How Can Drinks Logistics Be More Sustainable? Challenges & Solutions from a 3PL

Sustainability in the drinks industry is a growing concern, with breweries, wineries, distilleries, and no-and-low alcohol brands facing increasing pressure to reduce their environmental impact. From carbon emissions caused by delivery vans to excessive packaging waste, drinks brands are eager to find greener solutions.

This is where third-party logistics (3PL) providers come in to help brands lower their carbon footprint and meet sustainability goals.

In this blog, we explore the top 3 biggest sustainability challenges in the drinks industry and how an outsourced drinks 3PL can help reduce these challenges.

What Are the Biggest Sustainability Challenges in the Drinks Industry?

Let's explore 3 of the biggest sustainability challenges in the drinks industry.

1. High Emissions from Delivery Vans

One of the biggest environmental issues in the drinks industry is the carbon footprint created by delivery vehicles. Many brands transport goods inefficiently, sending out multiple small shipments instead. This results in unnecessary mileage and excessive fuel consumption.

How 3PLs Reduce Carbon Emissions:

How do 3PLs actively reduce carbon emissions?

Consolidated deliveries

3PLs (specifically drinks-focused 3PLs) group multiple brand's orders together. There are great benefits of consolidated deliveries for drinks producers, but there are also drawbacks.

Benefits of Consolidated Deliveries‍

Consolidated deliveries optimise their delivery routes to reduce the number of vehicles on the road. Think: fewer vehicles on the road = less unnecessary emissions pumped into the air.

Drawbacks of Consolidated Deliveries

Utilising a 3PL and their consolidated deliveries method means that your drinks are delivered on a non-branded/3PL branded van. This can reduce a brand's presence that comes with advertising your drinks brand whilst on the road.

Read more about the benefits and drawbacks of consolidated deliveries for drinks producers.

Eco-friendly Delivery Vehicles

Some logistics companies invest in electric delivery vans or use low-emission alternatives. This could also extend to the forklifts used in a 3PL's warehouse (for example, switching from gas-run forklifts to electric).

Benefits of eco-friendly delivery vehicles

Eco-friendly delivery vehicles (such as electric vans):

• Significantly emissions pumped into the air
• Cut fuel costs, benefiting the 3PL and therefore its charges to drinks' clients
• Cut emission zone costs when delivering in LEZ and ULEZ zones in and around London

Drawbacks of eco-friendly delivery vehicles

There are also a few drawbacks to using an eco-friendly delivery fleet. These include:

• A limited battery range (and therefore more charging stops, which could result in delays)
• Higher upfront costs for purchasing the fleet, making switching to an all-electric fleet less desirable for many 3PLs.
• Ongoing need for maintenance- electric vehicles are still relatively new, so they require regular maintenance to keep them running smoothly.

2. Packaging Waste & Non-Recyclable Materials

The drinks industry has heavily relied on additional packaging to help keep fragile drinks safe during transport, including plastic bubble wrap, single-use cardboard and non-recyclable materials.

While it's undeniable that packaging is essential for protecting products, inefficient and unsustainable packaging solutions contribute to landfill waste. In fact, 38% of all plastic waste in Europe comes from packaging.

How 3PLs Improve Packaging Sustainability

How do 3PLs help with sustainable packaging?

Recycled & biodegradable materials

Many 3PLs are making moves towards more sustainable packaging solutions for their direct-to-consumer drinks logisticsand are eager to find more eco-friendly alternatives.

Instead of plastic bubble wrap, some 3PLs use:

• ‍Double-walled cardboard boxes for extra durability‍
• Thick cardboard dividers to protect bottles (in place of bubblewrap)‍
• Fully recyclable materials to support a reduction in single-use and unrecyclable materials

Benefits of using recycled and biodegradable packaging in drinks logistics

Recycled packaging can be reused, reducing the negative environmental impact of creating brand-new packaging. Biodegradable options break down naturally, helping to prevent long-lasting landfill waste.

Using recycled or biodegradable packaging also appeals to eco-conscious consumers, enhancing your drink's brand's reputation and catering to those who live eco-consciously.

Drawbacks of using recycled and biodegradable packaging in drinks logistics

Recycled packaging does also have its drawbacks, including:

• Being less durable: there's usually an increased potential risk of damage to fragile product during transit when using more eco-friendly packaging solutions. However, 3PLs who utilise recycled or eco-friendly packaging solutions often go through a testing phase where they trial the durability of their packaging throughout the distribution process.

• It's more expensive: eco-friendly packaging solutions often come with a bigger price. If eco-friendly packaging is something your drinks brand is keen to invest in, talk to your potential 3PLs about sustainable packaging costs.

3. Overstocking Drinks and Poor Inventory Management

Many drink brands find themselves overproducing stock to avoid venue shortages. However, this can lead to wasted product, high storage costs and potential expiry of product.

How 3PLs Help Manage Inventory Sustainably

How do 3PLs help to manage inventory of drinks stock sustainably?

Real-time stock visibility

3PLs provide data-driven insights that help drink brands understand their current inventory levels and what product lines need extra stock.

Benefits of real-time stock visibility

Real-time stock visibility keeps drinks producers in the know about what products are currently being stored in the 3PL's warehouse. This could provide great insight into whether you should scale certain stock production up or down, along with demand forecasting (which many 3PLs can provide using their WMS).

Some current drinks 3PLs like Tap'in provide their clients with access to WMS portals (such as Clarus WMS) so that they have constant access to live stock levels, without having to email into the 3PL's Customer Service team.

‍Sustainable Drinks Logistics with Tap'in 3PL

At Tap'in, we're on a constant mission to be more green in our drinks logistics.

We practice more sustainable logistics approaches through:

• Consolidating deliveries: we deliver multiple drinks brands at once- reducing the unnecessary amount of vehicles on the roads and helping to deliver more with no extra damage to our planet.

• Optimising routes: our expert logistics team are pros at optimising routes using MaxOptra- to ensure no miles are wasted.

• Electric forklifts: our warehouse team operate electric forklifts- a great, greener alternative to gas-run forklifts.

• Recycled e-commerce packaging: at Tap'in, we offer our e-commerce clients packaging within our charges. We prioritise partnering with packaging companies that provide recycled boxes and sturdy, double-walled dividers in place of bubble wrap.*

*to find out more about our e-commerce sustainable packaging fit to your drinks business' needs, chat with our team: sales@tapin3pl.com

Is Tap'in the Right 3PL for Your Drinks' Business?

At Tap'in, we specialise in drinks logistics only- this ensures our team stays laser-focused on providing a seamless service to breweries, wineries, distilleries and low-and-no drinks producers.

Tap'in 3PL could work for your drinks business if...:

• ‍You're a drinks producer: Tap'in works with breweries, wineries, distilleries and low-and-no alcohol drinks producers. We use a simple PDL charging matrix that is specifically built to optimise drinks' delivery charges. ‍

• You deliver 340 kegs/3,500 litres of drink per month: for our drinks logistics service to be cost-effective and efficient, we work specifically with drinks producers operating on these minimum quantities‍

• You produce in the UK and are looking for London and South-East deliveries: our warehouse located just outside of London means that our team can deliver into London 4 times a week and even offer next-day deliveries (subject to our delivery timetable)

Get in touch with our expert team using the form below to find out more.

Alternatively, check out these blogs to find out more about outsourcing your drinks logistics:

1. Do you know your true drinks delivery costs? In-house cost calculator
2. How Can a Drinks 3PL Help You Deliver Across the UK?
3. 3PL vs. Wholesaler- Which is Right For Your Drinks Business?