3 Ways Custom Corrugated Packaging Can Save You Money
Many buy off-the-shelf or generic boxes, thinking they are less expensive than custom corrugated packaging. But the reality is, these types of corrugated boxes might be costing them more in the long run.
Corrugated packaging’s primary duty is to protect your product from damage during shipping and handling, but it doesn’t stop there. Proper packaging will reduce returns, excess inventory, material waste, packaging line inefficiencies, and shipping and handling costs. And it communicates directly to your customers.
Minimize Damage
If you have experienced packaging failure during the handling or transport of your product, you know firsthand the high costs associated with replacing damaged goods, returns, and compromised customer trust. Packaging failure is often the result of using the wrong packaging for your product.
High-value, oversized, or oddly shaped products are most susceptible to generating higher costs long-term when generic packaging is used.
When your packaging is optimized using scientific methods based on the product’s characteristics, such as size and weight, fragility, the package’s expected environment, damage to the product is minimized, as are the costs associated with lost product and shipping replacements.
Reduce Shipping Costs
Whether you ship via freight carriers or truckloads, there is room for savings with custom boxes.
If you are in eCommerce and shipping via freight carriers such as FedEx, or UPS, or the USPS, you are charged dimensional (DIM) weight pricing, which takes into account package density to determine pricing. You pay the greater of the package weight or the calculated dimensional weight based on the box’s size. Reducing your box size and weight through customizing your packaging can reduce your DIM weight pricing.
If you ship palleted products, customized packaging may allow you to get more products on a pallet. With off-the-shelf packaging, you fit fewer products per pallet and truck, which means more loads, more fuel, and higher shipping costs.
Tell a Story to Your Customer
It’s hard to assign a cost to customer trust. When a customer receives a product that was damaged in transit or through rough handling, the costs can be higher than replacement and shipping costs.
Consider the customer’s experience: they have purchased or ordered a product with the expectation that it will arrive as presented or advertised. There may be a need or strong desire for the product – they are emotionally invested and anticipate using it. When they open it, and the product is damaged, they have a strong emotional reaction (disappointment, anger, sadness) that they will now associate with your brand. Even if you have excellent customer service and promise to do right by them, they must wait for a replacement and may find themselves further distancing from your brand because of the inconvenience. The likelihood they will share the experience with others is high.
If you think you can overpackage to prevent customer disappointment, think again. Using excess packaging or the wrong sized packaging may get you put on a packaging fails list like this or this. Consumers don’t like to see excessive packaging, and many will call you out in a very public way. If your packaging goes viral, it should be because it brings pleasure to your customers, not frustration. This type of publicity can cost you future customers.
Trust Axis Corrugated as Your Custom Corrugated Packaging Partner
If you are ready to see how custom corrugated packaging can save you money, talk to Axis Corrugated Container, a privately held, American -owned and -operated company. We will optimize your containers to protect your product, reduce material use, minimize wasteful fill-voids, and reduce DIM factors, ultimately helping you reduce costs.
Our streamlined job workflow minimizes production costs and speeds job processing. Our logistical prowess enables us to reduce distribution time and costs substantially. Plus, we control the quality of every box or display we manufacture at all production stages, so you can be assured your boxes will meet your standards.
Contact us to learn how we can help you.