly. These postal rate increases have been, in part, to cover the loss of the property.”

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“We are pleased and gratified to have reached this non-prosecution agreement with the government,” said Karl Pohler, Chief Executive Officer of IFCO SYSTEMS N.V. “IFCO is committed to doing business with the highest ethical standards, and to complying with all federal and state employment laws and regulations. Today’s agreement reflects that commitment.”

“Over the last 32 months, we at IFCO have significantly upgraded our compliance procedures to go well beyond what the law requires. Today I am confident that IFCO is the most compliant company in the industry,” said Dave Russell, President of IFCO SYSTEMS NORTH AMERICA, INC. “I am certain that the government’s willingness to enter into this non-prosecution agreement reflects a recognition of all of our efforts.”

The Company cooperated fully with the government throughout the investigation, and has agreed to pay a financial penalty as part of this settlement. The Company has also agreed to take a number of steps, many of which have previously been implemented, to strengthen and standardize employment and Form I-9 procedures throughout the Company’s more than 150 locations across the nation.

For example:
• IFCO has enrolled in the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify program and provides all local managers with enhanced I-9 training. E-Verify is a voluntary, online verification system that allows employers to confirm the eligibility of new hires by checking the personal information they provide against federal databases.
• IFCO has hired a Vice President for Corporate Compliance, who has developed and implemented a comprehensive legal compliance program.
• IFCO has hired several additional Human Resources managers to conduct more frequent field audits of local facilities, including I-9 compliance audits.
• IFCO has hired Internal Auditors responsible, among other things, for examining processes to better assure legal compliance.
• IFCO has added numerous additional Payroll employees, and trained them on I-9 and E-Verify processes.
• IFCO has invested in cutting edge employment compliance software, and installed it at each IFCO hiring facility.
• IFCO has restructured its management team to better oversee day-to-day operations (including workforce hiring) in the field.

All of these actions are designed to go above and beyond current regulations and mandates. IFCO’s employees are central to the Company’s success. The Company’s business has thrived by offering a workplace environment free of discrimination and providing a competitive level of compensation and benefits, including health, dental, disability and life insurance, paid vacation, and participation in the Company’s 401(k) program. Today’s settlement and agreement not to prosecute apply only to the Company and do not address the previously-disclosed prosecutions of IFCO employees accused of various
immigration-related offenses.

IFCO is committed to preventing the employment of unauthorized workers in its workforce. IFCO remains grateful for the loyalty of its customers, and looks forward to growing with them in the years to come.

Millwood, Inc. operates sawmills and 22 engineering and manufacturingfacilities throughout the United States. These facilities provide new,reconditioned and recycled pallets, material handling equipment, packagingsystems and support services to customers in a broad line of manufacturing,distribution and end-user industries.

The new facility will continue its focus on wood pallets and third partylogistics (3PL) warehousing operations, and has permitted Millwood toexpand an already wide range of products services that have earned thecompany a “one-stop connection” reputation for pallet management, packagingand logistics solutions.

According to Ron Ringness, Millwood Executive V.P., Sales, Marketing &Technology, “The recent move to the more expansive facility will permit thecompany to focus on our customers who now require smaller, more flexiblewarehouse space and 3PL operations. The new building provides expandedopportunities to custom tailor all of our operations to individual customerneeds.”

The new La Vergne facility is managed by a team oflong-serving logistics professionals including Jimmy French, Plant Manager;Galen Miller, General Manager; Dan McCollum, Sales Manager, Joe Commodore,Warehouse Sales and Tina Garrison, Plant Administrator.

Millwood Incorporated is a worldwide industry leader and innovator of unitload and packaging systems, materials and services as well as a leadingsupplier of new, used and reconditioned pallets. Both small-to-midsizebusinesses and Fortune 500 companies have relied on Millwood’s palletmanagement expertise, material handling solutions and logistics services toprovide strategic sourcing initiatives for over 40 years.

