Making the transition to right-sized packaging minimizes waste and improves efficiency.
When a box fits the product, there’s less waste and less risk of damage to the product. The box absorbs some of the force of a drop or hit, and there’s no back-and-forth movement of the product to cause internal damage.
How do you right-size packaging to achieve these benefits without blowing your budget in the process? It’s about customization and the right team to support your efforts.
What Is Right-Sized Packaging?
Right-sized packaging tailors the box or packaging to the exact dimensions of the product. Custom-demand boxes that fit your product perfectly can be a reality. This is a profound shift in the way you manage your business operations. It can seem like a daunting task. Consider the following steps supply chain professionals can take to benefit.
Dimensional Weight
Dimensional weight (DIM) is a pricing method that many carriers are using that bases the cost to ship on the volume of the package. Calculate that by multiplying length x width x height. That’s very different than just using the weight of the box. This method charges for the amount of space a package requires rather than just the weight.
To save money, every box must be right-sized to the product. Anything oversized is wasting money.
On-Demand Box-Making Technology
To achieve these goals, you can still buy boxes in bulk, but you need a bit of support in choosing the boxes that best suit your needs. On-demand box-making technology is an excellent solution. It is exactly what you need to slash freight spend.
Each system fits your specific needs. Custom packaging solutions are an excellent investment in your business. It allows you to right-size box packaging for every order. This saves you money with lower shipping costs every time. The process uses automated systems that scan items and then create the properly sized box in real time. The most advanced solutions do this quickly, ensuring that boxes are properly designed for your products.
The right strategies can move your business ahead:
- Optimize packaging to ensure you are using the right-sized boxes.
- Complete a product audit to determine what you really need and the box types most associated with it.
- Implement automation that improves outcomes and delivers a better long-term result without adding to labor costs.
Right-sizing packaging makes sense. In today’s modern environment, it is more accessible than ever.
The Benefits of Making the Move to Right-Sizing Packaging
By aligning package volume with product size, organizations can meet sustainability targets and protect their bottom line. These automated solutions improve your operations in various ways:
- There’s far less waste. You’re not paying for material that is just tossed out. It reduces the material used in most products.
- Lower your carbon footprint. This transition also allows your company to minimize its carbon footprint. Boxes are smaller, requiring fewer trucks to be sent out, and those trucks are better filled. That reduces fuel costs and reduces CO2 emissions your business is creating.
- Lower your shipping costs. Right-sized packaging may reduce your costs by as much as 40%. That’s a massive savings, especially when freight costs seem to be on a constant move upward, tapping into your bottom line.
- Reduce packaging material costs. You’re spending less on the packaging in general because you’re getting more out of every box. That also means savings on tape as well as all of the product you stuff into the box for packaging.
- Warehouse efficiency improves. Unnecessary packaging is taking up too much room within your location. You may be able to reduce the square footage of your business’s warehousing by improving how much space your boxes are taking up on every shelf.
Right-sized boxes seem like an ideal fit, but they are also not out of line or too expensive to invest in. Instead, consider the savings it offers not only in reducing product waste but also in improving branding.
Work with a reliable packaging solutions provider to help you get the right boxes and materials for your company. Optimize your packaging to meet sustainability targets and protect your business’s bottom line.
About the author
Jeff Brandt is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who oversees operations and accounting functions for Brandt Box & Paper Co., Inc., a trusted packaging company founded in 1952. Brandt has a Bachelor of Accountancy degree from The George Washington University, and a Master of Science in Accounting from Indiana University. Representing the third generation of the Brandt family at Brandt Box, Brandt ensures that customers receive cost-efficient packaging solutions.
