Wal-Mark Unveils Packaging Scorecard

Published: November 06, 2006, By pffc-online.com

PRESS RELEASE

CHICAGO—Wal-Mart Stores released a packaging scorecard to continue its commitment of reducing packaging across its global supply chain by 5% by 2013. The company first announced this packaging initiative at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City in September 2006, but did not reveal the specific metrics until the keynote address at Pack Expo.

Wal-Mart’s packaging scorecard is a measurement tool that allows suppliers to evaluate themselves relative to other suppliers, based on specific metrics. The metrics in the scorecard evolved from a list of favorable attributes announced earlier this year, known as the “7 R’s of Packaging”: remove, reduce, reuse, recycle, renew, revenue, and read. Through months of consultations, the Packaging Sustainable Value Network, a group of 200 leaders in the global packaging industry, including suppliers, experts, and internal and external stakeholders, outlined the following metrics for the packaging scorecard:

• 15% will be based on Material Value
• 15% will be based on Product / Package Ratio
• 15% will be based on Cube Utilization
• 10% will be based on Transportation
• 10% will be based on Recycled Content
• 10% will be based on Recovery Value
• 5% will be based on Renewable Energy
• 5% will be based on Innovation

Suppliers will receive an overall score relative to other suppliers, as well as relative scores in each category. For example, a supplier may find it is in the 50th percentile in the Cube Utilization category for effectively using space in pallets and shipping containers, but that same supplier may only be in the 20th percentile in Recycled Content. This model gives suppliers the opportunity to focus on specific changes within the context of a fluid environment, driving constant change and improvement in the supply chain.

On February 1, 2007, Wal-Mart will share the packaging scorecard with its global supply chain of more than 60,000 suppliers. During a one-year trial period, suppliers will be able to input, store and track data, learning and sharing their results as desired. As of February 1, 2008, Wal-Mart will begin using the packaging scorecard to measure and recognize its entire supply chain based upon each company’s ability to use less packaging, utilize more effective materials in packaging, and source these materials more efficiently relative to other suppliers.

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