Wal-Mart Finds Solution to Shipping Woes in Greenbox

December 11, 2008

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Wal-Mart Specialty Pharmacy has been having problems shipping to the state of Alaska and Hawaii because of logistics and temperatures issues. Common carriers occasionally hold shipments at a main hub until there were enough packages to warrant a delivery to outlying islands. Then there was the temperature issues. Even if the packages were delivered, they sometimes were left out in temperatures outside of the packages’ required maintenance temperature and beyond the packaging’s temperature-insulating capabilities, Packaging Digest reports.

Reshipping the products that were spoiled was costly, the pharmacy had to absorb as much as $1,500 for a single package and it ships more than 110,000 temperature-sensitive packages annually.

Then the pharmacy tried out Entropy Solution’s Greenbox, which can maintain a cold-chain prescription’s temperature for four days and an ambient-temperature prescription for more than five days. The pharmacy tried it and it resulted in 50 percent savings in shipping costs.

In addition to cost savings, the packaging is also recyclable and reusable. Entropy Solution says a single Greenbox can be used as many as 20 times through reclamation at one of its facilities. Even if a Greenbox is damaged, the company says its materials can be recycled to make new ones.

In July, Wal-Mart introduced a square shaped gallon milk jug to cut down on shipping costs.

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