Category Archives: Packing Supplies

Can your bags and boxes make you go bankrupt?

The year is 2020 and most people are not purchasing consistently online. With the COVID-19 pandemic even more and more people are shopping through eCommerce. It really is the truth that the new normal is shopping online and having the convenience of shipping to your door becomes mainstream. With where I work now I have seen so many eCommerce companies succeed and also fail with the unfortunate circumstances of bad choices. This is something that I really don’t like to see. So today I want to go over some things that I saw failing companies do and areas they ignored which actually ended up costing them enough money to begin a downward spiral. The thing is that where you shop for bags and boxes can have a massive impact on your bottom line. The revenue savings from purchasing your basic baseline products that you know you are going to use can be the difference between success and instant failure.

The first thing I always tell people when they are getting into eCommerce is to understand that every item they sell will be shipped. They all laugh and think I am talking really basic, but I then like to go into the fact that shipping supplies make and break companies. When competition is tight and maybe you are facing 300 people in the same industry then you need to be able to stay ahead of be competitive. So how do you do this? What if those 300 companies are all purchasing the same items from the places you are? Well, then you have to cut corners and find ways to stay ahead to either sell at a lower price or offer a better shipping rate or discount. This is a really big deal and you must know how to do this or you will end up losing in the long run.

The first thing you need to do is to find the best source for all your shipping supplies. Most people fail right here and at this point. They simply do not search hard enough for the best company. Or they don’t negotiate enough for the best deal and they end up losing lots of margins on each and every single item they sell. It certainly is hard to stay competitive when every item you sell loses you some money. What I see the most is that people always shop one of two places.

The first place they shop is a local store. It is really nice to put that you only shop locally and all your products are shipped with local goods. People like this and it can be a selling point. The fact is that it is usually only successful if your local store is an industry leader and able to give you the same discounts and rates as a large nationwide company. This is why most little companies that shop locally end up losing because their rates are twice as high and their options are usually lower.

The next option is Amazon. This is where most people shop and if you are doing this for an office and picking up regular supplies more power to you. But the costs are still higher than you can get elsewhere and people simply give up and concede that convenience is worth more to them. Find a major manufacturer online instead and negotiate until you crush amazon prices. That is my advice and what you should attempt to do.

Get the Right Box for the Right Task

I have been in a whole lot of different industries throughout my career. It has led me down many paths and some of them were revolved around manual labor and other management. The joy of being able to be in many different industries and jobs is that you get to learn how to deal with a variety of situations. This year I am glad for my past experiences because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has led to such a change in our economy and the way that we do business that my past experiences have come in handy. Our company has shifted to doing some extra marketing tasks in-house. This meant that my knowledge of past shipping supplies and how to utilize them came in handy.

https://youtu.be/YNgRqt4Q8wk

We ended up having to order all the products directly and put our own marketing together. This was a task that needed some past warehouse knowledge in order to get down what we needed. Working and managing a warehouse led me to understand how manual processes and ordering of products in bulk can be the difference between success and failure. The reason I knew this was because I had taken a warehouse department at an auto dealership more efficient one summer while I was going to college. It was a great job for the summer and it was my goal to do such a good job that they would hire me back summer after summer.

I learned that understanding that the way a job was done could be money saving. This was done by watching different people do the same job. I learned that some people did things because they were told to do them and some would do what they wanted. I asked people than to do the job differently than normal and I tracked the type of products they used, the location they did the work, and how much time it took them. I then found the most efficient way by seeing people with experience and those without expereince do that same job. From there I was able to track the tape, boxes, and labels that were used and how much of each product was used. This allowed me to figure out the most efficient way for tasks to be done. I then created systems after seeing what worked best and had the teams follow those systems. I walked them through how each step saved their time, and the store’s money and didn’t penalize them for doing more.

