Methodology for selecting packaging alternatives: an "action research" application in the industrial sector

Packaging could and should be considered one of the key elements that promote supply chain performance in terms of efficiency and sustainability. Although, packaging should be considered as a system comprising three different levels (primary, secondary and tertiary), in the industrial sphere design problems are usually centered exclusively on two levels: the primary packaging (the "box") and the tertiary packaging (the "unit load"). Thus, the main object of this paper is to propose a methodology that facilitates, in a comprehensive way, decision making in packaging system design in order to reduce total costs. To do so, the methodology makes a qualitative and quantitative exploration (including a proposal of a heuristic method) to establish strategies that enable the definition, comparison and selection of an efficient range of package designs (with their associated dimensions) that is efficient and sustainable in an overall way in terms of purchasing costs, logistics costs and environmental costs. Likewise, the authors develop the successful case of a Spanish company implementing successfully the proposed methodology. To develop this case, the authors have adopted an "Action Research" approach. The empirical validation process was developed over almost 10 years.