WRAP’s free design reviews and follow-up support use product teardown to investigate opportunities where product re-design could improve profit, reduce costs and reduce environmental impact.
This case study describes a product design review of an own brand domestic 800W, 20 litre capacity microwave for a major retailer. Various cost saving opportunities were identified and annual savings, per 100,000 sales per year, were estimated to be:
~ £320,000
~300 tonnes of CO2e
These savings would be through reduced product returns and ways to make the product in a more cost effective manner without compromising quality.
Key opportunities:
specify lighter components to reduce the materials used in manufacture;
simplify design with fewer components to reduce assembly time;
modify the design to improve durability of components with the potential to fail;
use more recycled plastic in concealed plastic parts;
specify more energy efficient components; and
review packaging design for better pallet loading and utilisation of shipping containers.
