Curtains for cages?
February 1st 2005

Interroll has developed a supply chain solution to handle an innovative pallet system, which is set to replace the roll cage and the dolly in retail supply chains to save time, space and money when restocking FMCGs

The MU (Merchandisable Unit) Pallet, developed by GE Polymer Logistics, is a display unit on wheels that can be stacked, racked and be moved on roller conveyors. Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd. is successfully using the MU Pallet to transport bottles of soft drinks from its plant in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, direct to the supermarket shelves.

“Roll cages and dollies are unpopular within supply chains because they are awkward to store, transport, load and handle – as well as being easily damaged and susceptible to theft,” says Interroll dynamic storage divisional manager, Chris Adams. “By providing a single platform, the MU Pallet enables an alternative replenishment solution.” Formed of polyethylene and polypropylene, the MU Pallet weighs only 13.5kg and is 800mm long x 600mm wide x 180mm high – essentially a half Euro pallet. The one-piece, easy to clean deck moulding has three runners. The third runner has a 80mm diameter wheel embedded on either side of its chamfered underside edge. These wheels come into contact with the ground when a purpose built Mini-lifter truck raises the MU Pallet’s opposite side.

This truck ‘pumps up’ the MU Pallet leaving only the wheels on the chamfered edge of the MU pallet in contact with the ground, allowing an operative to easily move the pallet. When lowered on the ground, however, the MU pallet becomes a sedentary platform once more.

The Mini-lifter truck is little more than the tiller arm and pump of a conventional pedestrian pallet truck. However, replacing the regular pallet forks are two short prongs sticking out either side of a crossbeam. These prongs slot into the outer runner of the MU Pallet, joining pallet to Mini-lifter. This design presents a space saving unit, which causes minimum obstruction when used in confined areas.

The MU Pallet in the retail store With a 500kg uniform load capacity, the MU Pallet well suited to restocking FMCGs in supermarkets. Traditionally, this involves pushing out a roll cage and manually stacking the shelves. Stores often wait until the top shelf is empty before carrying out this laborious procedure – but this creates an untidy appearance for a supermarket.

Sometimes supermarkets put out full pallets at the end of the aisle for more convenient shelf replenishment. However, 1m pallets do not fit under a conventional supermarket shelf and encroach into the aisles space, causing an obstruction. An alternative method is to wheel dolly loads of product straight under a higher shelf. But while this enables quick in-store replenishment, dollies present an unstable load for delivery vehicles and are difficult to store.

The MU Pallet combines the advantages of pallets, roll cages and dollies by providing a single mobile unit that can be easily rolled straight out into a supermarket aisle to sit beneath a shelf.

The MU Pallet in the supply chain The advantages of the MU Pallet are accentuated further down the supply chain because the unit is easy to load – not just in delivery vehicles and conventional racks but, thanks to an innovation developed by Interroll for Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd., flow storage systems also.

The soft drink manufacturer asked Interroll to devise a solution capable of handling the MU Pallet within the blocks of Pallet Flow storage at its Wakefield site – its down. Speed controllers are integrated within a roller – one per pallet position – to regulate the speed of a passing pallet.

Traditionally wooden pallets are used within dynamic storage systems because it is difficult for a speed controller to acquire the same level of grip on a plastic pallet.

Interroll, working together with GE Polymer Logistics and Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd., devised a special speed controller, which grips the MU Pallet and slows it to a controllable speed as it travels down the dynamic storage lane. These special rollers can be installed into existing dynamic storage systems – inserted between existing speed controllers.

Once completed, Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd. carried out a test to simulate five years of system operation. The trial showed not one failure or runaway pallet. Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd. now successfully delivers bottles of soft drink on the MU Pallets to supermarkets through the modified flow storage lanes.

Rob Baxter of Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd.

says: “Working collaboratively with Interroll we developed a solution for handling the MU Pallet in our flow storage systems.

There are over 15,000 pallet positions of flow storage in our supply chain. The MU Pallet potentially could pass through any position. Interroll’s innovative solution has achieved all our requirements. We are very happy with the results.”

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