If your business requires you to package and dispatch products to your clients, then it is absolutely essential that you package them in a way that ensures they are safe and protected. If your customers receive products that aren’t properly packaged and have become damaged, then they will inevitably ask for a refund or an exchange. If it happens again, then they could stop shopping with your business altogether.
Fortunately, ensuring that your business’s products are professionally packaged and shipped isn’t difficult at all, as long as you follow this article’s advice:
Requirements
Every item has its own individual requirements. If you don’t cater to these, then you won’t be able to ensure that your parcel is effectively packaged. Your business’s reputation can be negatively impacted if you don’t go to great lengths to ensure that your products are packaged safely and properly. Seriously consider each item’s individual requirements before packaging. Some items may need to be shipped in large boxes, while others in plastic bags. Proper packaging ensures your item’s protection and guarantees that your customers will be satisfied.
X-Ray
If you are shipping food or beverages, then you need to make sure that you use an x-ray machine to rule out any foreign bodies in your products. This is especially important if you are packaging foods that have had bones mechanically removed. Regular x-ray chicken bone detection in industrial settings can eliminate any bones being left in products. If your customers were to eat one of your products and discover a bone, it can easily injure them, then they could take legal action against you. Another food item that needs to be x-rayed is products made from fish. Fishbones can get stuck and cause serious issues.
Material
As mentioned previously, you must ensure that you are packaging items in durable packing material. Heavy items should always be packaged in boxes. Light items can be packaged in small bags, although if they are valuable, then boxes are strongly advised. Boxes are harder wearing and less susceptible to damage. They are also great for supporting the weight of heavy items. Make sure that when you are purchasing material for packaging, you buy it from reliable and trustworthy manufacturers. You can determine whether or not a manufacturer is worth working with by reading their reviews.
Weight
If you want to ensure that your items are properly packaged (and packaged in the right materials), then invest in some scales so that you can weigh each item before you send it. Weight is very important because if you put an item that is too heavy in a parcel that can’t support its weight, it will tear and fall through the bottom when it is being carried. If the item is valuable, this can result in you having to replace it and send another item out to the recipient at your own cost. Additionally, the more an item weighs, the more it will cost to send. It is always good to know an item’s weight, so you can estimate how much you are going to have to spend on shipping.
Wrapping
You don’t just need to put an item inside a parcel or box, you also need to wrap it. The best item for wrapping things is bubble wrap, although you can also use polyurethane bags. The difficulty with wrapping items is that it often adds a lot to an item’s weight. For this reason, you should avoid using wrapping materials that are very heavy, like bunched-up paper or cardboard. Bubble wrap is definitely the lightest material for wrapping the inside of parcels. It is also very cheap to purchase in bulk, making it a great option.
Sealing
When you are finished packaging items, you need to make sure that you seal them properly. The sealant that you use depends largely upon the package that is being shipped. If you are shipping food items, then you might can them. If you are sending parcels, you could use glue to stick them down. The most common material used to seal parcels however is tape. If you are going to use tape, then you should try to opt for a stronger, more industrial tape than just ordinary sellotape. Industrial strength tape ensures that your parcel won’t loosen and open during transit.
Handling
Never let anybody that hasn’t been trained in handling parcels go anywhere near the items that you are going to be distributing to your customers. This is because if they do not know how to handle parcels, then they could do so improperly and consequently damage the items that you are shipping. They could also injure themselves. If you haven’t provided adequate parcel handling training, then they could actually take you to court and sue you for damages if this happens.
Labeling
A big mistake that’s made by many people when they are packaging items is poor labeling. If you don’t label your items correctly, then they could be returned to you or may not arrive at their intended destination. Try to use professional packing labels, instead of using pieces of paper. You should also put your labels inside laminated pieces of card so that they don’t get obscured or damaged in transit. If water gets onto your label, and you have written it out in pen, then it could become smudged and unreadable– this could prevent couriers from being able to see what the delivery location is.
Courier
Finally, so that you can be sure your parcels will arrive where they are supposed to, make sure that you hire a reliable and trustworthy courier. An alternative to using private couriers is to use your country’s domestic mail service. The downside to using a domestic mail service is that it can sometimes cost a lot of money. If you are going to use a courier, before hiring them, make sure that you read their reviews and testimonials. This will give you a glimpse into how they operate and whether they are an efficient business to work with.
Whether you are an eCommerce business or sell food products, you need to make sure that your products are properly packaged. The best way to do this is to follow this article’s guidance and exert common sense. If it seems like an item’s not packaged properly, it probably isn’t.
