Packaging Produce in Trays at the Central Warehouse

Excerpts from the report Introduction: The objective of this report is to evaluate and develop improved methods, equipment, layout, and operating practices for packaging produce at the central warehouse and to compare costs of central warehouse packaging with the most commonly used systems of packaging produce at the retail store. Research on the packaging of produce in the retail store was reported in a previous report. The study reported here measures the direct and indirect costs of packaging at the store and central warehouse. It does not measure the merchandising effectiveness of the packaging techniques used, the effect of rewrap costs on total system costs, or the possible differences in product shrinkage when packaging in either location. This report is limited to those higher volume produce items that are typically packaged in a tray (or folding box). These items include table-sized round fruit typically packaged six per tray (apples, oranges, peaches, and pears which henceforth will be referred to as "6-pack") and beans, corn, grapes, lemons, plums, squash, and tomatoes. The report does not evaluate the alternative packaging materials available but develops labor and materials costs only for the several methods and materials used most frequently at the store and warehouse. The equipment used in the cost analysis of warehouse packaging is that most commonly used by firms that centrally package trayed produce.