In an effort to both decrease costs and create more sustainable business models, many companies are looking for opportunities to increase efficiency and save money wherever possible. To that end, if you're the type of organization that relies heavily on wood pallets on a regular basis, there is a very important alternative that you will want to consider: corrugated pallets.
In an era where transportation costs are on the rise, margins are razor thin and you're battling for the attention of your consumers with more competitors than ever, finding any opportunity that you can to reduce costs is and will always be a top priority.
There's an old saying that wisely reminds us "you can only make one first impression, so you'd better work hard to make it the best one possible." For many brands, that first impression often comes from the most unlikely of sources: your product's packaging.
To say that packaging waste is a problem worldwide is something of an understatement. According to a piece that originally ran in The Guardian, the United Kingdom alone produces more than 170 million tons of packaging waste every year - much of it directly related to food packaging. The United States doesn't fare much better - according to the Environmental Protection Agency, about 258 million tons of waste were generated alone. To make matters worse, only about 34.6% of that waste was ever actually properly recycled.
In many ways, packaging amounts to a whole lot more than just another piece of plastic or cardboard. It's a way to protect a product, educate consumers and immediately offer end users the most pleasurable experience possible - all at the same time. Because of this, paying careful attention to packaging design, selection and procurement across ALL stages of a product's lifecycle is of paramount importance. With that in mind, there are a few key packaging mistakes to avoid in particular that are more than worth exploring.
Topics: Packaging Processes
In a large number of modern day organizations, shipping isn't just a manual process - it's a heavily decentralized one. One package needs to pass through a lot of different hands as it makes its way from one end of the chain to the other. This doesn't just cause labor to often become one of the most inefficient parts of the shipping process - it's also one of the most cost-intensive, as well. Indeed, UPS even lists it as one of the three most important hidden costs that firms must re-evaluate in order to reign in expenses, above both unnecessary expediting and costs that were not properly allocated in the first place.
Did you know you can realize savings through packaging optimization? If you are looking to optimize your supply chain you need to start early with optimizing packaging. Packaging optimization is the process by which your packaging is analyzed through all relevant supply chain processes. These savings are evident in improved warehouse efficiencies and product handling, reduced freight costs, and labor reduction. There are opportunities to optimize packaging design in each of the following packaging areas: the product, the container the product is housed in for retail and the container that it is shipped in.
Topics: Packaging Processes
