What happens to damaged and broken Container Centralen material? The international Quality Control Manager for CC, answers 7 questions about how CC manages breakages and repairs to keep the supply chain running smoothly.
What happens to damaged CC Containers bases, shelves and posts?
In our repair shops we remove the broken elements from the CC bases and shelves, even taking wheels from the complete castors. Any part that is in working order will be re-used to replace broken parts in another CC Container, that with minor damage can be repaired, and anything that is too damaged to repair is scrapped.
What happens to these scrapped parts?
We recycle everything. All unusable parts of a Container are taken to specialist recycling companies.
What can CC customers do to eliminate or reduce damages to Containers and shelves?
CC Containers have a very robust construction and will take a substantial amount of wear and tear. But backing vehicles into them or incorrect handling by forklift trucks are the most common causes of damage.
We advise customers to always double-check the quality of Containers they receive from their customers and suppliers and monitor for broken materials. If you receive broken material, it will reduce efficiency in your operation and increase your costs since you may have to look for extra, undamaged materials to keep your supply chain going. It is everybody’s responsibility to keep the supply chain moving smoothly.
What is the minimum material CC will accept in order to exchange a broken base or shelf?
The absolute minimum for a shelf is two long sides from a shelf. Returning these results in a full replacement shelf. For bases, the frame can be broken, misformed, but should have the RFID tag on it and clearly should be a CC Container Base. Loose front or back parts should be handed-in as well.
I am based a long way from a CC Depot. Are there any other repair options available?
In Scotland and Ireland, we have had mobile depots for a couple of days, positioned at trade exhibitions for example. We will try to organize these mobile depots if there is a need in a particular area.
I hear CC refer to material that is ‘damaged but functional’. What is this?
This is material with minor damage, but is still fully functional. It’s a bit like having paintwork scratches on your car. You wouldn’t repair or replace the car if it just has a few scratches! We don’t repair such material, and this helps reduce costs in the CC Pool for all.
Why do some shelves break so easily?
The simple answer is – the ones that break most easily are more than likely non-CC shelves! These shelves, with different quality, enter the pool via other channels than Container Centralen. One of our major issues is repairing or replacing non-CC material, due to its inferior quality. But we repair or replace it unquestionably.