This whole lesson taught me how to take out the marketing department in-house and work on finding the best products and best way to put our projects together. Then I went shopping for the best shipping supplies stores and found the best deal for our company. It is not an easy task to then take what you know and justify it to a board of directors. So I had to price out local stores to see what they could give us. Then I went on Amazon to see what deals were available for our products and the time and cost of shipping involved. When I went to major online retailers I was able to get the best deals and costs and justify it to the board with proof. I hope these tips help your company thrive through the pandemic as well.

Understanding How To Package Shipping Products: All You Must Know

The internet growth has incredibly improved to make the world become a digital global village. Many people are conducting their business online. You can easily get a customer anywhere on the earth. Proper packaging has become today’s norm and it is an essential variable you should consider when you are fulfilling your clients’ orders. So, if it was you, how will you feel receiving a damaged package?

These packages travel for a long distance and sometimes these shipments are fraught with problems on their way. For example, accidental dropping, mishandling at warehouses, moving via areas with extreme heat among others.

So, to ensure the client gets an excellent unboxing, ensure their packages will arrive in a mint condition as that will help to achieve your brand’s loyalty and repeated business.

To achieve the correct protection to eliminate shipping damages, ensure your product packaging process will align with the best standards. For example, consider Amazon’s guidelines to get SIOC and user-friendly packages.

Next, consider protective packaging materials like cardboard, packaging peanuts, air pillows, or any recommended packaging material option.

Sometimes, the packaging might seem complicated, don’t complain. It might be true, but your business success will be in a critical position.

Here we shall discuss some vital questions you have in mind to help you understand better.

What Causes Product Damages?

In the world, it is saturated with technology and it becomes easy for anyone to purchase a product online. However, the product will pass at brick and mortar locations.

With an increased demand for online purchases, there is a need for protective packaging. If the speed to market will be highly emphasized, unwanted repercussions will be in the form of damaged goods.

Regardless of the carrier’s best intentions, unintentional damages or accidents might occur. When you are aware and hold the third party accountable, it will be a critical practice when dealing with shipping damages.

How Will You Evaluate Damages?

If you want to understand the damages of your packages, there are common mistakes that might have resulted in the damages.

Here are some of the commons mistakes you can identify:

● Excessive Empty Space

When you have a container larger than the item you want to pack, most likely, the product will bounce in the container. That will easily result in damaged products because of a lack of padding inside.

● Unprotected Packaging

All products are not equal, in terms of make and quality. Some packages don’t need protective packaging (like the air pillows or foam peanuts). If you need to prevent damages, use enough padding on such products.

● Bad Handling Practices

After you send a package to your client, it will move throughout a supply chain. Within the chain, it will be handled by different people. Despite adding “fragile” or “handle with care” label, sometimes the box might get man-handled on the way by accident or intentionally. That will result in damaged products.

● Water or Humidity

Exposure of packages to extreme conditions such as an extreme cold or intense heat results in unwanted damages. It is not something to control easily, because the parcel will be left unintended outside the house, the rain will compromise packaging and potential damages may result in the product.

Bottom Line

The above tips will help you to identify common mistakes to help you reduce damages. Industrial packagings have improved on its packaging to help reduce damages throughout the supply chain. You should aim to protect products, clients, and your brand and that is possible with the right packaging practices.

How Shipping Supplies Helped our Q3

This year we had a pretty good year. Our company is based online and most of our work is ecommerce or services done for ecommerce companies. This allowed us to be very efficient and relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many companies moved into this area as well and it was a wonderful boost to us. But even though our company does most of our work online we also benefited from some in person work. The surprise for us was how much money we were able to save on our own shipping costs by buying the correct quantities of shipping supplies and from the right locations.

The first thing to know is that we ship different products out for our clients as a part of our company. We even do it for our own marketing a little as well. This is a small part of what we do but we found that it does take up a good amount of some budgets we have set aside and looking back on our previous purchases we learned a few things.

