Functions/Benefits of Packaging in Supply Chain

Build New Packages to Target Design Deficiencies

Whether you are building a package from the ground up or are expanding on an existing design, take your cues from the best practises within your industry as well as consumer feedback. Is there a way a design could be tweaked to use fewer materials or have lower weight? A bag-in-container might be a good approach for non-solid or semisolid products, but a rigid container could offer net gains for transport and storage space, for example.

Target Packaging Components during Manufacturing

Packaging has its own manufacturing process just like any product. Even if you don’t want to change your packaging design, you should consider looking at how the packaging is made in order to look for possible forms of optimization. Are there any bottlenecks or extraneous steps that can be eliminated? Reducing the steps involved both speeds up production and reduces waste after all. There are various types of technology such as cube molds for plastic packaging that could be looked into for enhancing economy of scale and offering transportation benefits.

Find Efficiencies in Packaging Procurement

Streamlining how your package components are sourced becomes more important the larger your business’s reach becomes. Generally speaking, you will find the most efficient approach to be getting a supplier who has a similar reach as you. This can prevent situations where, for example, you have five or six different suppliers just to keep up with your own operations. Having multiple suppliers can still be turned to your advantage in the form of applying targeted efficiencies to your markets.

Standardize Product Package Designs

One useful way to adjust packaging is to standardize package sizes and/or shapes across multiple products. This lets you streamline manufacturing, reduces changeover times, and offers higher line utilization. You are also at less risk for wastage since any excess packages can be redirected to other products with minimal fuss.

Aim for Sustainability in Your Supply Chain

Going green isn’t just about helping the planet it can also help your bottom line. Energy-efficient production, like using materials with lower manufacturing temperature requirements, or energy-efficient machines can produce very real and tangible savings. Recyclable materials and reusable packaging helps keep your packaging agile and adaptive. Taking sustainable steps can also be used for public relations and help your business earn goodwill from the environmentally-conscious.

Enhance Packaging in Your Supply Chains with Lean Supply Solutions

Lean Supply Solutions is a third-party logistics (3PL) fulfillment company whose operations are based around the Lean Methodology, a proven philosophy focused on eliminating any operations, equipment, or resources that are not capable of adding value to clients’ supply chains. By striving to ensure that the right products are provided to the right customers at the right time, Lean Supply Solutions is able to offer consistent, predictable, and quality results.

Some of the ways package optimization can help a company’s supply chain:

1. Optimize Your Materials

The materials you use for packaging could be holding your supply chain down. If you’re using products that are expensive, wasteful or difficult to use, you’re adding time and money to your supply chain that you can’t afford. While you don’t want to decrease the quality of your product or the perception of your brand, you can typically reduce or change your packaging materials without your customer noticing.

Optimizing your packaging means making smarter decisions about the packaging of the product itself and the shipping materials you use to get the product from Point A to Point B.  See if you can find alternatives, such as using hot-melt instead of tape, that can save you both time and money. Through package optimization, you should look at each and every material you use in the packaging process.

2. Package Optimization Allows for Sustainability

Creating plastic containers or cardboard boxes can have serious consequences on our environment. With so many companies looking for ways they can go green, package optimization can be one of the best ways to promote sustainable business practices.

Companies can look for ways to use less materials and reduce their carbon footprint. Whether you choose to use a thinner plastic or recycled cardboard, there are many different ways to make your package more sustainable. Not only can this help save your company money, but you’ll get bonus points with your customers for being environmentally friendly.

3. Make Transportation Easier

When you’re preparing cargo for shipment, you’re looking at things like size and weight of your boxes of product. Not only does this include the size and weight of the product itself, but also the packaging it is in. If you’re not using optimized packaging, you could be wasting space and weight that could be occupied by more product.

Optimizing your product package allows you to eliminate the unnecessary excess you could be wasting your money on. By reducing the amount or changing the shape and size of the packaging you’re using, you can transport more product saving you both time and money.

4. Finding the Right Package Optimization for You

When looking for the appropriate way to package your items, you need to consider both complexity and efficiency. To reduce complexity, you want to have as many similar packages as possible, but to improve efficiency, you want each item to have its best package. For companies with a wide variety of products, this can be difficult to balance.

Finding the optimal level of complexity and efficiency is crucial. When you find the right balance, you can lower your shipping costs, save space and weight with each shipment. You’ll save money in the long run, too.

Unnecessary costs hurt everyone. From your company to your customer, spending money on wasteful practices means everyone is getting a bad deal. Properly optimizing your packaging can mean you save money and time all throughout the supply chain process putting more money in your company’s pocket.

No matter what industry you’re in, package optimization is important for both your business and the environment. Consider this when determining what kind of packaging you should be using for your company’s products.