Supply & Demand Chain Executive cited several activities when presenting the award to CHEP including the company’s participation in the EPA SmartWay program, it’s voluntary greenhouse gas reduction programs, its material recovery, reuse and recycling initiatives and the fact that all lumber used in the pallets are from certified managed forests. The award citation also highlights savings created by industry use of the CHEP pallet pooling system in 2007, including the elimination of roughly 1.3 billion pounds of solid waste, 3.3 trillion BTUs of energy and 550 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. These savings equate to enough electricity to power every household in a city like Wilmington, DE for an entire year and to taking nearly 120,000 passenger cars off the road for a year.

“CHEP is committed to driving environmental sustainability in the global supply chains we serve. As the leader in pallet and container pooling solutions, our goal is to improve overall supply chain efficiency and sustainability through our product and service offerings. We are truly honored to receive the 2008 Green Supply Chain Award from Supply & Demand Chain Executive,” said Candice Herndon, Director, Environmental Affairs, CHEP Americas.

The 2008 Green Supply Chain Awards were judged based on the clarity and content of the goals and strategy (30 percent), the extent of the steps being taken (30 percent), the impact of the results to date and projected results (30 percent), and the form and presentation of the information submitted (10 percent).

About Supply & Demand Chain Executive Supply & Demand Chain Executive is the executive’s user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation, utilizing hard-hitting analysis, viewpoints and unbiased case studies to steer executives and supply management professionals through the complicated, yet critical, world of supply and demand chain enablement to gain competitive advantage. On the Web at www.SDCExec.com .

About CHEP
CHEP is the global leader in pallet and container pooling services serving many of the world’s largest companies. The company has more than 7,000 employees and operates in 45 countries. Combining superior technology and an asset base of more than 300 million pallets and containers, CHEP offers its customers exceptional value, a platform that enables reduction in customer product damage, and an environmentally sustainable logistical solution. Supply chains served include consumer goods, produce, beverage, and the automotive industry. With global partners that include Procter & Gamble, SYSCO, Kellogg’s, Kraft, Nestle, Ford and GM, CHEP is known for Handling the World’s Most Important Products. Everyday. For more information about CHEP, please visit: www.chep.com .

To find out, MHM tapped the expertise of the incoming president of the Reusable Packaging Association (RPA). RPA describes itself as a collaboration of manufacturers, poolers, distributors, retailers and educators that promotes the environmental, safety and economic benefits of reusable packaging.

Jerry Welcome officially took the reins last month. He brings a wealth of association management expertise at a critical time in the organization’s history. Jeanie Johnson, who served as executive director since the association’s inception in 1999, will continue her management consulting practice through Johnson Management Group.

Read the complete story: www.mhmonline.com

It signals the first step in a new rail approach designed to put more fresh California fruits and vegetables in East Coast kitchens. Railex guarantees the weekly 55-car trains will make the cross-country trip in five days. The first few Delano departures have done better than promised.

“Deliveries in the East have been stellar. We’ve been running 22 hours ahead of schedule,” said Paul Esposito, vice president of sales for the northeast division and corporate logistics for Railex.

Read the complete story: www.thepacker.com

Prior to converting to CHEP exclusively in 2006, Stemilt deployed one-way disposable and exchange pallets to transport product to market, but determined the method to be inefficient and wrought with administration challenges. The company also wanted to reduce the carbon footprint of its extended supply chain.

“The CHEP pallet pooling program provides Stemilt with significant productivity benefits while enabling the company to reduce the waste we send to landfills and decrease our CO(2) greenhouse gas emissions. The combination is a real win for the company, our stakeholders and the environment,” said Roger Pepperl, Stemilt Marketing Director.

Based on third-party Life-Cycle Inventory Analysis findings, Stemilt is reducing solid waste generation by more than 1.9 million pounds per year, the equivalent of about 84 dump trucks of waste as a result of using the CHEP program as opposed to one-way wood pallets. The company is also reducing energy usage enough to power 155 homes with electricity for a year, and is contributing a 56% reduction of CO(2) emissions-greenhouse gas, which is the equivalent to taking more than 89 cars off the road for one year.*

“Stemilt is a great example of a company that is finding the best of both worlds - a cost-effective supply chain and reduced environmental impact from operations. CHEP is committed to helping them achieve both goals,” said Tim Smith, Vice President, New Business Development, CHEP.

