Increasing sales is undeniably key to profit. Nevertheless, profitability does not solely rely on sales volume. If operational costs exceed sales volume, achieving sales targets will still result in a loss.
To address this concern, it is important to reduce operational costs. Hidden expenses such as packaging costs, storage costs, and costs linked to damage and returns significantly increase operational costs.
Whether you’re grappling with these challenges or seeking prevention, you’ve arrived at the right place. Within this blog, we will pinpoint these pain points that can help you lower overall packaging and operational costs.
Use Higher Grade Packaging Material
Opt for premium packaging materials to ensure the safety of your items. For instance, considering higher microns of BOPP Packaging tape—such as 50 or 55 microns—or even opting for Apac Solvent-based BOPP Packaging Tape can effectively secure your products.
Conversely, cheaper packaging material can reduce the upfront procurement cost. However, this should not be the long-term strategy, as it can ultimately increase damage and return costs. Also, damaged goods can negatively impact your customer retention rate.
Pick Lightweight Packaging Material
Using lightweight packaging material reduces storage and shipping costs. If you invest in lightweight packaging like Apac Ecocell Paper Wrap, it can lower storage and shipping costs by:
- Keeping the material safe
- Occupying the low storage space
- Adding an extra layer of cushion to fragile items
Lightweight packaging material occupies less surface area. Also, it ensures no bulkiness of the material, which in turn, makes product handling easier.
Opt for Bundling
Small and medium-sized materials is prone to breakage during storage or shipping. It can also increase handling and labour costs. Therefore, to avoid those costs, it is suggested to bundle similar item types together. Bundling keeps the material intact as much as possible. Hence, it limits the chances of materials falling or rolling over. Apac Polypropylene Strap, or PP Strap is one of the most handy tools to bundle your goods. With Apac PP Strap, you can also bundle bigger, bulkieritems like rods, pipes, etc.
Prefer Quality Over Quantity
Using multiple layers of low-grade packaging material is of no use. Low-grade packaging material can be cheap to buy; however, you might need to apply more of the product to keep your goods safe. In contrast, quality packaging material ensures both: goods safety and less material usage.
Apac Nano Stretch Film is a classic example of such a quality material. It gives a higher yield than conventional wrapping rolls. This way, it not only lowers the additional cost of buying another wrapping roll, but also leaves a smaller environmental footprint.
Invest in Material Safety
No matter how good your material looks, you need to pack it right before storage or shipping to ensure that it is safely delivered to the customer. For that, you just need to invest in packaging material that guarantees the safety of your goods. However, it is imperative to use the right type of packaging material on the goods.
For example, if you need to ship bulky items, it is suggested to use Apac Corrugated Rolls. For packing and storing fragile items, it is suggested to use materials like bubble wrap.
Always Label the Goods
One of the hidden costs of the supply chain is mishandling. For example, you have packed the material using the right quality packaging material and shipped it to the customer. But there are chances that it can still get damaged due to mishandling. In many cases, even the right quality packaging material can not prevent damage to the goods due to mishandling. If the person who is handling the material, applies extra force to it or carelessly throws it on the ground, the damage is inevitable.
But if you label such fragile items properly, you can avoid such incidents of mishandling. You can use stickers or tape to label the fragile items. Apac Fragile Handle With Care Printed Tapes are there to keep your material safe and intact.
Summary
You can save more than 20% on operational and packaging costs just by employing the right packaging material for your goods. It can limit miscellaneous costs like damage and return, theft, storage, and shipping costs.
Apac has a range of quality packaging materials that are carefully manufactured to secure and pack your products. Contact us to get a tailored packaging consultation.
