New crates designed and launched by Douglasdale Dairy
Milk is transported from the dairy to the distributor in milk crates which have become increasingly attractive to informal traders, formal traders and recyclers for their versatility, this has resulted in a major industry crate shrinkage problem.
The massive monthly loss of crates impacts on the bottom line of any dairy business. Douglasdale Dairy, which services the greater Gauteng area, reported financial losses of in excess of R 400 000.00 per month due to crate theft, with an estimated 27 000 crates going missing every month.
The original crates had become increasingly useful to a range of business sectors that utilise them as display units for selling goods, as well for storing stock items and for carrying stock to and from their sales points. In addition, the crates made for very comfortable vendor chairs.
The situation was spiralling out of control, which prompted Managing Director of Douglasdale Dairy, Mike Matthews, and technical manager at Douglasdale Dairy, Andrew Edwards, to come up with a solution to this crippling problem. The solution was to design a new crate that not only eliminates the huge shrinkage levels, but one that complies with food safety requirements and one that is effective for stacking, packing and transportation.
Matthews and Edwards designed the new crates to comply with international Food Safety Standard, HACCP (Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Point) certification, which requires all food products to be kept off the ground. In addition, the new crates have overcome the stacking and packing problem which conventional crates presented when transporting the milk in refrigerated trucks. “The new crates can be packed on two standard pallets which can be placed side by side on the truck, which results in a total of six crates being packed abreast, as opposed to five crates packed abreast with the sixth one having to be packed long ways due to the shape and size of the conventional crates,” explains Matthews.
The new crates do not fit onto any conventional crates, which will eliminate the problem of competitors making use of Douglasdale Dairy crates. “We have designed the new crates with larger round holes, small enough to accommodate all, for example, Douglasdale milk products but too large for vendors to pack and transport fruit in our crates. In addition, the bottom of the new crates has two ridges which makes them very uncomfortable to sit on,” describes Edwards.
“The new crates will transform our business. Douglasdale Dairy milk bottles will stick out of the top to ensure that conventional crates cannot be stacked on top. We have also done away with the side panel which will make our product visible when packed in the crates. The new crates weigh less than the conventional crates and, as a result, are less expensive to manufacture. The greatest saving is of course the estimated 75% saving on monthly crate shrinkage,” explained Matthews.
The dairy industry has been prohibited from charging deposits for crates by retailers, which is yet another contributing factor in the massive losses incurred. A huge problem persists with crates which are removed by recyclers who sell them for regrinding. Douglasdale Dairy continues to fight against regrinding and other forms of theft through their association with Gauteng Crate Enterprises, who investigate and prosecute offenders.
The Douglasdale Dairy new crate designed by Matthews and Edwards is currently awaiting patent registration.