Overpackaging Observatory

Topic

Packaging optimization represents a crucial challenge for logistics in the e-commerce sector. The main form of inefficiency regarding packaging is overpackaging, which refers to the excessive use of materials beyond what is necessary to protect and transport the product.

The impact of overpackaging is twofold: economic, due to higher operational costs incurred by companies for storage, transport and disposal; environmental, due to increased CO₂ emissions and excess material consumption.

The Overpackaging Observatory, created in collaboration with Tecniche Nuove, aims to identify the causes of inefficiency and define best practices and technological, organizational, and supply chain solutions to optimize packaging in the e-commerce sector.

Through this research, we seek to answer the following question:

“How many billions of $m^3$ of transported air and packaging materials could be saved through technological, organizational, and supply chain solutions by optimizing packaging and eliminating the superfluous parts in the e-commerce sector?”

Objectives

• Map the actors and roles of the relevant supply chain to understand the dynamics, interactions, and decision-making centers in the e-commerce sector, from packaging production to delivery to the customer. This also allows for identifying selected companies for each role to support the definition of the most relevant themes.
• Identify the forms and causes of overpackaging by analyzing critical factors that influence the design, production, and use of packaging. The investigation covers technological and organizational aspects, as well as the interaction between supply chain actors.
• Propose and discuss solutions that meet final customer needs while optimizing packaging. The discussion of results involves selected companies from the supply chain, ensuring the validation of emerging solutions and best practices while considering economic impact and environmental sustainability.

Project Phases

The project is carried out according to the following phases:

• Mapping actors and roles within the supply chain.
• Defining the most relevant themes regarding overpackaging through consultation with a small group of key companies in the supply chain.
• Survey with an extended sample of companies to collect in-depth data and information related to the themes identified in the previous phase.
• Discussion of results and definition of “lessons learned,” guidelines, and concrete proposals through focus groups with key companies in the supply chain.

Results

The research is currently in progress. The findings will be disseminated through the publication of a Green Transition Hub report, articles for Rivista Logistica, and presented at Green Transition Hub conferences and/or conventions.