With online holiday shopping in full swing the issue of ‘package optimization’ becomes a hot topic. It’s of particular concern for those companies who are unfortunately facing order returns, damaged goods and worse, dissatisfied customers. “Packaging strategies”, according to UPS vice president of Customer Solutions, Scott Mc Carley, “can have a pretty dramatic impact on service metrics and profitability.” Not only should a company consider the effects of proper packaging throughout the entire supply chain process – manufacturing to delivery, but it should evaluate internal operational cost implications such as lack of warehouse space or handling frequencies.
Partnering with an experienced third party logistics (3PL) service provider to ‘audit the supply chain process’ early in the planning stage can prevent storage/handling waste and reduce risks involved with shipping and (reverse) logistics. Further, since most carriers have switched to charging by a parcel’s dimensional weight*, savvy business owners and operators will keep this in mind when designing their packaging. Not only should shippers be paying attention to the integrity of their cardboard boxes notes Mc Carley but, “goods sent by pallets, containers and unit load devices (ULDs) used in air cargo” should also be taken into careful consideration.
* A package density which is the amount of space a package occupies in relation to its actual weight.
If you have any questions/concerns about your packaging design and/or would like to consult with our logistics specialists about your own supply chain management, please call us at (360) 380-6900.
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(Via UPS: Source Article)
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