IFCO's Greg Kurkjian Discusses Direct and Indirect Packaging Costs



Fri. April 27th, 2018 - by Melissa De Leon Chavez

SAN ANTONIO, TX - Getting things from A to B can be stressful for so many reasons. Add to that a multi-billion-dollar industry relying on the delivery of fresh, crisp, flavorful, and pristine produce, and the pressure seems to mount even higher.

I luckily had a chance to chat with IFCO’S Vice President of Retail Sales, Greg Kurkjian, and he shares some key facets of packing and shipping processes that impact the supply chain at large and how the company addresses them.

Greg Kurkjian, Vice President of Retail Sales, IFCO“Looking at the value of any packaging solution, you have to look at the packaging solution holistically, which includes the direct costs of the packaging and the indirect costs. Indirect cost will actually make up about 85 percent of the total cost of moving that package through the supply chain, so you have to look at things like space, equipment, labor, and transportation—and, importantly, product damage,” he shares with me.

RPCs provide excellent supply chain efficiency, cold chain temperature management, and a dramatic reduction of product damage compared to one-way packages, he explains. To provide customers a way to quantify their savings, the company created a tool to track cost variables.

IFCO RPCs being loaded in the field

To find out more on IFCO’S tool to calculate cost savings and value throughout the supply chain process and more, check out the whole video above.

To find out more fresh produce news, stick with us at AndNowUKnow.

IFCO SYSTEMS