There are many reasons for the success of plastic containers: "The growing degree of automation in intralogistics, transport chain and cost optimization as well as increased environmental awareness are the main drivers for the high market acceptance and demand," explains Josef Kendl, Senior Sales Manager Containers and Racking Systems at SSI Schaefer, Wels. Increasing automation in particular is raising the demands placed on load carriers. Compared to cardboard boxes and outdated, non-compliant containers, automated systems with suitable plastic containers achieve higher pick rates, better availability and a lower error rate. These statements are underlined by a study on the carbon footprint of reusable plastic containers published by the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics at the beginning of 2018.

Using the example of packaging systems for transporting fruit and vegetables, it shows 60% lower greenhouse gas emissions for the reusable plastic containers used than for disposable cardboard transport packaging. From the sixth round onwards, reusable transport systems cause lower greenhouse gas emissions per round. In addition, they offer numerous advantages in terms of scalability and successive automation steps in operational processes and long-term investment security. A good reference for this is dm drogerie markt GmbH, the Austrian subsidiary of dm-drogerie markt GmbH & Co KG based in Karlsruhe.

Long service life of the containers
For more than a quarter of a century, dm has relied on plastic containers for its own logistics processing. "I keep coming across containers with the old logo," says Herbert Scheiblauer, Manager Transport & Warehouse Organization dm Austria. "The logo change took place at the end of the 1990s." SSI Schäfer supplied the first plastic containers to dm back in the 1990s. In 1989, the chain bundled its warehousing for the Austrian market in a distribution center in Enns. Up to 14,000 drugstore items are now stored there. Today, the central distribution center supplies all 389 Austrian dm stores as well as eight distribution centers in Central and Eastern Europe. The first expansion of the logistics center took place in 1995. In 2009, the processes were designed to meet the future requirements of Logistics 4.0 with the installation of a fully automated pallet and container high-bay warehouse.

Following the positive experiences from the previous collaboration, SSI Schaefer was awarded the contract for the steel construction of the system with 57,400 container and 3,200 pallet storage locations. In order to ensure consistent order production processes, the control systems of all components in the warehouse were integrated into the Wamas logistics software. In addition, dm ordered a further 60,000 plastic containers from SSI Schaefer for the basic equipment of the warehouse. "With the use of containers, we are now pursuing uniform standards from internal automation to distribution to the stores," explains Herbert Scheiblauer.

Efficient container solutions for everyday use
dm Austria opted for the FKE 6320 container type with basic dimensions of 600 x 400 x 320 mm as the basis for internal contract manufacturing and the reusable system. The robust polypropylene container from the folding/folding plastic box series has a capacity of 65 liters. SSI Schäfer has launched five different standard boxes in the FK series. They are matched to the Euro pallet dimensions. The fixed top edge of the FKE 6320 guarantees torsional rigidity and secure stacking - with or without a lid. The reinforced base with ribbed contour is ideal for handling in automated systems.

"The order structures from the stores are becoming increasingly fragmented," emphasizes Herbert Scheiblauer. "At the same time, we are pursuing a separation strategy in warehousing and distribution. The reusable system with the plastic boxes enables us to deliver a small order set to the stores safely and undamaged." The FKE 6320s act as both source and target containers for storage and picking at the Enns distribution center. Conveyor technology automatically transports the source containers from the miniload to the respective work stations according to the goods-to-person principle. There, up to 3,500 order items per hour are removed and picked directly into the target containers, which also serve as transport containers. Upstream automatic container erectors ensure that ready-to-use boxes are presented to the employee. "With cardboard boxes, we would not only have continuous procurement costs and a lot of packaging waste to dispose of in the stores," explains the transport and warehouse organizer, "we would also have considerable problems with store-specific palletizing due to the high degree of separation. The pallets loaded with cartons could hardly be stacked on top of each other without damaging the bottom sections due to a lack of stability. On the other hand, distributing them on the truck beds would waste a lot of loading space."

The situation is different with the plastic containers: the target boxes filled to order are automatically removed from the picking stations via conveyor technology and transported to consolidation stations. There, the target containers are removed, placed on top of each other on pallets as transport boxes and finally loaded for delivery to the stores. There, the items are put away, the transport containers are then folded up, collected and transported back to the logistics center at regular intervals. "With the FK series boxes, the container volume for returning empties can be reduced by around 80 percent," explains Josef Kendl. "This also supports the idea of sustainability when using reusable containers."

Expansion of the system to South-East Europe
With this in mind, dm Austria has also extended the closed-loop system with reusable containers to South-East Europe in recent decades. The Austrians now consolidate the requirements for ten more of dm's 13 European subsidiaries and place a collective order with SSI Schaefer once a year. Since the early 2000s, the company has delivered between 40,000 and 60,000 of the storage and transport boxes to dm Austria every year. In the meantime, a total of between 600,000 and 800,000 FKE 6320 containers are in circulation in the national companies. SSI Schaefer will start delivering the containers in October, just in time for the peak season.

Containers as an efficient overall system
"All in all, the reusable containers form the basis for an efficient, sustainably effective overall system," summarizes Herbert Scheiblauer, dm drogerie markt GmbH. "It is flexibly scalable, offers many operational advantages and safe transportation and raises significant savings potential. A success factor for us. In our long-standing business relationship with dm, SSI Schaefer has proven to be a reliable partner."