Less Shrink, More Savings: How Folding Plastic Crates Improve Your Bottom Line
When it comes to running a profitable business, every decision can shift the trajectory. Streamlining transportation costs and maximizing labor efficiency aren’t just small tweaks—they’re powerful strategies that drive significant profit growth.
At Tosca, we believe that transforming your packaging strategy can unlock significant savings and efficiencies across your supply chain. By choosing reusable folding plastic crates over traditional corrugated boxes, you can streamline operations, reduce waste, and support a more sustainable future.
Let’s explore how Tosca’s reusable plastic crates can help you save money while putting the planet first. Following are the real-life success stories of companies like Fieldale Farms, Eisberg, and Agromark.
Less Shrink, More Savings
Shrink, or product waste, is a significant challenge in the supply chain. Damaged products not only reduce your sales but also hurt your reputation with retailers and consumers. Tosca’s reusable plastic crates are designed to reduce shrink by up to 50%—a crucial advantage that corrugated boxes simply can’t match. Our crates are four times more protective than corrugated alternatives, ensuring that your products arrive at their destination in perfect condition.
Take Fieldale Farms, for example, a specialty poultry producer that was among the first companies to sell tray-pack chicken, kicking off a long-held reputation for defining the curve of progress and quality in the poultry industry. They saw a dramatic reduction in product damage after switching to Tosca plastic crates. As Brad Moore, Retail Sales Manager at Fieldale, puts it:
“When we put our premium Springer Mountain products in Tosca reusable plastic crates, it allows us to deliver that product to the consumer exactly the way it left our facility, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Another success story comes from Eisberg, a leading producer of fresh produce. Eisberg switched to Tosca reusable plastic crates and saw an immediate improvement in product protection of their salad leaves—something that needs the utmost care and protection. By reducing the number of damaged goods, Eisberg was able to meet the high standards of quality their customers expect while minimizing waste. This move not only protected their bottom line, but also reinforced their commitment to sustainability.
In addition to reducing shrink, Tosca’s reusable plastic crates help maintain product freshness. Our ventilated crates cool food 5x faster than corrugated, preserving quality and extending shelf life. This results in fewer rejected products, leading to more sales as customers trust your product for consistent freshness and quality. This also means reduced waste from unsold or subpar items, translating to greater savings for your business and a smaller environmental impact.
By combining product protection with sustainability, our folding plastic crates help companies like Fieldale Farms and Eisberg save more while doing good for the planet.
Increase Efficiency, Lower Labor Costs
Tosca reusable plastic crates aren’t just about reducing waste; they’re also about improving efficiency. By making your supply chain more organized and streamlined, Tosca’s reusable plastic crates can reduce store labor by up to 53%.
No trips to baler: One of the major inefficiencies of using corrugated boxes is the need to constantly break down and dispose of them. This often involves multiple trips to the baler, which takes up valuable time. Tosca’s reusable plastic crates eliminate this hassle entirely. Because they are reusable, there’s no need to break down or dispose of them.
Better backroom organization: Our stackable plastic crates’ design and standard size mean that products can be stored in a way that maximizes space, making it easier for employees to find and access what they need quickly. This organization reduces the time it takes to restock shelves, allowing employees to spend more time doing higher-value, customer-facing activities .
Easier lift, best worker safety: Compared to corrugated boxes, which often lack handles and are prone to ripping, Tosca’s reusable plastic crates are equipped with ergonomic handles that make them easier to lift, move, and stack. This reduces the risk of worker injuries and speeds up restocking. In fact, our clients report that Tosca’s reusable plastic crates make their operations twice as efficient.
Once again, Fieldale Farms is a prime example of these labor savings in action. By using stronger, more durable reusable plastic crates, Fieldale reduced the number of boxes that needed to be handled by 24%. This not only cut down on labor costs but also helped Fieldale’s retail partners operate more efficiently.
Quicker restocking: To further improve efficiency, we designed retail-ready packaging. They simplify your restocking process, reduce labor costs, and cut down on product waste. Plus, they can seamlessly transition from the storeroom to the floor. How do we achieve that?
Our crystal clear tray and crates eliminates the need for any additional handling. Retail store workers can stock the products from the storeroom to the floor without the need of unloading and transferring to the right place.
Improved Storage, Fewer Transport Expenses
Transportation is a major cost center for many businesses, and Tosca’s reusable plastic crates can help you reduce those expenses significantly. Our crates offer up to 25% more cube utilization, saving on fuel and reducing emissions by up to 66%.
Agromark, a leading grower, experienced firsthand the benefits of improved transport efficiency. By switching to Tosca’s foldable bins, Agromark reduced its return trips by 75%. This change eliminated 42 return trips every 28 weeks, generating substantial savings and lowering CO₂ emissions. Fewer trips mean lower transport costs, less fuel consumption, and a smaller carbon footprint—a win-win for both your bottom line and the environment.
Better Traceability, More Control
In today’s fast-paced world, having visibility and control over your operations is essential. Tosca’s IoT offering, Asset IQ, takes traceability and supply chain management to the next level, offering real-time insights into the location, status, and condition of your reusable plastic crates.
This advanced tracking capability allows you to monitor assets throughout the entire supply chain as well as their conditions. It provides real-time updates on temperature, vibration, location, orientation and more.
With Tosca Asset IQ, you’ll gain the tools and data-driven insights needed to optimize your operations, streamline your processes, and drive even greater savings across your supply chain.
All the Benefits, Zero Capital Outlay
Pooling is a cost-effective and sustainable solution that allows businesses to share a pool of reusable packaging, such as reusable plastic crates, rather than owning them outright. With Tosca’s pooling service, you don’t have to worry about managing, cleaning, or repairing your packaging.
Tosca takes care of all the logistics, ensuring that the right assets are always available when and where you need them. This reduces capital outlay and operational headaches while improving efficiency.
This hassle-free approach not only supports a circular economy, but also provides access to the nation’s best food safety program and the latest product innovations. Tosca’s reusable plastic crates are a cost-effective solution that benefits both your business and the planet.
Sustainability While You Save
At Tosca, we believe that being green shouldn’t come at a cost. By switching to our reusable packaging solutions, you can reduce waste, lower transportation costs, and improve labor efficiency, all while supporting a more sustainable future.
Fieldale Farms sums it up best:
“I think we can always say we want to be green and we want to reduce our carbon footprint, but in the end, it needs to work. In this case, it works for all of us: the warehouse, the individual stores, and us.”
— Brad Moore, Retail Sales Manager at Fieldale
Save Money By Transforming Your Packaging Solutions
Ready to make the switch? Contact us today to learn how our folding plastic crates can help you cut costs, improve efficiency, and support a more sustainable future for your business.
