Cofee-Mate French Vanilla & Hazelnut 3 packs

Shelf-ready packaging (SRP) and retail-ready packaging (RRP) (also ''prêt-à-vendre'' (PAV)) refers to the packaging of a product so that it is delivered to a retailer in packaging which is optimized for efficient stocking and sale.

Background

Retailers Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and ...

, particularly large

big-box store A big-box store (also hyperstore, supercenter, superstore, or megastore) is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The te ...

s, superstores and

warehouse club A warehouse club (or wholesale club) is a retail store, usually selling a wide variety of merchandise, in which customers may buy large, wholesale quantities of the store's products, which makes these clubs attractive to both bargain hunte ...

s, sell large quantities of

fast-moving consumer goods Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), also known as consumer packaged goods (CPG), are products that are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost. Examples include non-durable household goods such as packaged foods, beverages, toiletries, can ...

. These retailers often want to have items shipped from their distribution centers to the stores in

unit load The term unit load refers to the size of an assemblage into which a number of individual items are combined for ease of storage and handling, for example a pallet load represents a unit load which can be moved easily with a pallet jack or forkl ...

s and

bulk box A bulk box, also known as a bulk bin, skid box, pallet box, bin box, gaylord, or octabin is a pallet-size box used for storage and shipping of bulk quantities. In the U.S. and Canada, the term ''gaylord'' is sometimes used for triplewall corru ...

es: these can be stocked without handling of the merchandise. The purpose of corrugated shipping containers is to put case goods directly onto shelves and stocking locations without individually handling the unit packs or primary packages. Retailers often require products to come in shelf-ready packaging to reduce stocking costs by saving labor expenses. Ready-to-go display stands and end caps are put in the retail sales location by

forklift truck A forklift (also called lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various ...

s without assembly or manual handling of unit packs.

Requirements

Retailers commonly specify all aspects of incoming logistics and packaging to their suppliers. This includes pallet size, bar code format and placement,

RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electroma ...

tags, strength of corrugated shipping containers etc. Boxes must be easy to open and prepare for stocking. Several designs are available. Box perforations, tear tape, etc. must be intuitive and easy.

box cutters A utility knife is any type of knife used for general manual work purposes.Peterson, Harold L., ''Daggers and Fighting Knives of the Western World'', London: Herbert Jenkins Ltd., , p. 1 Such knives were originally fixed-blade knives with d ...

are often discouraged. Frequently, requirements for

reusable packaging Reusable packaging is manufactured of durable materials and is specifically designed for multiple trips and extended life. A ''reusable package'' or container is “designed for reuse without impairment of its protective function.” The term ret ...

and sustainable packaging are also provided. The principles of shelf-ready packaging are almost universal. Not all retailers have identical requirements. For example,

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation ( doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores ( warehouse club). As of 2022, Cost ...

s "Structural Packaging Specifications", Target's "Shelf Ready and Transit Packaging Standards, Hardgoods", and

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

's "RRP and PDQ Display Standard Style Guide" are similar but not identical. Regional coordination in Europe has produced an agreement on common functional requirements for the design of SRP. The Efficient Consumer Response (ECR), Europe Working Group, has published "Shelf Ready Packaging" to help standardize programs. Manufacturers and packagers need to be aware of the diverse requirements of retailers as they package and ship products. Sometimes consultants and

contract packager A contract packager, or copacker, is a company that packages products for their clients. The packaging and labeling services can be used for many types of products including foods, pharmaceuticals, household products, and industrial products. Fu ...

s with experience in shelf-ready-packaging are useful.

Types

Due to the fact that there are many different products which need to be packed in a SRP, products can be delivered by a variety of solutions.

Shelf tray

SRP solutions which can be placed in the shelf are predominantly made of corrugated cardboard. In general, these consist of a tray (secondary packaging) and a cover (a lid which protects the product). The cover can be easily separated from the tray by a perforation. Sometimes the cover of a tray is a transparent film which protects the products from mechanical and climatic influences.

Re-usable plastic tray

In addition to SRP made of corrugated cardboard, packaging can also be made of reusable materials such as plastic. Such plastic containers can be reused directly in the store. If reuse is not possible, the containers can be returned to the producer.

Merchandising unit

Merchandising units represent another type of SRP solutions. They are used for secondary placement. Normally, promotional goods or fast-moving products are presented in a merchandising unit. An enormous number of products can be placed in a merchandising unit. Therefore, the merchandising unit serves as SRP. Secondary placements can trigger impulse purchases. Often, roll-up palettes, called dollies, are used as a base for merchandising units. Rolling pallets facilitate the handling of merchandising units and increase flexibility.

Importance of shelf-ready packaging

Shelf-ready packaging continues to be growing in many market segments, including over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. SRP helps retail stores to achieve cost savings in labor and in packaging materials. It also makes packaged products easier to spot for customers, resulting in better sales. Significant efforts and investments are usually made in improving aisle efficiency for consumers, ensuring consistent demand for suitable retail-ready products from physical outlets.

References

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