Performance-based kinds of specifications are a different kind of means of evaluating the shippers. While a lot of packaging engineers do start their career learning about the ins and outs of shippers, including the terminology, the methods of testing, the processes to manufacture, and so much more. In a lot of cases, they usually don’t look past the standard practice for selection of these materials that are based on requirements for performance. But when making packaging design decisions based on leveraging the performance specs, this lets engineers specify the strength of your shipper, based on the needs as well, rather than the metrics such as the edge crush test. Evaluating this on performance does resolve a lot of headaches, offers cost savings, offers simple specifications, and it does make everything a whole lot more efficient. 

The Sustainability Benefits 

The biggest benefit of this is the sustainability that comes with this. It allows for engineers to make a shipper that does the fulfillment, while also utilizing less material, which does enhance the efforts for sustainability. If packaging is already using recycled papers, reevaluating the corrugated packaging based on the performance needs does allow for it to move past the virgin materials, creating more positive results on the supply side of things. It also helps offer more options, and also reduces paper sourcing, various supply constraints, and also helps reduce the carbon footprint by shipping distances. It also frees up time, consumes far less energy, and decreases the waste. 

Make Communication simple 

For most people, having a performance-based type of demarcation for this offers more specifications that are properly communicated, and having this there is conducive to the packaging and engineering that’s there. This also makes communications far simpler between everyone, and it also reduces the sheer amount of data that they have to go through, since you don’t need to document the weight of the paper, the caliper, the burst strength, and also focus on the testing, the dimensions, and the fluting too. While it won’t negate some rules, you can use this as well to make packaging specifications and negotiations so much easier. 

Lowered costs 

It also saves you a lot of money down the line too when you look at the savings for these levels of specifications. There is a time when members of the organization and the suppliers do have to discuss pricing, which does require enough communication from the packaging organization to the supplier, and there needs to be a system of performance which does streamline the communication and the environmental details. When you take the specifics out of this, there is actually less room for error to have happen. When you’re purchasing a material, if you take out the ECT values, it offers more packaging that definitely fits the needs. 

What formula to Use Now? 

While the ECT value is what was used before for the McKee formula, there is now a new formula that you can use. That is the following: 

BCR=((((S*P)-1)*X)+(W/L))*SF

In this, BCR is the box crush requirement.  The S is the number of shippers, the P is the number of pallets that are stacked, the X is the ship weight, the W is the pallet weight, the L is the shippers layers, and SF is the safety factor. Putting all of this together, you do get a better system and like that does save you a ton of money and such down the line, and through his, you’re able to get great results if you do need this as well for you to use.