The packaging used to ship car parts depends partly on the kind of components being moved, and partly on whether they are being supplied to the assembly line in large quantities or the after-market for spares or repair in more variable lots. One option when supplying the assembly line is to invest in heavy-duty reusable containers. Thorpe Design & Technologies makes long-term packaging containers from steel, with plastic or foam fittings inside to hold the part. "If a bumper needs to be moved hundreds of miles, the packaging has to be robust," says managing director Brian Jones. "You need protection from scratching and the elements. Parts have to be fully enclosed." Design begins around 18 months before a new vehicle is launched. If a part stays standard over different model upgrades, a carcass may last up to 15 years - three model lifetimes. To recycle the interior support material, which needs replacing more frequently, it needs to be easily removable from the metal. This type of packaging does not come cheap - a typical cost is around ￡500 per pack. But if parts get damaged without it, Jones insists the cost of the packaging "fades into insignificance". Nonetheless, it is valuable enough that RFID technology is being used to track the crates to identify and assign responsibility for damage or loss of the packaging - although some argue there are hidden costs that mitigate against such systems.
展开▼
