Ozkor’s 2/3 pallet

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.

For 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.

“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.

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.

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

aisles, eliminating the intermediary step of first breaking down a pallet into a shop-floor friendly roll cage – Brad adds that 2/3 Pallets have another advantage over roll cages in practice.

“Roll cages are 1.8 metres high and have shelves within them where you place products to take out onto the floor,” he says. “Not only is the height of the roll cage a visual impediment to our team members and customers, but because they are not designed for tightly packed stacking, it means there’s a lot of wasted cubic utilisation. With the 2/3 Pallet you don’t waste space, and as you replenish shelves the visual impediment lowers as goods are unstacked.

“Store nightfill teams are often considered the backbone of the store, working nightly to ensure the products we all buy are filled on the shelf ready for customers to purchase. It is a physical job and the change to pallets has meant store teams are reporting feeling better and more energised after their shifts due to the reduced manual handling.”

THE OZKOR DIFFERENCE

Because of the scale and importance of this innovation, Primary Connect had to ensure it was getting the design right as it worked towards the new ULD solution that would eventually culminate in the 2/3 Pallet.

Stephen Macpherson, Store Solutions Manager at Woolworths Group, says that after Primary Connect had developed its precise requirements for a new ULD, the proposal was tendered to the market, with five initial successful respondents. Those initial five were whittled down to two, and then to one: Ozkor.

“The overall development was a threestage approach: proof of concept, pilot, and rollout,” Stephen says. “As part of the proof of concept, we wanted to do a fair bit of testing, and it was Ozkor that managed to pass the testing process, as well as effectively react and adapt to some changes we needed along the way.”

To be sure, the development and rollout of the 2/3 Pallet was a tandem effort by Primary Connect and Ozkor, but Stephen couldn’t be more effusive in his praise for Ozkor’s work in bringing the 2/3 Pallet to fruition.

“Ozkor’s commitment to rigorous testing and attention to detail was superb,” he says. “The Ozkor team really zeroed in on the right questions, always asking, ‘Why does it need to be designed that way? How can we help you get the right outcome and fulfil your precise requirements?’ They didn’t just jump at the easiest solution that would fit.

“During testing and design, we would have the Ozkor team – up to and including Ozkor’s owners themselves – present and taking an active interest. If something failed, they wanted to know why, figure it out, and take it back to their design team to devise a fix.”

And the dedication didn’t stop at the design process, Stephen says. When it came time to ramp up production, Ozkor didn’t miss a beat in rising to the challenge.

“They have absolutely bent over backwards to help us to deliver in the timelines that Woolworths expects,” Stephen says. “And that’s not an easy challenge to meet, given Woolworths’ size and preference for swift and effective action in solving problems to serve its customers. When we find a good thing, we want to go hard, and we want to go fast. Ozkor’s production facility was initially operating five days a week, but they ramped up to seven days a week and 24 hours a day to deliver on the timelines we wanted. And they certainly did deliver.”

Stephen points out that Woolworths Group is only at the start of the journey, and they’ve only scratched the surface of the possibilities and innovations that could be enabled by the 2/3 Pallet. Already, he says, stores are finding innovative uses for laying out their cool rooms with 2/3 Pallets; and that there are myriad possibilities in terms of stock presentation, online orders, as well as expanding utilisation of the 2/3 Pallet to further and further reaches of the transportation and supply chain process.

For Primary Connect, Woolworths Group, and Ozkor – the work has just begun. ■ “I like that there’s less doublehandling – which problem arises from needing to split up loads. And this reduction of manual handling means less chance of injury to our floor workers.” – STORE MANAGER, BIRKDALE

“The most exciting program I’ve seen.” – STORE MANAGER, WAGGA WAGGA

“More team on the floor filling, and fewer out the back splitting. The team is on the floor earlier in the evening when our customers require assistance.” – STORE MANAGER, KEPERRA

“We love how 2/3 Pallets are much quicker and more efficient to fill the load.”

– TEAM MEMBERS, MOUNT DRUITT

“There is less lifting with 2/3 Pallets and more time to catch up with other tasks and to delight our customers!”

– PRODUCE MANAGER, MATRAVILLE

“I love the 2/3 Pallet and how it has reduced the manual handling in my department. The overall process is so much easier for the team to fill directly from the pallet.”

