Is slashing your packaging costs the answer?
Standardisation and cost-cutting doesn’t always mean slashing the money you spend on packaging, it can extend to procurement, materials and production. Having a cull may make you savings in the short term, but have you really thought about the impact to marketing, production and distribution? If your customer experience is important to you, then, you may want to read on.>>
Like dominoes, cost-cutting and standardisation can have a knock on effect.
Why would you want to cost-cut or standardise your packaging operation?
The answer….to save money, but will saving money on packaging affect your brand power? Packaging and your product go ‘hand in hand’, the demand for one influences the desire for another. If a product’s packaging looks appealing, then consumers are more likely to purchase and vice a versa. Inextricably linked together, the thought of cost-cutting on your packaging may well cause you to have sleepless nights, but it is the obvious place to start if you’re on an economy drive. Right?
Reducing the number of boxes you use will not only reduce the choice for packers, but on an initial basis could save you money on large quantity orders. It may well result in fewer changes to your packaging line and give you greater efficiency on storage and handling, transportation and traceability, but on the downside, consumers may perceive your packaging to be wasteful due to the use of oversized boxes and masses of void fill.
Packaging can be costly, but when you’re thinking about cost-cutting or even standardisation, there’s more to contemplate than the size of your next box order. Take your next steps with caution, because even if you choose a medium sized box, that fits multiple applications, you can still run foul of generating extra costs elsewhere. Auxiliary components, such as closures and labelling may need to be updated, as well as internal protection. As all eCommerce retailers are aware, returned goods and repeat business can be massively affected by the wrong choice in product protection.
To avoid a marketing nightmare you could pilot your changes and ask for customer feedback, then explore how easy the changes were to implement. Be prepared and ask yourself: will the stock you need be available, as cheaply the next time? What was the impact on packing and distribution? What will happen when or if you introduce an extra product to your range?
Allpack® know that cost-cutting and standardisation is a necessity for many businesses, but sometimes the route less travelled can be the most effective. Talking to a packaging can help you to make tough decisions that will have the lowest impact elsewhere in your business. We can redesign packaging, using cost effective alternative materials and review your packaging processes, so you can use fewer packaging materials, giving you greater savings. Assisting with your stock systems, will result in less of your money being tied up with stock and with our superb online ordering system, we can guarantee same or next day delivery. Our complex range of services can be tailor made to suit your needs and most of all help you cut-costs where you really need them and not where you necessarily think they should be made.
Source:
Packaging Standardisation and Cost-Cutting. 20 March 2018. Sterling Anthony, CPP, Contributing Editor.
Standardisation and cost-cutting doesn’t always mean slashing the money you spend on packaging, it can extend to procurement, materials and production. Having a cull may make you savings in the short term, but have you really thought about the impact to marketing, production and distribution? If your customer experience is important to you, then, you may want to read on.>>
Like dominoes, cost-cutting and standardisation can have a knock on effect.
Why would you want to cost-cut or standardise your packaging operation?
The answer….to save money, but will saving money on packaging affect your brand power? Packaging and your product go ‘hand in hand’, the demand for one influences the desire for another. If a product’s packaging looks appealing, then consumers are more likely to purchase and vice a versa. Inextricably linked together, the thought of cost-cutting on your packaging may well cause you to have sleepless nights, but it is the obvious place to start if you’re on an economy drive. Right?
Reducing the number of boxes you use will not only reduce the choice for packers, but on an initial basis could save you money on large quantity orders. It may well result in fewer changes to your packaging line and give you greater efficiency on storage and handling, transportation and traceability, but on the downside, consumers may perceive your packaging to be wasteful due to the use of oversized boxes and masses of void fill.
Packaging can be costly, but when you’re thinking about cost-cutting or even standardisation, there’s more to contemplate than the size of your next box order. Take your next steps with caution, because even if you choose a medium sized box, that fits multiple applications, you can still run foul of generating extra costs elsewhere. Auxiliary components, such as closures and labelling may need to be updated, as well as internal protection. As all eCommerce retailers are aware, returned goods and repeat business can be massively affected by the wrong choice in product protection.
To avoid a marketing nightmare you could pilot your changes and ask for customer feedback, then explore how easy the changes were to implement. Be prepared and ask yourself: will the stock you need be available, as cheaply the next time? What was the impact on packing and distribution? What will happen when or if you introduce an extra product to your range?
Allpack® know that cost-cutting and standardisation is a necessity for many businesses, but sometimes the route less travelled can be the most effective. Talking to a packaging can help you to make tough decisions that will have the lowest impact elsewhere in your business. We can redesign packaging, using cost effective alternative materials and review your packaging processes, so you can use fewer packaging materials, giving you greater savings. Assisting with your stock systems, will result in less of your money being tied up with stock and with our superb online ordering system, we can guarantee same or next day delivery. Our complex range of services can be tailor made to suit your needs and most of all help you cut-costs where you really need them and not where you necessarily think they should be made.
Source:
Packaging Standardisation and Cost-Cutting. 20 March 2018. Sterling Anthony, CPP, Contributing Editor.