Businesses that are shipping items to their clients should not dismiss the power of security. Security is not a matter of the delivery service provider, but the shipping boxes that you utilize. This seems odd at first, but truly is an element of shipping that should not be dismissed.
If you own a small business and are shipping on a regular basis, consider a few key elements of your supply chain. Boxes can either make or break security elements, and there’s a few key things to remember.
Preventing Loss and Damage
When making decisions about boxes, you’re going to often look for the lowest price. There’s nothing wrong with that. Price matters as it effects the bottom line of your profit. But before you go with something cheap, take into consideration how it may help or hurt the consumer.
The packaging and shipping of products needs to be rethought. Small items that are put into similarly sized boxes, can be stolen with ease. It also may limit the display, which can help consumers understand some simple benefits that come with their purchase. The size of boxes and product packaging can work hand in hand to deter loss, and even damage. Don’t dismiss this notion.
Protecting Against Damage
Aside from just shipping, consider the design of the package being shipped often. Design should not dismiss the need to protect the item inside. Adding an extra packaging for shipping can help deter breakage, in case of dropping, pressure, or weight. Once you give a package to a shipping source, they are going to treat the package like others, stacking, sorting, and moving it around without care.
Even items labeled “fragile” take a beating. To protecting against damage requires specific thought to the interior package design, as well as extra sleeves for items. Reducing movement and pressure is one of the keys to ensuring a product doesn’t arrive broken or unusable for the consumer.
Tracing Packages Easily
Tracking can make or break your supply chain. Consumers are more demanding today, and if they cannot trace packages easily, they will be very upset. It’s up to your business to ensure that tracking information is easy to utilize, read, and display. Using modern technologies can help with ink-coding, and other elements that help with this process.
New labeling systems, automated labeling, and larger displays for shipping companies to scan and read is critical. Without these in place on your shipping boxes, you can expect consumer complaints mid-way through the shipping process.
Never Overlook Packaging
It is important that small business protects their products from damage, theft, and other elements. It’s easy to overlook packaging due to cost. It’s for that reason that the above elements are so critical. Think about these as you marginalize your supply chain. Saving money by cutting corners on packaging, shipping labels, and technology is never a good idea. Doing so will come with a variety of complaints from consumers. It will also cause theft, damage, and production problems. It’s better to spend a little more to ensure packaging is secure, easy to trace, and safe, then to replace items over and over again due to theft and damage.