2 Magazine/January, 2012
4
Advertising Sponsors
The Reusable Packaging News is made possible through the support of the following advertising sponsors:
RPN
upport, changes to work instructions, and of course ongoing oversight. Reusable packaging success requires a modicum of management. It may not be hitting a mosquito over the head with a flyswatter, as one of my old
bosses used to say, but at minimum, it is about paying attention.
Click here to read the July 14 issue of Reusable Packaging News
RPN
reusable
up close & reusable
Reusables for consumers: what could go wrong?
If running a reusable packaging program seems easy, it is because we celebrate the companies that get it right. It's not rocket science, but most of us have been around long enough to know that things can go sideways.
As I read enthusiastic responses to the Loop Initiative and the reuse concept more generally, I'm given pause to think about the missteps - the reusable packaging projects that have failed in the past due to poor business plans, products that missed the mark, shoddy implementation, asset loss or theft, etc.
While the simplistic image of the milkman who arrives like clockwork on a regular schedule to pick up one generic type of reusable bottle is soothing, the reality of reusable asset management is often much more complex.
Reusables will not return on their own, dozens or hundreds of different reusable SKUs won't sort themselves, and they won't know who to call if they stray "out of network." And if deposits and product pricing create a pain point, consumers will be reticent to adopt the system.
I believe reuse is critical, and reusables for consumer products are a great idea. But just a heads up to operators that things can and have gone wrong. System development and execution will be critical. Let's learn from history. Reusables for consumer products are too important to screw up.