Plastic quarter pallet launched by CHEP

The pallet pooling giant expects to roll the solution to other countries in the future, including the UK.

CHEP’s New Generation Quarter Pallet (P0604B) measures 600x400mm and replaces the existing CHEP quarter pallet (P0604A), which was introduced more than 20 years ago. It has new features that improve nestability, stability and handling.

This new product is CHEP’s answer to the marketplace demand for sustainable cost advantage and efficiency improvements, as well as waste reduction.

In addition, it attaches more securely and quickly to customers’ corrugated-promotional displays. CHEP expects strong demand, especially from manufacturers and retailers looking for a plastic transport platform.

The P0604B is lighter than the current quarter pallet, weighing about 1.9kg vs. 2.1kg. Reduced nesting height means the new pallet can be stacked 36 high in a truck vs. 30 for its predecessor, a 20% space-saving which reduces the number of trucks on the road and reduces CO2 emissions. The P0604B will be a certified Carbon Neutral Product, which means that the already-reduced CO2 emissions of the new pallet are fully offset through reforestation projects.

Christophe Campe, Vice President and Country General Manager for CHEP’s Pallets operations in Germany, said: "The New Generation Quarter Pallet reinforces our proven track record as the world’s leading provider of pallet and container pooling solutions. High quality products, innovation, our unique network and excellent customer service are the base of our value proposition.”

To determine the need for a new-design quarter pallet, CHEP conducted "Last Mile Solutions” workshops in seven countries in Europe including Spain, Germany, France, UK and Central and Eastern Europe with manufacturers, retailers and Logistics Service Providers (LSPs) – representing the full spectrum of the industry. The objective of the workshops was to identify inefficiencies in the "last mile” of the supply chain, where up to 65% of supply chain costs are incurred, largely due to both the significant number of varying platforms and the effort required for in-store replenishment.

The resulting P0604B was developed over the last 18 months in the CHEP Innovation Centre in Orlando, Florida, using internal and external expertise and partnerships with key users. CHEP received positive feedback following a pre-launch trial conducted in Germany with 75 customers and partners including manufacturers, retailers, display makers, co-packers and LSPs.

Christophe Campe, Vice President and Country General Manager for CHEP’s Pallets operations in Germany, said:  "We as CHEP, having 20+ years of market experience, continuously strive to improve customer satisfaction through delivery and collection performance as well as aiming to achieve a consistent cost to serve. Germany is a strategically important market, not just to CHEP but to the European-wide supply chain.”

The CHEP New Generation Quarter Pallet has been validated by independent associations including the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany and certified to the GS standard.

Fraunhofer Institute Head of Packaging and Trade logistics, Dr. Volker Lange, said: "The resilience of the new CHEP quarter pallet has been extensively tested in the Packaging laboratory of Fraunhofer IML. Here, the static, dynamic and climatic stability of the new design in direct comparison to the former CHEP quarter pallet could be confirmed. The implementation of more than 30 repetitions per test ensures the results are statistically secured.”