Budgetary cost saving initiatives. Innovative containment and distribution of goods. Process evaluation. Automation packaging. Raw and packaging materials development and alternatives. January 2014 is quickly approaching us; many of these subjects are commonplace goal sets corporate entities moving into Quarter One.
On a larger scale however, consider the necessity of each of these initiatives on a continual basis within the military sector. Be it providing relief services in the wake of a natural disaster or distributing supplies to those in need, service time, process effectiveness and cost efficiency are continually under evaluation.
New commercial packaging solutions are helping the military improve its service and reduce the amount it spends on packaging both at home and abroad.
Packaging solutions and the Defense Logistics Agency
The military is responsible for the successful transport and delivery of critical supplies including food, fuel, clothing and spare parts to its service men and women both domestically and overseas. Because of the expansive operations of the military, it has a department strictly devoted to ensuring efficiency, known as the Defense Logistics Agency.
In an effort to ensure that priorities are achieved, the organization launched the First Destination Transportation and Packaging Initiative program, focused on streamlining the supply chains within the various operations of the military. FDP is part of the DLA's larger initiative to find $13 billion in savings over the next six years. $13 billion in savings. Those are some pretty hefty cost savings!
The program has examined a variety of products - an impact of an estimated 4.2 million products - that could be commercially packaged rather than utilizing the current military protocols. The DLA predicts that the initiative could lead to savings between $90 million and $120 million.
"In today's fiscal environment we are looking at ways to improve our support while reducing costs," said Todd Jenkins, a program manager for FDP, based in Columbus, Ohio.
Packaging solutions improving security and savings
The goals that the DLA is striving for are certainly goals that translate easily into the commercial sector as well. Packaging solutions do not only improve efficiency, but they result in material and labor cost reductions.
One such packaging solution currently utilized is that of pre-molded foam packaging. The pre-molded foam alternative is helping to improve the transportation of many aerospace parts - parts that potentially could be used within the military. To its advantage, the foam pre-molds are customized to each individual part, thus decreasing the amount of packaging materials used, streamlining the packaging process and improving safety during transit.
In sum, such packaging solutions have indicated showing quantifiable ROI upward of 41 percent in materials costs and an additional 65 percent in labor expenses.
