In this case, a test unit combining sales packaging as well as secondary
and tertiary packaging was developed by a leading package supplier for
the FMCG industry and compared to a traditional half-sized standard
Euro pallet.
The test unit is made of plastic and covered with a bottom sheet on
which packages are placed on top of each other in cardboard layers.
The unit format is that of a quarter-sized standard Euro pallet. The
specification of the test unit was based on requirements throughout the
value chain from the packaging supplier’s customers to the end
consumers. A unique solution was created, intended to consider
requirements from more than one part of the value chain. The test unit
was compared with a half-sized standard Euro pallet where the
packages were packed in secondary packaging and then were stacked
on the pallet. The impact on sales, system integration, infrastructure
dynamics and cost-versus-value on the whole value chain was studied.
One of the studies undertaken was the value rating in the retail store
based on 100 consumer interviews. It was carried out in a Swedish
retail outlet where the test unit was displayed and evaluated at two
different locations in the store, one in the open sales area (the marketplace)
and the other in the traditional shelf space. In conjunction with
this qualitative research, quantitative studies were undertaken in
Estonia, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Russia. In each country,
already-established products were displayed in the test unit and the
sales results were compared to sales in traditional secondary packages
displayed on traditional shelf positions.