The challenge
A national off-price retail chain was buying new corrugated boxes for two high-volume product lines running through fully automated case erectors, plus a smaller stream of oversized boxes packed by hand.
They wanted to cut packaging spend and waste without disrupting a fully automated packout line.
The solution
Rebox mapped the retailer's existing carton sizes against its own once-used box supply and proposed close dimensional matches compatible with the customer's on-site case erectors. Roughly 10% of their cartons are hand-set rather than machine-erected, so both flows had to be validated.
- Sent sample pallets of each proposed box size for hands-on evaluation.
- Ran on-site testing across the customer's automated case erectors.
- Provided a drop trailer, coordinated through Rebox's carrier partner, so the customer could receive and test trial loads without disrupting its dock schedule.
- Ran one trial load of each core carton type before the customer issued purchase orders.
The results
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$94,000In newly found savings versus new-box pricing on one substantial order.
-
800KUnit order converted from the trial, with plans to continue work across additional distribution centres.
The environmental impact
Estimated savings based on boxes reused so far (~800,000)
*Environmental impact associated with Rebox programs are calculated based on a partnership with Duke University.
What's next
- Sourcing a reused equivalent for additional products (~10 truckloads per year).
- Expanding the program to additional distribution centers.
See what a once-used box program could do for your business.
Get in touch with our team