E-Z Set™ Crepes
Challenges
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Maintain structural integrity of the PDQ throughout a frozen, then thawed supply chain
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Reduce set up time and complexity
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Product weighs 32lbs.
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Reduce or at least maintain total cost per product
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Improve sustainability
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Product cannot be weight bearing
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Reinforce front lip to prevent tearing
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Prevent sides and front supports from collapsing/imploding
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Increase side to side compression strength
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Eliminate layers
Solutions
Incorporate E-Z Set™ patented, PDQ structure with automatically set up reinforced stacking shoulders
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Drastically reduced assembly time reducing the number of folds from 51 to 11
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Reinforced stacking shoulders improved top to bottom compression. Safety factor above 7.
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Corrugated board 40ECT B with a 33 medium and waterproof adhesive provided a sustainable, low-cost solution placing strength where it's needed, not wasted™
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Superior front corner support increased stacking strength
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Improved front rollover lip rigidity resists false scores, preventing imploding sides
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Significant structural improvements enabled customer to increase product count 16%
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Convenient side panel carry handles
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Strong, double thickness stack tabs maintain PDQ's alignment, minimizing nest and eliminating the need for layer pads
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Flute orientation coupled with other design features provide excellent side to side compression help prevent clamp damage
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Reduced footprint of flat KDF blank improved sustainability, trailer efficiency, ease of handling plus more efficient use of storage and floor assembly areas
Added bonus:
To enhance the consumer experience, graphics were spruced up switching from one color print on flat mottled white paper to process direct print flex on high gloss semi paper
Crepes and Brioche rolls are frozen then packed in a PDQ. The product can be stored up to a year. Since the product has a limited shelf life once thawed, the pouches of rolls need to be date coded before shipping to the club store. It is not feasible to do this as part of the internal production process.
To maintain freshness, as orders are released to the club store, their 3PL warehouses unwrap each skid, remove each PDQ, remove the product pouch to be date coded, repacked and restacked on the CHEP pallet and stretch wrapped.
Other PDQ designs have trouble retaining structural integrity throughout a frozen, then thawed supply chain until the products are on display.
The alternative designs add setup time and complexity, and the products can only weigh 32lbs. E-Z Set™ PDQ aims to reduce or maintain total cost of product, with better stability, and simpler assembly.
E-Z Set™ PDQ Heavy Weight Solutions for D-I-Y
store quarter pallet displays
Challenges
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Design a quarter pallet display holding up to 160lbs. of product
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Must be able to withstand the rigors of a D-I-Y supply chain
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Easy to assemble with minimal corrugated components
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Product will provide little, if any, stacking support
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Bottom sag tends to implode side walls
Solutions
E-Z Set™ patented PDQ solutions:
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Designed two EB double wall one piece E-Z Set™ PDQ's
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Stacking shoulders, front corner columns and reinforced front lip, easily handled up to 80lbs. per PDQ
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E-Z Set™ mechanism also provide a strong and secure hand hold to safely stack trays when building the pallet
Strength where it's needed, not wasted™
E-Z Set™ passes rigorous ISTA 6-Sams Club testing
Challenges
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Enhance the consumer experience by:
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Pass Sam's Club ISTA Series 6 tests
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Maximize product visibility and ease of removal by shoppers
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PDQ must survive the rigors of a refrigerated supply chain
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PDQ with 24lbs. of cheese wedges randomly placed in PDQ
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Ease of assembly using and unskilled labor force
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Product cannot be weight bearing
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PDQ sealed with semi-automatic taper
Solutions
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Incorporating E-Z Set's™ patented glued, auto set up shoulder mechanism makes assembly quick, easy and intuitive requiring minimal training
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Typical set up time <10 seconds. Sets up lie regular shipping RSC boxes.
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E-Z Set™ Stacking shoulders provide excellent top to bottom compression strength easily supporting 24lbs. per PDQ with a safety factor above 5.
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E-Z Set™ Stacking shoulders reduce PDQ's from nesting
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Reinforced double thickness front access panel resists false scores/deflection
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Integral glued in divider provides additional stacking strength, minimizes product shift and resists PDQ's nesting when stacked on top of each other
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Corrugated board 32ECT B with a 33 medium and waterproof adhesive provided a sustainable, low-cost solution placing strength where it's needed, not wasted
Test Photos
Edge Drop Test
Compression Test
Product after testing
Product after testing
Dog Treats Case Study Goals and Solutions
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Reduce material cost by eliminating packaging components, total square footage of corrugated and basis weights
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Reduce labor cost and time to market
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Improve structural integrity, product access and visibility
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Increase # of sell units per pallet
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More sustainable, decreasing carbon footprint
Utilizing our patented design elements, incorporated into our E-Z Set™ sample, we achieved :
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One common size PDQ 23 x 15 footprint 5 down, 25 PDQ’s per pallet, 39 3⁄4 x 47 3⁄4
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One piece PDQ construction with integral divider. No partitions needed!
