Every manufacturer wants their packaging when they need it, but if you make any of the following mistakes when choosing packaging materials, that probably won’t happen.
So what are these errors that people make when buying packaging materials? And how can you avoid them to save your business? Especially if your products are sensitive to changes in environment and handling, such as with packaging cannabis and other perishable food products, you need to read this primer.
Let’s go through the top three blunders many businesses make when ordering the packaging materials they need to keep their business running smoothly.
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What Mistakes Are You Likely to Make When Purchasing Packaging Materials?
Purchasing packaging can appear to be an easy task at first. But this is far from the truth.
But as we already mentioned, when buyers try to make the task of acquiring packaging quicker in this way, it can cause them all kinds of problems. And the hypothetical scenario above is only one of countless poor packaging purchase practices that can cause a great deal of frustration, too-expensive purchases, and other significant issues.
The top three mistakes individuals make nowadays when purchasing packaging materials are discussed below.
Last Minute Purchases
Ordering your packaging last minute is the worst mistake anyone can ever make. As previously stated, many purchasers will examine the cost of packaging materials before placing an order, only a few days before they require the supplies on-site.
This error may have been less expensive in the past. However, in the present era, when the global supply chain has been ravaged by one black swan incident after the other, purchasing in this manner can have serious negative consequences.
The events such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the COVID-19 pandemic, trucker shortages, the Great Resignation, the ever-given container ship debacle, and several other events have wreaked havoc on many supply chains worldwide. This is because all the factors mentioned above have caused lead times for a variety of shipments to increase to anywhere from six weeks and, in some instances, exceeding thirteen months!
So, if you place your order too late, your business will have to suffer weeks of downtime until the supplies arrive.
Purchasing Packaging Materials Without What You Need
This is a far more common miscalculation than you might believe, and it is made on a regular basis by a large number of packaging material customers. Sales representatives for packaging design firms often receive calls from people who need clarification on what they are looking for.
Before trying to order, these are some of the questions you should ask yourself. What is the height, width, and length of your product? Is your product heat sensitive? How will you ship your product? When do you need the supplies? How many products do you want to package? What is your budget?
Trying to place your order before figuring out all these questions will result in a long and frustrating process, and you may end up with the wrong packaging materials.
Choosing the Wrong Packaging Materials
It is not unusual for new packaging buyers to choose the wrong packaging supplies for their business.
This move is often the result of their decision to investigate their packaging requirements rather than consult a packaging expert to make sure they receive the right kind of packaging materials.
If you don’t consult a packaging expert for these reasons, especially if this is your first time purchasing, you risk getting the wrong design, size, thickness, or height and width of material. Uninformed consumers have been known to purchase products they cannot even use for packaging.
Therefore, it is essential that you consult a packaging professional before you purchase any packaging materials, mainly if this is your first time purchasing packaging for your business.