Think Beyond the Box When Considering Custom Packaging Solutions

Envision it’s first thing Monday morning (yes, your favorite time of the week) and you’ve been assigned to create a new packaging design for another SKU that’s part of an existing product line.

Or perhaps you’ve been tasked with reducing your overall packaging costs.  Or maybe you have to change a pack out configuration on existing items.

Whatever the reason for your new and exciting project, we highly encourage you to take a step back for a few minutes and consider thinking beyond the traditional box.

Time for a structural packaging review?

Taking a fresh look at even your most established packaging processes may uncover opportunities for some real impact and cost savings. That’s when a skilled custom packaging design team can offer alternatives that you may not have realized were available (or even possible to achieve).

For example, consider bulky corrugated inserts used for product bracing or as spacers:

• Do they really need to be so bulky?
• Is there an alternate configuration that can reduce the amount of material being used?
• Is there an alternate material that would provide better protection and/or better aesthetics?

Consider as well not only advancements in materials, but perhaps advancements in your own products. So, if you haven’t looked at your structural packaging components in the past couple of years, it’s probably time to bring in a custom packaging design team for a thorough review. 

Using too much foam?

What about your use of foam material for cushioning? Have you increased the amount of foam for more protection? There are alternate foam materials that could provide better protection within a smaller footprint. Or if your company is adopting a sustainability initiative, custom packaging solutions abound in alternate and/or more environmentally-friendly materials.

Evaluate your box sizes and shipping methods

For busy shipping departments that use many different size boxes and void fill, when was the last time you reviewed the entire line of shipping components and methods?

Have you considered the possibility of reducing the size of the number of boxes in use? If that seems like an overwhelming task, a good custom packaging solutions provider can manage that entire analysis with you. In the process, you might find that it makes sense to convert lighter weight items to poly mailers. Or, that adding a conveyor here or a taper there will speed up output.

Streamline with fulfillment services

Look beyond the constraints of your operation to see if fulfillment services can help increase output, improve efficiencies and help you maximize your labor.  Pre-assembly of packaging can take up a lot of space and manpower. Consider whether a redesign might even reduce your labor component.

Perhaps outsourcing the pre-assembly of some components could address your capacity constraints. Sorting and bagging inserts—like instruction manuals, certificates, and warranty cards—can be outsourced to fulfillment.  They can then be brought back in as one complete unit ready to add to your product package.

There you have it. These are just a few examples of how custom packaging solutions, including fulfillment services, can help you improve your packaging operations and uncover real cost savings.

Know your options for creating a new packaging design. Talk to our custom packaging experts to get a solution that is beyond the traditional box.