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PDQ 44 15/16 x 69.9 21.9 square feet, reduced sq. ft. vs current 20 x 20 PDQ by 14%
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recommended 10 pt-33-42 B board combination reduced basis weights by 35%.
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Changing from C flute to B improved truck & warehouse by 33%
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11 pouch product orientation yields 275 Pouches per pallet
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Significantly more product per pallet, more revenue$/sales floor square footage
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Reduced footprint and number of corrugated SKU’s reduces assembly line floor space.
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Decrease carbon footprint by reducing the number of SKU’s and manufacturing operations
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Folded and glued blank reduces floor space from 3 pallets per PDQ to one pallet with 250 PDQ’s
Putting “Strength where it’s needed, not wasted” resulted in eliminating 44 total pieces of corrugated
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3-layer pads
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A bottom tray
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20 two-piece sets of partitions
Drastically quicker and easier to set up due to patented design features (See Video)
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intuitive assembly process
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easier to train set up a typically transient assembly workforce
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Less number of “touches
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easier to manage smaller PDQ footprint
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Less corrugated SKU’s
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Less floor space
A 4-cell divider was created to support the bottom of the PDQ above it is preventing bottom sag and nesting. Field observations demonstrated this was only marginally effective.
Tradeoffs include:
Blocked product visibility and hinders access
Added material and labor cost
You be the judge as to effectiveness and cost justification of the:
4 cell divider
Stack tabs
Layer pads
4 side rollover bottom tray
Two different size PDQ's and partitions negatively impacts sustainability, due to added freight, warehouse and packaging line inefficiencies.
A 4 side rollover bottom tray was deemed as necessary. My assumption is the hope was tray would help keep the PDQ's vertically aligned.
Arrows shows stress points that have or are failing causing the sides to deform on the front facing. There are ineffective stack tabs on the shoulders. As a result, even with costly layer pads, the stack of PDQ's tilt. It's entirely possible these pads were added once the stack tabs failed. It's highly probable this additional cost was not factored in initial profit margins when the job costs and pricing were established. These costs are rarely recoverable.
Jerky Treats PDQ comparison between patented E-Z Set™ PDQ alternative and current PDQ in Costco
One generic size:
E-Z Set™ Patented PDQ 23 1/5 x 15 5/8 footprint
5 per layer
No inserts required
Two PDQ height options:
Match current height
Match current height
Add 1 1/2" to see more bag
Add 1 1/2" to see more bag
5 layers
5 layers
4 layers
4 layers
11 bags per PDQ*
10 bags per PDQ
11 bags per PDQ*
10 bags per PDQ
275 per pallet
250 per pallet
220 per pallet
200 per pallet
* More cost effective/PDQ but more difficult to efficiently pack
22.7 Sq. Ft./PDQ
E-Z Set™ one piece design uses 15% less corrugated board consumption vs current 3-piece construction below
E-Z Set™ one piece design uses 15% less corrugated board consumption vs current 3-piece construction below
Current 20 x 20 PDQ
10 bags
10 bags
12 bags
Current 20 x 24 PDQ inserts
Current 20 x 24 PDQ
Total 25.4 Sq. Ft./PDQ
11% more than E-Z Set™
12 bags
20.42 Sq. Ft.
18.8 Sq. Ft.
2.1 Sq. Ft.
4.5 Sq. Ft.
5 Sq. Ft.
2.1 Sq. Ft.
Total 27.5 Sq. Ft./PDQ
17.5% more than E-Z Set™
Current 20 x 20 PDQ inserts
4 PDQ's per layer.
5 layers per pallet
Two 20 x 20 PDQ's. Two 20 x 24 PDQ's.
220 bags per pallet
Additional PDQ support and protective pallet protection components NOT required using the E-Z Set™ patented PDQ design
Top and Bottom trays
2 per pallet
43.68sq. ft.
Per pallet
Layer Pads
3 per pallet
40.32 sq. ft.
Per pallet
3D assembly comparison
Original Version of PDQ assembly
With weaker sides and multiple parts, this original design takes longer to assemble, is functional and has some support. However, the support is wasted as it does not address the weakest points of the PDQ. Strength were it is needed, not wasted™
E-Z Set™ Version of PDQ assembly
With E-Z Set™, the assembly time is cut in half and it is a much more well thought out design from start to finish. Also, less parts and stronger support throughout the PDQ.
