If you own a product retail business, your packaging plays a vital role in its success. Not only does it present a delightful experience to enhance the appeal of your products, it is responsible for transporting them safely from your warehouse to their door. But so many times companies that rely on packaging try to cut corners when initially sourcing packaging vendors, they compromise quality and material integrity that may cost them in the long run.

When sourcing packaging and comparing your options, you should consider the total costs including all the components of your packaging and each contributing step in the process rather than the distilled down per unit price. Here are a few hidden costs you may want to evaluate before your next order.

Design

Many companies instinctively hire design firms or freelance artists to design all of their packaging and promotion materials. While the results can be professional and eye catching, the work can get costly. Also, most third party designers lack the technical knowledge that goes into creating the perfect product box solution. 

By partnering with an experienced packaging vendor, you can leverage its in-house design team to optimize your box from the start. They can help you strategize the best way to reduce product damage and returns, minimize excess inventory, material waste, and shipping and handling costs.

The design also impacts how your boxes flow through your packaging line. If your packaging is creating bottlenecks or inefficiencies on your line or ergonomic issues for your employees, you may have opportunities for cost savings through packaging optimization. 

For a fraction of what it costs to engage a graphic design firm, your vendor’s expert in-house design and engineering team understands how to optimize your packaging. This means identifying potential costly inefficiencies that may slow down your assembly line or ergonomic issues that may compromise your employees’ safety.

Quantities 

Before you get talked into purchasing as much packaging as possible to lower the per unit price, consider thinking the other direction. If you instead purchase lower quantities, the initial price per unit may be a little higher, however your cash flow will be a little more comfortable and, better yet, you will have better control over your inventory.

If you are forced to purchase more stock than you can initially use, you risk the potential of your material breaking down, losing stacking strength, or becoming damaged. Excess inventory takes up valuable warehouse space that could be allocated for sellable products. And worst of all, if you are forced to make revisions or updates to the information, your purchased stock becomes irrelevant garbage.

Time

If your packaging vendor can’t meet your needs in a timely manner, delays can really cost you. You may have to pay expedited shipping costs or worse yet, lose business due to disgruntled customers looking elsewhere. If your brand promise is prompt delivery and quality customer service, this can be the ultimate killer of your audience’s trust and confidence.

As a valued manufacturer of custom corrugated packaging capable of producing everything from traditional brown shipping boxes to beautifully printed point-of-purchase displays, we at Pacific Box Company provide expert guidance to develop packaging solutions that decrease costs to our customers.

In addition to our vast manufacturing capabilities, we offer packaging audits, design services, and warehousing programs. We take great pride in our ability to foster long lasting partnerships with our customers. When you begin an engagement with our team, we will listen to and evaluate your needs, then prescribe and implement a customized service program to keep your ultimate costs down and give your business a valuable competitive edge.