MHD MATERIALS HANDLING
INTRODUCING THE 2/3 PALLET Woolworths Group’s Primary Connect, together with innovative materials handling manufacturer Ozkor, have designed and rolled out a game-changing new pallet across the country. MHD spoke with Woolworths Group’s Brad Fraser, Head of Supply Chain Development – Ambient/Automation, and Stephen Macpherson, Store Solutions Manager, to learn more.
F
or more than 70 years Woolworths Group has delivered stock on Australian standard pallets to stores. Primary Connect – which is Woolworths Group’s internal supply chain function – operates a sophisticated national distribution centre and transport network, including servicing Woolworths supermarkets, BIG W stores, and Endeavour Drinks stores and outlets to ensure maximum efficiency and customer satisfaction. Brad Fraser, Head of Supply Chain Development – Ambient/ Automation at Woolworths Group, says that Woolworths has long been looking for a solution that overcame the shortcomings of traditional Australian pallets. “The main challenge with traditional pallets is that goods received couldn’t go out onto the shop floor, as they were too large for supermarket aisles,” Brad says. “They would disrupt customers’ ease of movement through the aisles and our team’s effectiveness. That meant we had to break down those pallets in the back of our stores, sorting and splitting products off the pallets and into roll cages that would then be taken onto the shop floor for shelf replenishment. It was inefficient and increased our manual handling.” With a clear focus on making things better for our customers and store teams, Brad says, it became essential that a new solution be devised that would allow store teams to be more efficient – cutting down on the time spent sorting and breaking down pallets, making the process safer for their teams and improving customer service. 26 | MHD MAY 2022
The 2/3 pallet is two-thirds the size of a standard Australian pallet, which allows for no loss of cube utilisation. Because it is as wide as a standard pallet but only as deep as a roll cage, it can be taken directly out into shopfloor aisles during trading hours.
“We came to the view that we should progress towards a one-touch solution in order to reduce manual handling for our store teams,” he says. That search for an innovative alternative ULD (Unit Load Device) began in 2014, and by 2019 the new ULD was being rolled out in stores and DCs across the country. The new ULD in question is the 2/3 Pallet, developed by Primary Connect in concert with Ozkor – a leading designer and manufacturer of plastic storage and warehouse equipment – and now implemented in almost all Woolworths supermarkets as well as Woolworths Metro fleet convenience option. To date, more than 3.3 billion kilograms of lifting has been saved in stores across Australia, and internal surveys conducted demonstrate that customer and team member experiences have dramatically improved.
BREAKING DOWN THE 2/3 PALLET BENEFITS The 2/3 pallet is two-thirds the size of a standard Australian pallet – 1165mm by 775mm, compared with 1165mm by 1165mm – which allows for no loss of cube utilisation, and sometimes gains, Brad says. Because it is as wide as a standard pallet but only as deep as a roll cage, it can be taken directly out into shopfloor aisles while the store is trading – just as roll cages would be used. Additionally, the 2/3 pallet is safer and more suitable to handle than standard Australian pallets, he says. They’re 10-30 kilograms lighter and more consistent in size than current Australian standard pallets, making them easier to handle by warehouse, transport, and store teams. While the primary benefit of the 2/3 Pallet is the elimination of doublehandling – 2/3 Pallets are delivered to stores and then rolled straight into the
