Case study
Reusable sofa bag for home deliveries protects
the product and builds brand perception
Reusable packaging for upholstered furniture is fit for purpose, improves packaging and product presentation,
reduces packaging and lowers the risk of damage to products in transit. Customers also like it.
Key Facts
O ver
10 million items of
upholstered furniture are sold each
year, using an estimated 30,000
tonnes of packaging.
W RAP
worked with Argos and
consultants Acona Ltd to design
and trial a reusable packaging
system – the sofa bag – for
upholstered furniture.
3,000
sofa bags were used during
the trials.
The
Significant levels of packaging are
required to deliver high value products to a
customer’s home. Inadequate packaging can
leave goods unprotected during transit and
prone to damage. This has implications for
customer satisfaction, the quantity of goods
discarded as waste, the level of returns and,
ultimately, cost to the business.
This research project aimed to develop,
test and trial a suitable reusable packaging
system – the sofa bag – for the distribution
and delivery of upholstered furniture. Such a
packaging system aimed to:
a more robust way of packaging
upholstered furniture than the current
single-trip plastic and cardboard
packaging;
improve the consistency and presentation
of packaging used by suppliers;
reduce the likelihood of damage to the
products during distribution;
reduce use of packaging ;
eliminate the need for customers
to dispose of packaging material
themselves; and
improve brand perception through
reduced material consumption and
offering customers an improved service.
trial demonstrated that the
sofa bag concept worked, delivering
product from manufacturer
through a distribution centre to the
customer at home, and that sofa
bags could be returned and reused
through the system.
Return
rates were reduced for
sofas delivered in sofa bags
during the trial and feedback from
suppliers, distribution operatives
and customers was positive.
If
adopted for all Argos UK and
European-supplied upholstered
products, the multi-trip packaging
could reduce packaging by 1,560
tonnes per annum.
offer
Making it happen
Argos identified a need to improve packaging
performance and investigated other ways
of packing furniture that could also reduce
the amount of packaging used. As no ‘off
the shelf’ solution was available, Argos
approached two packaging suppliers (All
Purpose Packaging Ltd and Sansetsu UK
Ltd) to develop a bespoke reusable sofa bag.
Three-seater sofas were selected for the
trial. After initial testing of the concept by
Argos and logistics specialist DHL from
distribution centre to customers’ homes,
Reusable sofa bag for home deliveries protects the product and builds brand perception
the next stage was a trial involving two
furniture manufacturers (The Quality Furniture
Company Ltd and The Furniture Company
Ltd), with sofas packed into the reusable
sofa bags at the manufacturers, delivered to
the distribution centre and on to customers’
homes before being returned through the
system for reuse. Cory Environmental
Recycling Services became a project partner
as the scale of the trial grew to provide the
cleaning and repair service for used sofa bags.
The design of the sofa bag went through
a number of iterations during the project,
but is essentially an envelope of reinforced
bubble wrap material with a protective
outer covering of low density polyethylene
(LDPE) and an inner lining of non-woven
polypropylene tissue.
One of the most challenging aspects of the
project was the development of a continuous
distribution flow – a so-called ‘closed loop’
– to move the sofa bag from the supplier
through the distribution network to the
customer and back again.
Sofa bag shown to be fit for purpose
During the trial, 5,762 sofas were delivered
in sofa bags and the reusable packaging was
shown to be capable of at least seven uses.
The sofa bag eliminated the use of over 17
tonnes of cardboard and plastic packaging
during the trial. Customers benefited from
not having to dispose of any packaging
materials and no complaints about the sofa
bag were received.
Benefits of reusable packaging
Cost benefits:
lower packaging costs through
reduced raw material and waste
disposal costs;
reduced cost of buying Packaging
Recovery Notes (PRNs) since
packaging that is reused is exempt
after its first use;
reduced cost of returns and
rejects; and
reduced product damage
during transit.
Consumer benefits:
increased customer satisfaction;
no bulky packaging waste for the
customer to recycle or dispose
of; and
improved product presentation to
the customer.
Company and employee benefits:
reduced risk of personal injury to
packing and delivery teams;
improved customer service;
improved company image; and
marketing opportunities (e.g.
branding on packaging).
Environmental benefits:
less packaging waste entering the
domestic waste stream; and
reduced product damage thereby
reducing the carbon footprint.
Reusable sofa bag for home deliveries protects the product and builds brand perception
The rate of returns was lower for sofas packed
in sofa bags during the trial, compared to
those packed in single-trip packaging.
Project partners representing both the
supply chain and logistics operations agreed
that the trial demonstrated clearly that the
sofa bag concept worked and was fit for
purpose. The packaging added no extra time
to the distribution process and improved
product presentation and customer service.
Roger Panton-Kent, head of quality assurance
for Argos said:
“The reusable sofa bag has
the potential to offer several
advantages. It protects
furniture for customers.
It reduces the need for
disposable packaging and it
improves how we present our
goods when they are delivered.
These three benefits mean
that the implementation of the
sofa bag concept is something
we are looking to explore
going forward.”
Factors affecting the cost-effectiveness
of the bag
The final cost for a three-seater reusable sofa
bag during the trial was £15.99. This equated
to a cost per trip of £2.28 per bag (assuming
seven trips). However, the cost-benefit of
using the bag also needs to taken into account
a number of operational variables:
number of reuses of the sofa bag that can
be achieved;
time and resources required for packing
and handling using single-trip packaging
versus sofa bags;
loss rate of sofa bags per delivery cycle;
cost of product damaged in sofa bags
versus single trip packaging;
cost of inspecting and possible cleaning
and repair after each delivery cycle;
proportion of sofa bags that need
cleaning or repair after each cycle;
specification of the sofa bag; and
length of time for taken for the sofa bag
to complete each distribution and
return cycle.
The trial highlighted the need to reduce
loss rates, cleaning costs and increase the
percentage of bags returned. Improvements
are possible with appropriate management
and contractual arrangements.
There may also be a significant additional
benefit if the reusable packaging system is
able to reduce product damage in transit.
Further, the sofa bags can provide a
packaging solution for returns that ensures
any returned furniture is kept in pristine
condition for resale. This would increase
customer satisfaction and reduce wasted
manufacturing costs, shipping costs and
disposal costs for unsaleable products.
Benefits for business
The reusable sofa bag offers real potential
for environmental and cost savings for
manufacturers and retailers of upholstered
furniture. The concept could also be applied
to other bulky home delivery product ranges
such as beds. The key to success is how the
closed loop system is managed to control
operational variables.
Moving forward
WRAP’s project with Argos proves that
the reusable sofa bag is a feasible way of
packaging upholstered furniture for home
deliveries. WRAP is keen to assist other
manufacturers and retailers supplying
upholstered furniture to develop similar
packaging solutions that are cost-efficient
and reduce use of packaging.
More detail on the sofa bag,
including a full technical report, is
available from
www.wrap.org/retail.
For more information, or technical
advice, contact the retail team at
WRAP. Tel: 01295 819686;
email: [email protected]
The WRAP Retail Innovation team works
with retailers and their supply chains to
reduce the amount of packaging and food
that households throw away.
While steps have been taken to ensure its accuracy, WRAP cannot accept responsibility or be held liable to any person for any loss or damage arising out of or in connection
with this information being accurate, incomplete or misleading. For more detail, please refer to our Terms & Conditions on our website - www.wrap.org.uk
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