Within the first year of implementation, Kimberly-Clark Benelux saved US$240,000 in storage costs alone. "The major benefit is that we have saved enormous amounts of money in all parts of the supply chain" states Bots. "We use the program primarily to design outer cases and optimise pallet loads. Before we had the CAPE program, it took approximately an hour to calculate six outer case designs. Now it takes only a few minutes."

Packaging material usage and pallet loading efficiency can be improved dramatically, resulting in significant cost savings for the user, "Kimberly Clark is required by its customers to utilise a minimum of 55 per cent of the pallet. By using CAPE's software we have improved our pallet utilisation to around 90 per cent" says Bots.

It is estimated that a company can, by putting more product into the same space, save an average of 10 per cent on storage and distribution with the CAPE program. This figure can often be as high as 25 per cent or more. Other benefits include significantly higher productivity, more efficient use of space and materials, improved logistics management, and ultimately and perhaps most importantly, higher profits.

Experiencing many of the same benefits as Kimberly Clark is Spillers Foods, part of Dalgety, the second largest pet food manufacturer in Europe. They have integrated the software program into their total quality management mechanisms to calculate the best fit for cartons, cans, cases and sacks on Chep and Europallets.

Ian Cooper, packaging project leader of Spiller Foods is responsible for how all pallets are loaded at the company and says that the biggest impact for his company has been dramatic reduction in damaged packs. "We are now using all the space on the pallet and in the truck and we are realising significant environmental benefits."

Thousands of European companies are now being asked to meet official industry standards on using materials and storage space efficiently and on controlling transportation costs or face steep fines. Addressing these issues requires a more focused approach to logistics management combined with the use of sophisticated software tools such as CAPE PACK. Companies that use this approach have seen the results already - in terms of higher profits and more positive contributions to environmental issues. Through the utilisation of packaging design and Palletizing software companies are able to design packaged products that are price conscious, fit in to inventory-sensitive outer case sizes and can be stored and transported effectively.