Returnable Container Loop ROI: Pool Size and Payback, Worked Example
Updated
Vojtech Dousa
The inputs that set the pool of returnable containers and pallets for a packing loop and its payback against single-use packaging, with example inputs and results.
Short answer: The pool of a returnable container loop depends on the parts per year, the parts per container, the containers per pallet and the cycle time. The payback depends on the investment in the pool and on the annual net saving against single-use packaging. In the example below, a loop of 216 returnable containers on 27 pallets costs €11,340 and pays back in 1.6 years.
All inputs in the example are example assumptions. Replace them with the data of your parts, containers and packing loop.
To test your own loop, enter its data in the free returnable container loop calculator. It shows the container pool, the pallets, the investment, the annual saving against single-use packaging and the payback. No account is needed.
What sets the size of the pool
A packing loop is the circuit of a returnable container. The supplier fills it, a truck takes it to the plant, the plant empties it, and the empty container goes back. The pool must cover every container in every stage of that circuit. Four inputs set its size:
- Parts per year in the peak year.
- Parts per container, from the packing result.
- Containers per pallet, from the pallet stacking.
- Cycle time: the days of one complete trip. It includes the days in stock, the days for washing, the safety buffer and the return transit.
The loss rate, the washing and the return freight do not change the pool. They set the annual operating cost, which includes the purchases that replace lost containers.
Example assumptions
| Input | Example value | Where Optipacker gets it |
|---|---|---|
| Parts per year (peak year) | 120,000 | Project volume profile |
| Parts per container | 48 | Packing result |
| Containers per pallet | 8 (4 on each layer, 2 layers) | Pallet stacking |
| Productive days per year | 240 | Project productive days per year |
| Cycle time | 20 days | Supply chain cycle, 14 stages |
| Container price | €40.00 | Bill of materials: Cost |
| Returnable pallet price | €100.00 | Bill of materials: Cost |
| Loss rate | 0.5 % of containers and pallets per trip | Bill of materials: Replacement Rate, entered per year |
| Washing | €0.50 per container, every trip | Bill of materials: Price per wash, Washed every N trips |
| Return freight | €600 per truck of empties, 33 pallets per truck | Logistics inputs (see below) |
| Single-use packaging avoided | €6.00 per container load: box, dunnage and share of a one-way pallet | Not an Optipacker input |
Example result
| Result | Example value |
|---|---|
| Returnable pallets in the loop | 27 |
| Returnable containers in the loop | 216 |
| Investment | €11,340 |
| Annual operating cost: replacements, washing and return freight | €7,930.40 |
| Single-use packaging avoided | €15,000 per year |
| Annual net saving | €7,069.60 |
| Simple payback | 1.6 years, about 19 months |
| Break-even year | Year 2 |
The cumulative cash flow is −€4,270.40 at the end of year 1 and +€2,799.20 at the end of year 2.
Whole pallets make the pool larger. A pool counted in single containers needs 209 containers. The pallet loop needs 216, because each pallet travels with all 8 containers.
The cycle time has a large effect. At a cycle time of 30 days, the loop needs 40 pallets and 320 containers. The investment rises to €16,800, and the simple payback rises to 2.4 years.
Where Optipacker gets each input
- Parts per container comes from the packing result. It is the number of parts that fit in the container with the permitted rotations, gaps and wall clearances.
- Containers per pallet comes from the pallet stacking, within the height, payload and layer limits of the pallet.
- Cycle time comes from 14 stages in the supply chain cycle. Five stages are at the supplier and five at the customer. The other stages are transport to the customer, consignment stock and return transit. Washing days and security buffer days are stages.
- Prices, loss and washing are inputs on each row of the packaging bill of materials: Cost, Replacement Rate, Price per wash and Washed every N trips. Maintenance per piece per year and disposal per piece are optional.
- Freight comes from the logistics inputs: one-way distance, freight cost per km, pallets per shipment, minimum dispatches per year and the loading cost per pallet or per shipment.
What the Optipacker ROI shows
- The ROI shows the packaging pool, the purchases and replacements of each year, the washing, maintenance, disposal and logistics costs, the yearly and cumulative cash flow, the break-even year and the payback. It shows NPV when you set a discount rate.
- The Replacement Rate is a percentage per year. If you know the loss rate per trip, enter the equivalent rate per year.
- There is no separate input for the empty return. If your carrier bills the return trip, include it in the freight cost per km.
- The platform ROI has no single-use cost baseline. The free returnable container loop calculator compares one loop with single-use packaging.
The Optipacker result can differ from this example. Use the example to check the order of magnitude of your own loop. Use the yearly cash flow to see the purchases, replacements and costs of each year.
Next steps
Read the comparison of software for returnable container loops for tools that plan the loop and tools that track it. Read pallet planning for the containers per pallet. See how packing, pallets and ROI connect, or bring your loop data to a product discussion.
Ready to optimize your packaging?
Enter one part and get its packing, pallet plan and financial forecast in the free planner. No account is needed.