– F&V MANAGER, MASCOT

“No need to split pallets anymore. Working freezer during the day is the best. The team love 2/3 pallets and have reported they’re feeling better because of the labour-saving benefits.”

– ASSISTANT STORE MANAGER, KEYSBOROUGH

Unlike roll cages, which are 1.8 metres high, the 2/3 pallet economises on space and doesn’t impede worker and customer vision when stacking shelves on the floor.

WOMEN IN INDUSTRY NOMINEES

Prime Creative Media hosted the Women in Industry Awards on Thursday April 7th, spotlighting outstanding contributions from women working across a range of industries including manufacturing, transport, and supply chain. MHD profiles some of this year’s inspiring nominees in our industry.

INDUSTRY ADVOCACY AWARD NOMINEE

Hermione Parsons – Director, Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics, Deakin University

Dr Hermione Parsons is Industry Professor and Director of the Centre for Supply Chain and Logistics at Deakin University. She and her team formed and implemented Wayfinder. They worked with the university’s 16 industry partners to build talent and capability in an industry that’s trying to attract employees with the skills and capabilities it needs. Additionally, Dr Hermione has researched the underrepresentation of women in supply chain and logistics. Her focus has been on attraction and retention as well as providing new understandings about millennials and the important leadership roles they have which will help shape the industry. She says her research findings will also assist with devising future workforce strategies.

EXCELLENCE IN TRANSPORT AWARD NOMINEES

Heather Jones – Director, Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls

Heather Jones is among the one per cent of female drivers in Australia who’s behind the wheel of the world’s largest trucks. She not only has taken up the challenge of becoming possibly one of Australia’s leading multi-combination drivers but has also become an elite road train trainer whose expertise is sought across Australia. She has trained bulk freight state drivers and has run her own company, Success Transport, which operates between Pilbara and Perth. She established “Pilbara Girls Heavy Haulage”, a centre that offers training to indigenous women and victims of domestic violence.

Merry Manton – Board Member, Transport Women Australia Limited

Merry Manton has been active in the transport industry for approximately 40 years. She has been a Board Director and Chair of Transport Women Australia Limited. She was the first female elected to the Board of the Queensland Transport Association where she also held the role of Treasurer for a period. She is responsible for providing advice to transport companies to mitigate daily risk exposures that the transport industry experiences. She is aware of the challenges that many transport companies have in their day-to-day operations. She has always looked to improve the life of those in the industry.

Penny Ford – Executive Director (Transport Planning Services), Department of Transport and Main Roads, QLD

Penny has been involved in the Transport Industry for over 20 years. She works in the Department of Transport and Main Roads. During this time, she has been involved in transport modelling and data analytics, traffic engineering, construction, design, asset management and has found a passion for her current focus – Transport Planning. For the last 10 years she has been in leadership and executive roles, leading large multidisciplinary teams based in locations across Queensland. In Penny’s role as Executive Director (Transport Planning Projects), she leads a large multidisciplinary team that works with stakeholders all over Queensland to plan for all modes of transport state-wide.

EXCELLENCE IN MANUFACTURING AWARD NOMINEE

Noelle has been Chief Engineer of PACCAR Australia since October 2018. She is responsible for leading the team of engineers designing Kenworth and DAF trucks. She contributes to this with her extensive engineering expertise and has experience with developing successful products. Her involvement in the continued manufacture of Kenworth in Australia and expansion of the local assembly capability, and now design of some of the DAF product range for manufacture locally, is without doubt due to her foresight, creative thought, capacity for future planning, leadership, and influence.

EXCELLENCE IN ENGINEERING AWARD

NOMINEE – SPONSORED BY BAE SYSTEMS

Narelle Dobson – Director Special Projects, Department of Transport and Main Roads, QLD

Narelle has contributed to civil engineering for the Department of Transport and Main Roads through design, technical document development, construction and asset management of road pavements and other transport infrastructure. At the department, she has a crossdisciplinary leadership role where she also manages data for the construction industry. Some of her achievements include leading the development of the department’s first High Standard Granular supplementary specification and which enables low-cost pavement solutions, and which was successfully used on the Darra to Springfield Transport Corridor Project and leading revision of the Western Queensland Best Practice Guidelines for using nonstandard pavement materials. ■