Damage deterrents
February 1st 2008

Having damaged goods arrive at your customers not only damages your bank balance and profitability, but also severely damages your company's reputation. Gemma Howarth from Lamerholm Electronics reports

As a responsible business, it is in your best interests to ensure that every stage of your logistics process is monitored. There are damage deterrents available that can ensure maximum care is taken when shipping goods. It is vital that companies have in place a damage deterrent programme that not only saves them money but also their reputation.

Benefits to the shipper The most immediate benefit to the shipper is the reduction of incidents of rough handling with a resultant decrease in damage. Using impact or environmental monitoring devices means that there is an immediate indication if a damage problem exists, so when the consignment arrives at the destination action can be taken. And importantly, establishing a damage prevention programme instills greater customer confidence, enhances your quality statement and provides a strong selling feature inherent in the ability to deliver goods intact.

Benefits to the customer These are very clear and now as Just-in-Time (JIT) manufacturing is widely practised, it is even more important that goods arrive on time and undamaged. Should anything untoward happen, then there will be an immediate indication of the potential problem, which in turn means that there is less likelihood of unknowingly transhipping already damaged goods.

As with all parties in the logistics chain, it greatly improves any claims recovery that needs to take place.

Benefits to the carrier Enforcing a damage deterrent programme also has a psychological effect and consequently encourages personnel to be more careful, reducing the amount of damage occurring.

The programme will also be useful for pinpointing trouble spots in intermodal situations and can expose negligent shippers.

Damage deterrent options So, we can see a damage deterrent programme benefits all parties and gives a substantial competitive advantage. The next stage is to look at what damage deterrent options are available. These range from the basic packaging tapes with a "HANDLE WITH CARE" message to sophisticated electronic event recorders. Many companies stick with the first option, if they do anything at all, falsely thinking that further deterrents will add a financial burden. However, by using a simple formula companies can calculate the actual savings they would make by implementing even the simplest of damage prevention programmes.

This example is based on a real life situation although the price of the label is used as an example only.

The figures show that reducing the damage rate by only 17% pays for the total investment.

What's available? The simplest form of damage prevention and monitoring is a range of adhesive labels that gives an indication if the shipment has been mishandled in any way. There are labels available that can show if a consignment has been bashed, dropped, tilted or undergone any extremes of temperature or humidity. They are simple to use and provide a reliable visible indicator that mishandling has occurred. One company that implemented a scheme has been delighted with the results.

TiltWatch, an active label system from Lamerholm has been successfully used by Souters Transport to virtually eliminate damage when shipping expensive diagnostics equipment. TiltWatch is an innovative system that helps to ensure sensitive products are kept in an upright position while being shipped.

"We pride ourselves on our excellent customer service, not only on time delivery but also ensuring that all consignments arrive undamaged," explains Tim Souter.

"However, it is inevitable with the large number of pallets being moved, some being handled by forklifts 5-6 times on their journey, that some damage will occur. At one stage, we found that sensitive test equipment was not being kept upright, as specified on the attached, passive labels. We had to look for a way to pinpoint when the damage occurred and to stop it from happening." A TiltWatch device was attached to each pallet leaving the depot each week. Since implementing the programme, damage has been virtually eliminated.

Larger and damage critical consignments Damage deterrent labels work well for many companies. However, larger, fragile and critical components need more careful monitoring and tracking. Electronic instrumentation has been developed that provides intricate data on impact direction, amplitude and duration, with onboard sensors to record changes in temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure.

The future With the number of options around for damage prevention and monitoring during transportation, all companies can find a costeffective solution to meet their own needs.

As well as providing a comprehensive range of products, Lamerholm can give expert advice on all your damage deterrent needs.

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