Tips To Optimize Your Product Packaging

27 April 2020
 Categories: Business, Blog


If you are like most business owners or distribution managers, your main packaging concerns may only revolve around the consumer design preference, but this can be a major mistake when it comes to your bottom line. Packaging can account for direct costs when it comes to product production, but there are also indirect costs associated with the packaging. This is because packaging impacts everything from production to transporting the product to retailers. The following are some things to keep in mind so you can optimize your packaging process.

Material Choice

A lot of the cost in packaging comes from the materials chosen. For example, taped packaging can cost more in materials than those secured closed by glues. A color print on a box of the product inside may be less expensive than see-through windows. Make substitutions on materials in situations where the final substitution doesn't affect presentation, such as swapping glue for tape, and when the substitution won't compromise the security and safety of the product inside the package. When selecting the materials for the packaging, you need to weigh desirable design considerations with material cost and product protection so that you can find the sweet spot between the three.

Transport Concerns

Bulky packaging can affect the supply chain costs. A large, awkwardly shaped package that doesn't stack well in a box means that each pallet of product, and thus each truckload, you send contains fewer items than the optimal amount. A package design that optimizes how much product you can pack into a truck means you spend less per item on transport costs and that you will need to send out fewer trucks to deliver the same amount of product. Further, retailers may not be willing to stock as much of a product in awkward packaging because it takes up too much shelf and warehouse space.

Multi-Product Efficiency

Another packaging shortfall that is common is that every product a company offers comes in its own unique package. Although this may be necessary for some types of products, it isn't for all. Instead of changing major parts of the packaging design for similar products, simply change colors or print details. In other words, use similar rectangular boxes for all products, instead of tubes for some and clear jewel boxes for others. The fewer basic types of packaging used the more cost-efficient the production and shipping costs. Further, using similar packaging across all products can help develop brand awareness in your customer base.

Contact a package optimization consultant for more help.


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