Cost and investment26 / 27

Divide meter water by accepted clean containers. Count prewash, rinsing and cycles within the same boundary to compare periods.

A specification usually gives volume and temperature, but the product entry temperature and the pull-down time are often missing. Below, the cooling power for an example load of 1,000 kg is worked out.

Calculate break-even trips from purchase, washing, damage and empty-return data, not a guess. Compare the same transport task.

Packaging is usually decided on a one-year budget, yet a container circulates for years. A ten-year comparison is made per delivery and includes repairability and changing rules.

Return space and handling can change the decision beyond unit price. Measure both models in the same vehicle and stack arrangement.

The inside of a crack does not come clean in a wash, so a crack, an embedded odour or a stack that no longer seats takes a container out of use. Inspection decides, not age.

Track vehicle and refrigeration-unit fuel separately; define the index, measurement source and waiting responsibility in the contract.

Identify little-used containers, then compare dimensions, washing, customer and pallet fit before switching.

Use the same functional unit and system boundary in an LCA; source washing, returns, loss and end-of-life data from your own operation.

Map critical equipment and supplier dependencies; verify backup capacity with an outage test, not by label alone.

In Fraunhofer's 2022 report a realistic figure for a plastic reusable crate is about 100 rotations and 10 years, and 120 rotations and 12 years is described for a well-run system. The number follows from the loss rate.

Compare protection, damage, volume and waste costs for the same delivery, not just box prices.

Measure open and closed cases in your own store. Compare electricity, sales, and product-condition compliance over matched periods.

The ISPM 15 heat treatment rule, a loss calculation for a 400-pallet fleet and Article 13 of the Turkish Food Hygiene Regulation: three measures for choosing wood or plastic.

A carton is one line on the invoice; its storage, waste, reordering and price risk pile up on other lines. Against a reusable container it can only be compared per trip.

Pick one cost line and compare like-for-like trips. Track energy and empty returns while keeping the temperature target intact.