Wal-Mart Unveils Packaging Scorecard
CHICAGO, Ill.—Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. released a packaging scorecard November 1 to continue its commitment to reduce packaging across its global supply chain by 5 percent by 2013, helping Wal-Mart and its suppliers improve packaging and conserve resources. 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 its PACK EXPO keynote address “The Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club Packaging Vision.”
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. The Packaging Sustainable Value Network—a group of 200 leaders in the global packaging industry—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.
More than 2,000 private label brand suppliers will gain access to the packaging scorecard, including the ability to input information and measure their performance against competitors. For all other suppliers, an automated online demonstration is available at www.scorecardlibrary.com. An additional Web site, www.marketgate.com/packaging, showcasing the Packaging Supplier Virtual Trade show, will also help product suppliers find packaging suppliers who can help them make improvements and conserve resources more effectively.
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.
