Alternative ways to deliver your products to customers
With the current lockdown, many businesses are looking for new ways to get products to their customers. If you are considering shipping your products via the post or courier, here is a guide to some of the packaging options available to you.
The humble box
The humble box isn’t necessarily so humble currently! It’s helping to shift a lot of product around the country right now.
Available in single or double wall (single wall for lighter objects, double wall for heavier) you need to consider the weight of your pack and what style of box would be best for your business operation. The standard 0201 (shipper carton) with flaps top and bottom are great if you are packing out relatively small quantities of parcels, you can tape the top and bottom of the pack manually.
If you are dealing with higher volumes of packs, you may want to consider using a box with a crash lock base, these “pop” into shape quickly and do not require tape on the base. You can go a step further and use a pack with a self-seal lid. Although these boxes can be a little more expensive, they can save you a lot of packing time – typically around 60% of the time spent packing a box can be the taping of the flaps. If you remove this element your throughput can be much quicker.
When packing product into a box remember to ensure that the item is well protected from shock in transit. A protective product like paper or bubble wrap can be used to wrap product, or if you are looking to fill the space around the item use a product like filler paper or airbags. If your product needs to be held in place, you could end-caps or a retention pack like Korrvu.
There are box ranges designed with specific purposes in mind. A few examples are bottle shippers, thermal packs (for perishable food), paint tin shipping protection and packs to protect laptops or mobile phones. Whatever product you are shipping there could already be a solution available.
Postal Tubes
If you are struggling to find a suitable box for irregular items such as umbrellas, golf clubs or curtain rails then postal tubes may be the solution you’re looking for. With a variety of lengths and wall thicknesses, they can be as rigid as you require, minimising the risk of the pack bending in transit.
Postal wraps
If you are shipping jigsaws, board games books or DVDs, a quick solution could be a postal wrap. Available in a range of sizes and with a self-seal strip, you can pack your products for shipment in seconds.
Padded and cushioned mailers or postal sacks
If your items are smaller, they may fit into a padded mailer or cushioned mailer. For softer items (like clothes) postal sacks are available. An advantage to using this option is that the product could potentially be delivered through the letterbox, making it easier for your customer to receive their goods.
If you need help or advice on the right packaging solution for your products, please contact Macfarlane Packaging. We’d be happy to help get your products moving around the country
