A recent story that has been shown all over the internet and social media is about a Walmart customer who ordered 165 noodles, the swimming pool variety. He uses them as a protective packaging component for the product he manufactures and sells on line. The story sounds pretty straight forward but went viral when Walmart’s fulfillment operation chose to pack each noodle in its own shipping box. How on earth does that happen?
Photo Courtesy of Yahoo Life
Technology, AI and Human Support.
We all know automation and technology save industry many billions of dollars every year. What is lacking, however, is an alarm in the order process that recognizes when something does not look right. No matter how sophisticated or capable fulfillment software may be or become, the final wall of defense is a human. Robotics aside, a human being probably picked the order, loaded the truck, and another person delivered this order. You would hope someone would notice all of these identical boxes shipping to the same address. The fact that no one noticed the obvious, or took corrective action is disappointing, and incredibly wasteful.
AI and Packaging Design.
There are already a variety of tools available to assist in the design process. However, there are facets of the work we do that cannot be duplicated or replaced by automation. Our human contribution is helping to identify the best solution because it is based on thousands of applications, products and customers. In other words, hands-on experience. Here is just a short list of the many factors we consider and questions we ask to help us arrive at the most effective and lowest cost packaging solution for you.
- What are the products being packaged and/or shipped?
The product being packaged or shipped is where it all starts. It is not enough to say you are shipping a glass bottle. For example, over the years we have reviewed a dozen different wine bottles. They differ greatly in terms of dimensions, and glass thickness. The same holds true also when evaluating bottles for food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and for hundreds of other purposes.
- How many are shipping together?
Are you shipping a single item, or a dozen? A two pack, or a three pack? Or maybe 165 like our noodle buyer? Do you understand the difference between outside /in damage or product to product damage? Decades of experience have taught us that most shipping damage is caused by internal product movement and collisions.
- How and where is it shipping?
Is it shipping D2C via UPS, USPS or FedEx directly to the customers’ home, or secured to pallets and shipped via LTL common carrier truck? Each presents different potential damage risks, so we have to design to avoid them.
- Are there unique and special options required?
The list of available options is long and includes features that can be very beneficial to you and the customer receiving the package. This include but are not limited to peel and seal adhesive strips, easy open perforations, custom coatings and liners, two-way returnable capability, and custom inserts for product display and safety.
- Do you know what sustainable and eco-friendly material options are available?
After 19 years in business, I can tell you unfortunately, MOST customers do not know their options. What does FSC certified mean? What is the difference between post production and post-consumer waste? What impact will material selection and recycled content have on strength and printability?
A person-to-person application review and discussion is the only way to make sure all potential problems and solutions are considered. We love this aspect of our jobs because it is easy to fill in the blank or answer a question. Our real value is answering a question, our customer/client didn’t even know that had.
Call us at 630-551-1700 or email us through this contact link. We guarantee it will prove to be worth the time to engage with a real human being who can help you even if this is not the first box design.
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https://www.salazarpackaging.com/which-print-process-is-best-for-you/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/4-pillars-of-our-custom-packaging-success/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/even-amazon-makes-e-commerce-packaging-mistakes/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/refresh-or-rebrand-your-e-commerce-packaging/