*Savings based on Life-Cycle Inventory Analysis of CHEP USA pallet pooling program conducted by Franklin Associates. The calculation is based on Franklin Associates, “Solid Waste Analysis And Life Cycle Inventory Of Pallet Systems”, 2006 Update.

About Stemilt Growers, Inc.

Stemilt Growers, Inc., headquartered in Wenatchee, Wash., is a family-owned tree fruit grower-packer-shipper. As one of the leaders in U.S. tree fruit, we ship nearly 12 percent of Washington’s apples each year and 10 percent of the pears from the Northwest. Stemilt is also the nation’s leading sweet-cherry shipper, supplying 25 percent of the sweet cherries grown in Washington. The company is based in Wenatchee, WA and is owned by the Mathison family. Additional information is available at www.stemilt.com.

In less than four minutes, the container is collapsed hydraulically to one-quarter its original size. Kept together with a self-locking mechanism, four vertically stacked containers take up exactly the same space as a regular TEU.

More than 52 years ago, Malcom McLean, a North Carolina trucking entrepreneur, originally hatched the idea of using containers to carry cargo. He loaded 58 containers onto his ship, Ideal X, in Newark, N.J., and once the vessel reached Houston the uncrated containers were moved directly onto trucks — and reusable rectangular boxes soon became the industry standard.

Anoop Chawla and Sudipto Mukherjee from IIT’s mechanical engineering department worked on the collapsible concept for 3 1/2 years. “We made at least two models before coming up with the current proof of concept,” Chawla said. “There were many difficulties we encountered in the entire process — right from conceptualization to ensuring the structural rigidity of the collapsible container. For instance, we had to ensure there were proper sealing and locking conditions.” The concept also had to be compatible with existing equipment for intermodal transport.

Read the complete story: http://www.pacificshipper.com

– GlobalLink Project Director - A hosted Globalization Management System (GMS) that automates tasks in an organization’s translation workflow at the enterprise level
– GlobalLink TM Server - A server-based translation memory application that allows previously translated material to be leveraged and shared in real-time by all content stakeholders
– GlobalLink Translator Studio - A flexible desktop translation environment that allows translators from dispersed locations to collaborate and leverage from either local or server-based translation memory assets
These GlobalLink products will work together to create a customized, automated system that will be utilized by different language service providers (LSPs) serving CHEP’s global requirements.
According to Carey A. Sealy, Director of Global Application Development, Information Systems at CHEP, “We needed to engage a solution provider that could partner with us to perform high quality translations in both a time and cost efficient manner and that is what we have found with Translations.com.”

CHEP Portfolio+Plus, which helps customers track pallets through their supply chains, will be the first of many applications the company is producing with the help of Translations.com’s technology.
Phil Shawe, CEO of Translations.com, noted “We are pleased to be providing technology that will enable CHEP to conduct their international business more efficiently. We look forward to a successful ongoing relationship.”

About CHEP

CHEP is the global leader in pallet and container pooling services serving many of the world’s largest companies. The company has more than 7,000 employees and operates in 45 countries. Combining superior technology and an asset base of more than 300 million pallets and containers, CHEP offers its customers exceptional value, a platform that enables reduction in customer product damage, and an environmentally sustainable logistical solution. Supply chains served include consumer goods, produce, beverage, and the automotive industry. With global partners that include Procter & Gamble, SYSCO, Kellogg’s, Kraft, Nestle, Ford and GM, CHEP is known for Handling the World’s Most Important Products. Everyday. For more information about CHEP, please visit www.chep.com.

About Translations.com

Translations.com is a leading provider of software, website, and enterprise-wide localization services, as well as localization-related technology products. Translations.com solutions allow customers to conduct business more effectively in international markets. The company has a global presence on four continents and services a variety of clients with dedicated practice groups for every major industry. Translations.com is part of the TransPerfect family of companies. For more information, please visit www.translations.com.
SOURCE: Translations.com