Pallet is the most basic assembly unit and transportation tool in the logistics industry, and has a wide range of application value in commodity circulation. With the continuous development of China's logistics industry, the use of pallets is increasing and the use of pallets is increasing. The issue of recycling pallets between enterprises has become the bottleneck of logistics development in China. This paper summarizes, analyzes and compares the main modes of tray recycling in economically developed countries, and considers the development status of China's tray market, and believes that China should establish a pallet affiliate company as soon as possible, and adopt a lease exchange model to guide the proper recycling of pallets among enterprises and promote The healthy development of China's logistics service industry.
The pallet is a pallet for loading and unloading consisting of a load surface and a forklift socket that can carry a number of items for easy loading, unloading, transportation, storage, distribution, etc., and is regarded as “active ground†and “moving†by the logistics industry. "The cargo platform" has a wide range of application value in the field of commodity circulation. When people do not know what the tray is, the tray has become a tool for entrepreneurs to “source of third interest†and plays an extremely important role. It originated in the last century. The US military used pallets for the first time in Australia to improve the efficiency of cargo handling and ensure logistics supplies. Since then, pallets have been widely used in many industrialized countries and have been recognized as one of the two key innovations in the logistics industry in the 20th century. At present, there are 1.9 billion to 200 million trays in the United States. 80% of the commodities are traded on pallets; the EU has 1.4 billion trays -1.5 billion, and the proportion of goods traded by pallets is close to 80%; Japan has 700 million trays -8 Billion, the proportion of goods traded by pallets reached 77%. The total number of trays in China is about 120 to 140 million, and it is growing rapidly at a rate of 20 million every year.
Pallet recycling economic value
Establish a reasonable recycling mechanism, promote the orderly circulation of pallets between the main bodies of the supply chain, realize the mechanization of logistics operations, and the consistent use of pallets. Its economic value is very wide, mainly reflected in:
1. Trading through palletized packages between producers and wholesalers, wholesalers and wholesalers, wholesalers and retailers, retailers and users, always using pallets as transport, storage, handling, handling and metering units Throughout the process, the pallets are consistently applied, which can effectively avoid the phenomenon of repeatedly switching pallets during the delivery of goods and reduce ineffective labor.
2. Mechanized operation can be realized at every link of the goods in circulation, which can effectively avoid manual rough loading and unloading, reduce product loss and product packaging strength, and save the cost of commodity packaging.
3. Can implement three-dimensional storage, effectively use logistics equipment and facilities, greatly improve storage efficiency and reduce logistics costs.
4. The efficiency of loading and unloading can be improved, the loading and unloading sites can be effectively used, the waiting time for loading and unloading of vehicles can be reduced, and the supply capacity can be enhanced.
5. It is easier to count the number of discs for goods than to count the number of goods. This can avoid counting errors in the delivery process and improve service efficiency.
6 can follow the common practice of European and American logistics, in the production line of the product on the standardization of pallets, the use of special tray packaging machine on the tray with plastic film packaging, after the packaging of the goods in the storage and transportation process once opened , it is difficult to recover, it is easy to identify, and can effectively solve the first major problem of backward logistics in China, pointed out by McKinsey and Morgan Stanley in the Chinese logistics market research report. Damages, losses, and many manual operations in railways and road transport often result in the wrong, damaged, and stolen goods, effectively improving the quality of logistics services in China, and the circulation of goods between suppliers, wholesalers, retailers or users. It is no longer necessary to employ escorts to supervise the entire process of goods, which can effectively reduce logistics costs.
However, at present, China has not established an effective tray recycling mechanism to ensure the proper circulation of pallets among enterprises. On the one hand, it leads to a high proportion of disposable wooden pallets, which wastes forest resources, generates logistics waste, and is not conducive to the protection of the ecological environment. . On the other hand, the shippers are constantly switching pallets during the delivery process, which not only reduces the operational efficiency of logistics, but also increases the logistics costs, making it difficult for the goods to use the advantages of pallet assembly and achieving consistent operations, which seriously restricts the logistics industry in China. Healthy development.
With the continuous development of China's logistics industry, the use of pallets is increasing and the use of pallets is becoming wider and wider. The issue of recycling pallets between enterprises has become a bottleneck in the development of logistics in China. At present, only Wu Qingyi, Yan Wei, Xiong Caiqi and other experts have studied the construction of China's pallet joint venture system. Few scholars have conducted an in-depth analysis of the tray recycling model in developed countries. Therefore, we summarized the circulation patterns of foreign pallets, analyzed and compared the advantages and disadvantages of various models, and used the experience of advanced developed countries as reference to select the appropriate and effective pallet recycling model to promote a reasonable and orderly flow of pallets between supply chain entities. Saving economic resources for China, reducing logistics costs, increasing supply capacity, improving the quality of logistics services, and transforming the "ant moving" logistics operation mode have very important practical and economic significance.
