To paraphrase an old saying, if Rental of Returnable Packaging hadn't existed, Tosca Limited would have had to invent it.  Tosca's initial involvement with returnable containers was as a service provider, cleaning/sanitizing and maintaining  fleets of containers owned by major food and beverage manufacturers.  Quality and food safety issues, unpredictable material costs, ineffectual container management, and eroding standards in voluntary exchange programs helped to drive the development of Tosca's rental business over the last ten-plus years.  Responding to these urgent customer needs, and creating dedicated pooling solutions, Tosca has essentially redefined both the benefits, and potential system savings achievable with Returnable Container Rental and Management Programs.

So what's the Tosca difference?  It is important to remember that across industries, supply chain operations are cost centers, not profit centers, and that the adoption of RPCs is a tactical move within a wider strategy of continuous system cost reduction.  The costs of conversion to RPCs may further stretch already tight demand for investment capital, and Rental is an attractive option.  But in contrast to other third party rental companies, Tosca's value proposition plugs customers directly into the process of creating new supply chain efficiencies, and reducing packaging costs.   Leveraging team-based operational competencies and deep industry knowledge, Tosca is able to collaborate with customers, implementing unique incentive pricing Rental Programs. Partnering with customers for transparency in the system, improved container turns and process efficiencies are instantly rewarded with 'per use' rental price reductions from Tosca.  This proven Rental Model allows unprecedented control over distribution packaging costs, and provides Tosca's customers with the flexibility to evolve beyond the rigid commodity pricing typical of traditional pooling arrangements.

Just as RPCs factor heavily in efforts to remove non-value-added activity from the supply chain, there are critical quality, food safety, and security issues to be considered, as well.  Tosca provides 'professional partnership' opportunities for managing these risks to participants in all of its Rental Programs.  Tosca Operations is organized into expert Teams, responsible for cleaning/ sanitizing regimes, regulatory compliance and reporting, logistical support systems required for container control, functional maintenance of the fleet, and environmentally sound management practices.  Stakeholders in the use of Tosca's industry-specific Rental fleets determine both quality and safety parameters, and every returnable container is ultimately managed, cleaned/sanitized, repaired, and re-deployed by Tosca in accordance with these requirements.

Currently, Tosca owns close to 500,000 handheld plastic containers, and over 3,000 plastic bulk bins, all of which are on active duty in dedicated, closed-loop Rental pools.  Containers are rented on a 'per use' basis, with a suite of services tailored to the specific demands of each customer, and industry served.  Pools are expanded according to customer needs, and Tosca has purchased existing fleets of returnable containers within a target market, as well.  The choice of container for a specific Rental pool is driven by the application, and customer concerns.  Tosca doesn't manufacture RPCs or bulk bins, and if the most functional and cost-effective returnable packaging solution for the job isn't available, Tosca's Custom Solutions Team works with the finest design, engineering, and manufacturing talent in the world to produce one.

Today, Rental Programs from Tosca deliver substantial cost savings, handling, transport, and storage efficiencies, and quality improvements to pool participants in the case-ready meat, fresh produce, cheese, and food processing industries.  In partnership with visionary companies eager to enhance supply chain performance, and reduce costs, Tosca's New Business Development Team is focused on the creation of additional closed-loop Rental pools in a wide range of industries.  Tomorrow's economic and competitive challenges will be rigorous, but Tosca's commitment to dedicated Rental pooling excellence, adapted to changing customer expectations, will be unswerving.  And that's a thought worth returning to, in more ways than one!