All Packaging Materials Are Not Created Equal
To Reduce Cost, Think Packaging Solutions, Not Price
Packaging materials and shipping supplies are widely thought of as commodities. This market sentiment has led to a proliferation of extremely low priced – but poor performing – packaging products. These materials are so pervasive that manufacturers and distribution centers sometimes forget that higher quality products are available, and that they can often reduce cost to a very great extent. Here are a few examples.
Reduce Cost with High Performance Carton Sealing Tape
Economy grade carton sealing tapes have their place, but because of their thinness and bonding characteristics, shippers will often apply multiple strips of tape to a shipping box. This drastically (and sometimes invisibly) increases the per-package cost – and still may not prevent in-transit damage or product loss. Using a single application of high grade carton sealing tape will reduce per-package cost and damage.
Reduce Cost with High Performance Stretch Wrap Film
Commodity grade stretch wrap films require multiple wraps per layer and per pallet to provide adequate load retention, due to the film’s inherent weakness and lack of stretch. A high quality film will dramatically reduce the amount of film used per load, and improve load retention because of the higher percentage of stretch and resulting holding force. Again, a fixation on roll price may lead shippers to overlook far more important cost factors.
Reduce Cost with High Performance Shrink Wrap Films
Shrink wrap film is an expensive type of plastic packaging, and as users have demanded lower cost alternatives, lower quality films have entered a market that was once almost completely limited to premium grades. Unfortunately, shrink films with poor shrink, sealing, and optical characteristics cause a number of extremely costly problems, including excessive machine downtime, excessive repackaging due to poor seals or inconsistent shrink, in-transit product damage, and poor visibility on the retail shelf. This is another dramatic example of the false savings of low priced packaging materials.
General purpose, utility grade packaging materials can be effective in many applications. But for true packaging solutions, firms must avoid making assumptions and consider all aspects of cost in the packaging, shipping, and downstream handling of their products.
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Packaging Materials, Packaging Equipment, Packaging Solutions
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