Packaging is sometimes overlooked when running a business, yet it significantly influences your bottom line. The size, materials, and weight of your packaging determine how much you pay for the fulfillment, warehousing, and shipping. For many businesses, inadequate packaging can result in annual losses of thousands (or even millions) of dollars.
You may save a lot of money every year by rethinking your packaging, using suitable materials, equipment from Millennium Packaging, and reducing the sizes of your packaging. Ikea, for example, saved $1.4 million a year simply by redesigning the packaging for one couch.
In this post, we’ll show you how to save money on packaging and increase profits for your company.
1. Optimize all your resources
One of the most typical packing blunders is attempting to utilize everything at once. You’re more likely to use many unnecessary items when you do this.
Making the most efficient use of resources has a substantial financial impact. This shows you’re paying extra to use something you don’t require. That’s a nightmare for a business!
If you discover that a product requires less, use less and keep the change. You must eliminate all types of waste for a package plan to be effective.
2. Take advantage of the package weight and size.
The way your items are packaged might negatively influence your company’s revenue. If you packed similar things differently, you would pay less and save more.
Neglecting the package’s size is a typical mistake. However, the reality is that the smaller and lighter it is, the less money you’ll pay. That isn’t even the complete list of advantages.
You’ve undoubtedly heard that the size and weight of your item impact the cost of delivery.
This might indicate one of two things. For starters, shipping a hefty product will cost extra.
On the other hand, if the size and weight are correct, you will save money on shipment. It is best for you if the size is smaller.
As a result, lowering package size and weight reduces packing and delivery expenses.
In the past, shipping firms calculated shipment costs using weights. While this makes sense in theory, it comes at a high financial cost to the carriers.
Shipping expenses might affect your business as a business owner. So, here’s how to improve your packing and save money:
- Use up all of your storage space. You must cram as many packages as possible into a shipping box to do this.
- Vary your shipping materials because they impact the total weight of your products. This will affect your shipping prices.
- To fit small items, you can use envelopes instead of boxes.
3. Minimize using void fillers
Everyone understands that void fillers do nothing except fill in empty areas. You’re already paying more than you need to if you’re utilizing fillers. This is not the best business decision.
Fillers are not required for firms who wish to lower their packaging costs, even though it is a question of taste.
So, if you want to save money for your company, avoid using empty fillers. Fillers are challenging to store, aside from the fact that they raise expenses.
Furthermore, fillers are not environmentally friendly, making it difficult for clients to dispose of them. Why use materials that are difficult to store or dispose of?
4. Don’t use too many colors.
Colors are a simple method to make your packaging more attractive to your customers. However, moderation is essential. If there are too many, the package will become unattractive.
Reducing the number of colors you use is, in fact, not only cost-effective but also efficient.
Additionally, adhering to one or a few hues is beneficial to your brand’s image. It imprints your brand in clients’ memories and makes it easier for them to recognize your brand anywhere.
Why add color if it would almost certainly increase prices while reducing visual appeal? You can use packaging with one color or two and still have a beautiful package, and the good news is that it will cost you less.
5. Reduce the layers in the packaging
The packaging is divided into three layers: outside, inside, and product packaging. Depending on the product type, these layers are either blended or utilized individually.
This implies you don’t have to utilize the three of them unless a product asks explicitly for them. Furthermore, roughly 57% of purchasers want less packing with their transactions.
One way to cut expenses is to determine which type complements a product. You don’t have to include the others when a product merely requires outside packaging.
You will most likely pay more than you should if your package plan does not handle these difficulties.
6. Stick to one supplier
Having a single package provider for all of your materials—whether a box, paper bag, wrapping paper, or postcard—ensures more savings and lower unit costs. If ordering in bulk, the larger quantities will cost you less per item. This is one approach to cutting your package expenses without dealing with many suppliers.
Reducing packaging costs necessitates a thorough examination of your materials and procedures. However, it is a worthwhile investment of your time and money. Now that you’ve figured out all profitable investments and devised a cost-effective budget, it’s time to put it all together.
7. Automate the packing process
The quantity of time spent on a single task is one element that influences productivity. You’re losing time if you’re using a manual packing method. As a result of the time spent on packing that could have been spent on other things, packaging expenses will rise.
Take, for example, corrugated cardboard packaging. Consider how difficult it would be for your team to build it by hand. Then there’s the usual sealing and tape that goes with all packaging jobs. It is a phase in the packing process that takes a long time. It can also cause rotting or harm if not done correctly. This transition will benefit your company much in the long term, so make no mistakes.