A Canadian bread company used Six Sigma to determine how to maximize efficiencies on its delivery operations. Before it selected CHEP to provide delivery pallets, Canada Bread Frozen Bakery had experienced costly delays and occasional difficulties with the inbound flow of pallets, slowing the delivery process. In addition, broken pallets resulted in downtime on the company’s automated machinery. The company applied Six Sigma to analyze cost data and other metrics before selecting CHEP for the pallet contract.

“CHEP was one solution that was identified in our Six Sigma analysis,” says Brett Marchand, Canada Bread Frozen Bakery. “We did a deep dive on our pallet operation, exploring every avenue and posting the questions: Is this the right way to go? Are these our true costs with the pallet exchange program or are there more costs involved?”

Through the process, the company uncovered 16 hidden elements that drove costs up, reports Marchand. The subsequent implementation of the CHEP pallet program was performed at six Canada Bread plants over 30 days. Already, it has realized several benefits from the transition to the CHEP program, including improved administration and fewer problems with the automatic pallet system.

 …