We learned that our company was spending more on letters, boxes, and especially tape then we ever thought we would. The quantities were a bit sporadic and we decided to really focus on the quantity of each item we used and the cost involved. We then took two months of data and planned out the amount of tape we would need. We started to look at the amount we used per box and label. The extra tape we used for each label was actually just as much as each box. When it got down to the cost of sticky labels vs tape the labels were much cheaper. We then looked at tape and saw that we were taping each box multiple times on each seam. This showed us that the tape we were using was not effective on its own. So we then found out that there are different thicknesses of tape which equates to strength. This was interested because we talking to a shipping supplies store which told us the difference and the price of the thicker tape was not nearly as much as using twice as much of the thinner tape. Just this little tip alone saved us thousands off our marketing budget each month and that is a pretty penny over a year. Then we found out another quantity which helped us.

The boxes that we were using were actually not the correct size or the thickness we needed. Our products we were shipping were very light and the boxes we had were rated for much more than we needed. Now since we had two months of data we took the number of boxes and bought a big bulk amount of a thinner less expensive corrugated box. This allowed us to get a better looking package at a much discounted rate per box.

The big deal was knowing. The knowledge of cost of what we were doing and the reason why we were using each product really added up in the end and now our past q3 was much more lean and fiscally responsible. Plus we took all that extra savings and gave a bonus to all those people involved. Yes it was our entire department, but it was still a big thank you to the people who took the extra time to learn why we were spending more. Now for the next quarter that will all go to savings and be reinvested in our company.

Packing the Truck Up

If you own a truck there is an inevitable time that you will get a call from a family member or someone you have not seen in a long time before. That call will always go, “Hey how are you? Guess what we did” then they will talk about their new move and somehow wind down to the idea that don’t you have a truck? Yes, you will say and at some point they will have asked if you were free on a certain weekend and you said no. Well bam, they got you and you are now helping them move. This is a good thing and can really help people out but sometimes all those shipping supplies in your truck can destroy it. So I want to go over a few ways to save your truck from getting toasted while moving all those shipping supplies.

One thing to know is that cardboard can scratch the heck out of your truck. I have seen it happen when things get thrown in and they are very heavy they protrude. So this means that if you don’t have a bed liner you need to make one.

It is a pretty easy solution and a few large blankets or towels can actually stop a whole lot of scratches from happening. I do suggest strapping them down with a net or straps when the truck is loaded up. THey will fly around if not secured. The nets that made for truck beds and moving are really cheap but are made of bunjy and work well.

Family Unpacking Moving In Boxes From Removal Truck

Now there are usually the odd items that are heavy that get put in the truck. This could be an elliptical or tv stand. These usually find a way of scratching the outside of the truck paint. I suggest getting some painters tape and layering it on the sides of your truck bed on the exterior. Yes this adds a layer 5 of protection that can help those scratches not happen. Once you get this done it doesn’t stick or scratch the paint when getting it off. THat is a super nice cheap way to save your truck from looking like it just went through a war.

After that just be available and be the one moving things in and out. Be vocal and wise about how to move things in and be nice. Niceness and good direction are usually the best way to save your truck from moving pains.

Why Companies are Using Digital Packaging?

As technology continues to evolve in modern society, it is crucial that we all learn more about the technology that we use everyday. We use technology in all aspects of our lives and to ensure that we are interacting appropriately with it, we need to understand more about one of the major phenomena called digital packaging.

Digital Packaging

Digital packaging uses digital technology to interact with consumers and enhance the overall experience that consumers have with the technology they use. It can include any packaging that uses three dimensional software, QR codes, smartphone apps, and artificial intelligence. It focuses on using interactive activities to promote the experiences that consumers have and to help increase the amount of technology that they will use in their lives.

Why Use It?

Digital packaging helps consumers relate to the brands and products that they are buying. Rather than buying a traditional product that you have bought several times before, companies are encouraging consumers to try new things with the digital packaging promotions. Digital packaging gives consumers unique and one of a kind relationships that they cannot have with other brands.