The main mode of foreign pallet recycling
As an important logistics device, pallets carry goods from production companies to wholesale companies, retail companies, and users. Before the goods reach the users, it is difficult to determine the geographical location of the pallets, the time of use, and ownership. Therefore, it must be Establishing an effective recycling mechanism within a relatively independent economic zone or nationwide can ensure the integrated flow of pallets and cargo. From the product user's point of view, what the user really wants to buy is the goods, not the pallets used to carry the goods. If the tray recycling mechanism is not established, if the user is required to purchase the pallets while purchasing the goods, on the one hand, The burden on users, on the other hand, also caused a waste of social and economic resources. From the perspective of the supply chain, the product manufacturing company is always the demand side of the pallet, and the product user is always the recipient of the pallet. How to make pallets from dispersed product users (or retailers) return to all-around product manufacturing companies, ensure that trays can be recycled efficiently, and that trays can be consistently applied and socialized. This has become the current mode of operation of the logistics industry in China, improving logistics efficiency, The key to improving service quality and developing a logistics and recycling economy.
From a worldwide perspective, the earliest use of trays originated in Australia, but the circulation of trays among enterprises originated in the United States. In the early 1940s, the American firebrick and canned meat industry began to realize the circulation of pallets among enterprises, and subsequently expanded to the steel industry. In 1946, the Australian government used the pallets and logistics equipment left over from World War II in the United States to establish a federal transport equipment sharing system. The first countries to implement pallet circulation in Europe were Sweden (1947), followed by Switzerland (1951). The success of the pallet associative system in these two countries had a major impact on other European countries, leading to many European countries such as France and Germany. Countries have set up their own domestic pallet joint venture system. In 1961, countries in continental Europe adopted the exchange model to promote the circulation of pallets internationally and established the European Pallet Management Association accordingly. They were responsible for formulating pallet distribution rules, coordinating the relations between the member countries, and ensuring that pallets were among 17 European countries. Circulation. At present, many advanced developed countries have adopted a variety of tray recycling modes (some scholars call the tray pool mode or tray sharing system) to ensure that trays are recycled between supply chain entities. To sum up, there are mainly three kinds of recycling modes for foreign pallets:
Exchange mode exchange mode means that product manufacturers directly pack products onto pallets after the end of production activities. When product manufacturers supply wholesalers and wholesalers to retailers, the carrier returns them to manufacturers and wholesalers. For pallets of the same quantity and specifications, when the goods are delivered to the wholesaler or retailer, the carrier asks the wholesaler and retailer for the same number and size of pallets, and the user and the retailer exchange pallets in the same way to ensure that the pallets A pallet circulation model that smoothly circulates between businesses and users. The recycling mode of the tray is different according to the operating details of the exchange tray, and can be further subdivided into the following three modes:
1. The counterpart communication mode. Pallet sharing agreements are signed between companies that have close cooperation between pallets. Pallets can be freely circulated among companies within the agreement, sharing obligations such as receipt, use, return, maintenance, ownership, and retention period, and liquidation of liquidation in a certain period of time. the way. This method of circulation originated the earliest, but its application range was relatively small. The Swiss Railway Company first adopted this model to improve the operational efficiency between railway companies and large customers. China’s Ministry of Communications once allocated special funds to use this model between the Guang’anmen station in Beijing in 1965 and the East station in Shanghai, and between Shanghai and Dalian in the 1980’s. Transport companies circulate, but due to poor management and inflexible circulation mechanisms, they all ended in failure. This has caused China's logistics pallet circulation business to be lagging behind that of developed countries for more than 50 years.
2. In time exchange mode. This exchange mode is mainly centered on the carrier. When the carrier carries the goods, it delivers the same number and specifications of pallets to the consignor. When the goods arrive at the destination, the carrier asks the consignee for the same quantity and specifications. tray. In the process of exchange, if there are not enough trays at the time, it is allowed to postpone it, but the corresponding overdue fine must be paid. In 17 countries in Europe, the use of this pallet circulation model began in 1961 with the help of national railway transport companies.
3. Settlement exchange mode. Mainly for the shortcomings of the timely exchange mode, the exchange procedure is basically the same as the instant exchange mode, except that it is not necessary to exchange the pallets in the field, but through the voucher processing, return the same quantity and specifications within the specified date. The trays, such as those that cannot be returned within the stipulated date or cause a lost tray user, must pay a recycling mode of compensation. Due to the short supply chain of agricultural products, the long-term use of this model by Dutch agricultural product auction houses and agricultural product producers and wholesalers has continued. (on)
Author: Li Taiping