Is it Time to Review Your Packaging?

Businesses work hard to continually streamline their operations and improve customer satisfaction. When you’re doing this, one crucial element to focus on is the packaging you are using, whether it’s to transport your products to their next destination or deliver items directly to customers.

It is always important to provide the right products at the right time for your customers – but equally you have to make sure they are delivered without damage to their end destination. The reality is that product specs evolve over time and your own working practices will change. Even new regulatory requirements might be implemented. Consequently, the packaging may need to fit better, use a different material or carry a new instruction or brand message.

Reviewing your packaging requirements is essential for these five key reasons:

1. Improving cost effectiveness

One of the most immediate benefits of reassessing your packaging needs is the potential for cost savings. By reviewing your packaging requirements, your supplier can identify areas for improvement, such as considering different board grades, reducing excess packaging through a better optimised custom design, or optimising package sizes to fit better on a pallet and save on shipping costs.

For example, using a custom design for your packaging can decrease shipping fees, as you will fit more boxes on a pallet. A lighter weight corrugated – if this won’t reduce the protection of the packaging – can lower manufacturing and transportation costs or a higher weight material can allow use of a smaller box size. A comprehensive review can lead to substantial savings without sacrificing product integrity.

2. Increasing production performance

A smooth production workflow is essential for profitability - items need to be produced, packaged and despatched in an efficient manner. But sometimes the current packaging isn’t quite right. This may be because the products have been upgraded or the workflow has changed, and packaging that is hard to assemble, takes time to seal or doesn’t quite fit, will take longer to use and slow operations.

A packaging review should take into account the packaging process, from start to finish, including how the packaging will be stored and used.

For one furniture company, their current packaging design meant having to lift heavy furniture - the team at ASC Direct changed the packaging design to reduce this, making it much easier and simpler to pack the items safely.

3. Reducing environmental impact

Businesses are focused on becoming greener, with many working hard to improve their sustainability. Indeed, the government is encouraging companies to use recycled materials through the Plastic Packaging Tax and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, both of which encourage the use of recycled materials.

Corrugated packaging is made from a high percentage of recycled material and is fully recyclable. Using corrugated packaging is a simple way of safely and sustainably protecting your products.

If any of your current packaging still uses elements of plastic, polystyrene or foam, we can help by suggesting corrugated alternatives. Our friendly team are experts at helping customers to use sustainable packaging.

4. Better branding and User Experience

Packaging plays a vital role in branding and perception. Printing on boxes is a simple way to improve customer experience and provide handling instructions for the carrier. A review should consider the options of how the packaging looks when it reaches its final destination. You may want to check the packaging is clearly marked with instructions of what is inside or how to handle, indeed, there may be regulatory requirements that must be included on the outside of the box.

Similarly your brand messaging may have evolved over time – or there may be new ideas that you want to implement to improve how the packaging looks when received by your customers.

See our Box of the Month: Award-winning Farm Shop, Restaurant and Retailer – how ASC Direct supports Strawberry Fields to read how this customer uses die-cuts and printed packaging to enhance their brand and customer experience.

5. Using high quality custom packaging

Specifically designed to fit your products, custom packaging is the ideal way to package products where standard boxes are not able to provide the fit and protection required. Even if you are already using custom packaging, a review will consider how well the packaging is working and if a small tweak or update of design would improve the usability and protection required.

Depending on the box contents, you may need packaging that has a tamper-proof enclosure, to protect confidential items or discreet packaging for high value or sensitive products. Sometimes packaging is part of the product display and needs to be easily adaptable. All of these specific requirements need to be taken into account during a review to ensure the best protection and security.

See our Box of the Month: Unveiling the Mystery: LIVVE's Innovative Packaging by ASC Direct – Box of the Month to read how we provided tamper-proof packaging for these sensitive products.

Regularly reviewing packaging requirements is a strategic move for businesses looking to improve efficiency, sustainability, compliance, branding, product protection, and market adaptability. By taking the time to reassess packaging needs regularly, companies can uncover opportunities for improvement, cost savings, and enhanced customer satisfaction. As the business environment continues to change, those who prioritise packaging will position themselves for long-term success.

Let us review your packaging - call our friendly team now on 0800 0731 126!