Companies are opting to use digital packaging to help set their brand apart from others. It is one of the main ways that companies are using technology to promote and improve their brand. They have found that people are willing to pay more for the digital experience. Many companies have not yet started using digital packaging, but when they start to realize the benefits that it can have for their brand, they will.

Which Companies Should Use Digital Packaging?

While all companies may not see the need to use digital packaging, it can truly benefit any company. Consumers today love to explore unique and creative opportunities. When companies are willing to spend more on their products and the marketing of their products, it can pay off. Consumers are willing to spend a few more dollars to have a one of a kind experience. Digital packaging allows this experience to exist.

No matter what type of company you have, you should explore the avenues that you have for digital packaging. Using great marketing companies and digital professionals can help you find new and exciting ways to attract the attention of new customers. When businesses of all types use digital packaging they are able to increase their sales and their number of new consumers.

Another benefit that consumers are able to gather from digital packaging products is data. Companies are able to use the data that is collected from digital packaging to better understand their customers. The digital packaging can be altered in several ways to help businesses collect important information. The information that they collect can help them better understand their consumers, their shopping experience, and what they are interested in.

Downsides to Digital Packaging

Digital packaging is often more expensive than other forms of packaging. It costs more to create and print, but the initial cost is likely worth the expense. Another potential downside to using digital packaging is that it may not be the best for the environment. If a company is environmentally friendly, they may not see the benefit that digital packaging has. It is often more difficult to recycle and is made with materials that are not ideal for the health of the earth.

When was the last time Tape saved you?

The older I get the more useful I am finding all the random things in my garage to be. I remember my dad having so many what seemed like useless tools or rolls of things in the garage growing up and now I am starting to see how useful all of those crazy things were. Owning a home has changed my perspective on many things and one of those is the amounts of tape that are needed to keep a home in running order. So these simple kinds of shipping supplies that kind are found at your average grocery or hardware store and I think most people who own a home need them.

The most important tape to have on hand in my opinion is actually going to be packing tape. This is literally a tape used for shipping supplies, but I find it being super useful in the home. I like this tape because it is clear and is very strong. Packing tape has been used for corrugated boxes for a very long time and holds lots of weight. This makes it versatile to me and I find myself going for his tape the most. I really think everyone should have a few rolls on hand just because you never know what you will need it for.

The next one I am going to talk about is the classic tape that everyone talks about. That is duct tape. This tape is very old and people have always associated it with the idea that it was created for taping ducts. But the original reason duct tape was created was actually war. This tape was created for World War II and was used to seal ammo cans from the elements. They found that not only was it very waterproof, but very durable and that it actually stuck and patched lots of things.

It became legendary in the Army and soldiers ended up bringing it home with them and it transitioned into a tape that was then turned from green to grey and used for ducts. It is super useful for home and work. I have foundmyself taping a paintbrush to an extended pole just to be able to paint at a very high location at home. The tape not only held the brush in place, but allowed me to put lots of pressure on it to paint super high areas on my house and it help like I had put a nail in it. So get yourself some tape and go and live life at home happier!

What things you need to move your house

The time has come, you have put in your offer and it was accepted. The finances went through and you just finished closing. Do you know what I am talking about now? Buying a home and finally getting to the stage of moving into it. This is a complicated and yet sometimes stressful and simplistic time. The idea of moving all your things from one place to another sounds simple and in theory it really is, but there are some things that need to be taken into account to help lessen the stress and hardship involved.

https://youtu.be/yOU1_ZMtPCI

It seems that having some things on hand are really useful. I find that stocking up on shipping supplies is a big step in the moving process. So what kind of shipping supplies should you have on hand? I think lots of cardboard boxes are a great start. But many are not taped or need to be retaped depending on their use.

So get lots of packing tape to go along with them and you never know when those can come in handy for making barriers between items so they don’t get scratched or even items and vehicles for that matter. It is also important to make sure some things don’t move and tape can be very handy for that. Scotch tape or panters tape is very useful for drawers you don’t plan on taking out before you move. Keeping them from sliding out can save much damage from occurring on expensive furniture.

