sprintBOX ensures transparency in the GEZE container cycle

Empty crate in the car, off to the supermarket and get the deposit back. The principle is well known from the food sector. A similar form of reusable system is used at GEZE. At the Swabian metal processing company, the containers used for transporting components circulate according to the sell/buy-back principle. The Schäflein subsidiary sprintBOX ensures transparency and security of supply in this system.

The first lorries dock at the loading ramps of the production halls in Leonberg near Stuttgart from 7 a.m. every day. The company is one of the world’s leading suppliers of systems for door, window and security technology. The wide-ranging portfolio includes opening and locking systems, window and door drives and intelligent solutions for building automation. There are countless components on board the lorries, packed in standardised reusable containers. GEZE requires an average of 17,000 containers of the VDA R-KLT family per month to bring the components from a total of 80 different suppliers from all over Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe to Leonberg.

Liquidity and diligence

With the aim of reducing the administrative effort involved in managing the bins, GEZE switched from its own bin pool to a sale/buy-back system back in 2011. Under this system, an external service provider provides a supplier with empty containers and invoices them. When the goods are delivered to the recipient, the suppliers sell the containers on, which means that they become the property of the recipient in the short term. The cycle is completed when the external service provider buys back the containers. The sale/buy-back system offers various advantages. Capital is not tied up permanently, excess stock is temporarily stored with the logistics service provider and risks are minimised by the service provider buying back the containers. In addition, the system promotes careful handling of the containers through the respective transfer of ownership. Shrinkage is therefore not an issue.

Crystal clear view

The sale/buy-back system also offers advantages in terms of container management. When using a company-owned pool, incoming and outgoing containers must be recorded via a stock account in order to reclaim containers if necessary. In contrast, this administrative effort is not required in the sale/buy-back system, as ownership is transferred when the containers are purchased. However, the system also has its pitfalls. If individual cycle participants feed in fewer containers than were purchased, this is legal – after all, they are the owners of the containers. However, if the discrepancy remains unnoticed, the security of supply of containers may be jeopardised. Transparency is therefore a top priority at GEZE, not only for the glass systems manufactured in Leonberg, but also in container management. “Sufficient container quantities for all participants in the cycle are important for the reliable flow of components,” says the Strategic Purchasing Manager at GEZE. “We have to be able to rely on this.” When awarding the new container management contract in 2015, the innovative company opted for sprintBOX GmbH as a service provider that, thanks to a sophisticated software solution, also creates transparency across all container movements as part of the sales/buy-back system.

Everything from a single source

After a lead time of a few weeks, sprintBOX integrated all 80 suppliers into a centralised, web-based ordering platform within 14 days. Suppliers order the required empties directly from sprintBOX using the software developed specifically for container management. All other transfers of ownership as part of the sale/buy-back system are also recorded centrally by the software using intelligent interfaces to the supplier systems. “For a reliable supply, it is particularly important in the sale/buy-back system that possible deviations between purchase and sales quantities are balanced out in total across all participants in the container cycle,” explains Heiko Raab, Managing Director of sprintBOX GmbH. “With the help of the software, we can recognise imbalances immediately and react at an early stage.”

In addition to the software-supported management, sprintBOX also takes care of the complete operational container logistics. Once the buy-back order has been received, the company collects the empty containers from the GEZE factory, sorts them and takes care of the professional cleaning in its own washing depot in Grettstadt. From there, the clean containers are dispatched to the suppliers as required. sprintBOX handles all transport as consolidated as possible via its sister company, Schäflein Spedition. “The overall package convinced us. We have a single point of contact for all matters relating to container management,” says the Strategic Purchasing department.

sprintBOX takes care of the professional cleaning of the containers in its own washing depot.