It is also important to have an idea of how many boxes you will need beforehand and this is a complicated process. I find that you should walk through your current location and pretend in your head to figure out how many boxes you may need. This then correlates to how many you will need to buy and also what vehicles you will need to travel with them to the new home.

Now that you know how many boxes you may use and have planned out all the items you will be moving it is important to have a way to move them to your newly purchased home. Many people like to ask friends with trucks and large vans to help, but some people are not as lucky and don’t have friends who have large vehicles or a trailer they could use. So other options are rental vehicles and Uhal is a big company that is usually in most cities.

Online Shopping 2020

This year was a huge year for the entire economic environment of the world. The Covid-19 pandemic took place this year and it legitimately changed the world and how we produce, ship, and shop. The majority of the world ended up moving into its own version of social lockdowns and social distancing and it forced a good portion of the world to be on house arrest. House arrest means that you are not able to leave your home without the fear of being arrested. This was a worldwide acceptable compromise for health. It did turn out to be the liberty killer that took away the freedom of much of the world for a virus that turned out to be not what we were told. It was actually similar to the common flu and just like the flu people who have complicated health issues are susceptible to it. Now we are still adjusting to the new normal of purchasing.

The change in shopping and purchasing has caused a rise in shipping supplies and use all across the world. Deliver jobs have become one of the most essential and hired positions across the world. Sales for online shopping almost doubled in the two month lockdown in the United States and Amazon profited like none other even after a 40% stock market drop. Companies that sell shipping supplies ended up selling more boxes, tape and supplies than ever before. This is due to the change in how people were purchasing.

Brick and mortar stores changed to e-commerce stores overnight. People were not able to leave their house for fear of being arrested and they ended up purchasing through fear from their home for several months. This fundamentally changed a large majority of stores. They had to move from the mindset that they would be able to sell face to face and change up to the fact that people would be searching online. So signage marketing completely went caput. SEO became one of the most sought after marketing products.

So SEO is now the most important marketing tool. It is simply the fact that people cannot buy your new brick and mortar, turned ecommerce products if they cannot find you online. This means you need to budget quickly for the change in order to stay ahead of competition. If you are new to the game it costs money and takes time to hit the top of the search pages. So get on it fast!

The search for the perfect shipping department products

The retail market is a vast and complicated conglomerate of products and procedures that come together to create a business. The thousands if not millions of things that have to come together for a single company to even sell a pencil is rather amazing. Now imagine a new company selling thousands of items and need millions of things to go right every single day in order for them to be successful. It is a profound and powerful thoughts and is one of the great marvels of modern society. Today companies can start from nothing and begin the complicated process of being successful and have lots of options and opportunities in order to do it. So I want to go over some of my favorite things that have allowed my shipping department to get the best shipping supplies for the job.

Trial and error. This is one of the most important parts of the shipping process. Lots of things can go wrong. The wrong products can be sent or the worst retail error of all. The security tags are still on products that were sent to a customer with no way of removing them. So having processes in place to take care of this takes time and effort.

It also usually takes mistakes. So give yourself some room for error. Bad things will happen and you will have to deal with them. Plan ahead and prepare to also be able to replace things that go wrong. So if for some reason you are using boxes instead of bags for your shipping supplies be prepared to switch them. Sometimes it is better to use one medium over another and the reasons can be endless.

Cost can be a big reason for making changes to items. If you find out that shipping cost 4 dollars less to use a bag than a box then that is something to keep in mind. But what if a bag is a dollar more per item than a box? Well there is still a three dollar difference between the two. But then take into account the damage rate of products. Have some arrived damaged in a bag vs a box and if so how many. How much was the damage wand was that enough to offset the 3 dollar difference each time you ship an item out. These calculations are very important and must be thought through in order to understand the actual cost and best supplies to get.