3 Takeaways from IoPP's Packaging Machinery Course

By Sam Huppert, Packaging Consultant, CHAINalytics
Connect with Sam on LinkedIn

I recently completed the IOPP Packaging Machinery Basics course at Frain Industries in Chicago, a “survey course” that introduced attendees to a wide range of types of packaging machinery. The course is designed for engineers who work on the design side of packaging, as many packaging professionals have minimal experience working with packaging machinery. This is in large part due to machinery is marginally covered or not taught in many packaging engineer degree programs.

Three Course Highlights/Takeaways
Now that I’m a course graduate, I can see three course highlights/takeaways that will be valuable assets as I go about designing packaging solutions for Chainalytics’ clients:

1. Videos & Hands-On & On-Site Frain Experience Made for a “Learning Lab”
The course instructor (CEO at Changeover Wizard, John Henry) has vast experience with packaging machinery in many manufacturing plants across North America. His client engagements, has enabled him to collect videos of different packaging machinery and packaging lines. He has integrated many of these videos into his presentation, which helps support the educational content.An addition to the videos, the class was able to go out in the warehouse at Frain Industries (a used packaging machinery vendor), providing a chance to see the vast amount of inventory and packaging machinery running first hand at Frain Industries. John Henry was able to walk us through the warehouse and show examples of machinery covered in the lecture; we also viewed Frain Industries employees working on a variety of up-and-running packaging machinery for their customers. This approach enabled the class to almost immediately apply their in-class learning to live operating packaging machinery.


2. It's Important to Develop a Keen Understanding of How Packaging Design Changes Can Impact Line Production.
One of the biggest takeaways from the course was understanding how a seemingly simple or minor package design change can affect a manufacturing line. John Henry provided many examples of how poorly planned package design changes at several companies impacted manufacturing line

Wexxar Case Erector

productivity—like changeover downtime, damage issues, production speed, etc. which can all have a big impact on packaging and supply chain costs. We learned that it is essential for packaging engineers to meet with stakeholders on the manufacturing line to make sure the package design change can run efficiently on the line. Iterative changes and adjustments to any packaging change implementation at the beginning of a project can save a lot of money literally down the line and prevent major problems in the future. We also learned how important it is for designers and equipment operators to communicate at all stages of a project effectively.

3. The Importance of Determining Requirements When Designing a New Packaging Line
Just as communication between operations and package designers is crucial when implementing package design changes, communication when designing a new packaging line is as important.

The success of the new line depends on gathering as much detailed information across departments as possible before line design begins (for example, line capacity, production speed requirements, product info, the final package’s complete bill of materials (BOM) (get samples), etc. It is also vital to make this information gathering a continuous process, since more information will become available throughout the project.

Lastly, it is extremely important that there is at bare minimum a verbal agreement, or better a written and signed packaging success criteria document, that contains the information gathered to help ensure all stakeholders are on board. This formal step will prevent any potential disagreements, if something fails on the line, since all parties are accountable.

I recommend in completing IOPP’s Packaging Machinery Basics course if you want to learn more about packaging machinery at a high level. I definitely look at machinery differently now, and with more curiosity. The class is relatively small (15-20 people) and is taught twice a year. Please visit iopp.org for more information on this course and what it has to offer.

Sam Huppert is a packaging consultant at Chainalytics, where he supports senior engineers with value engineering and damage reduction projects from project launch through final implementation. 

Smart Packaging Leads to Supply Chain Savings

by Rob Kaszubowski, Packaging Engineering Manager, Chainalytics

Packaging is a unique beast. Every product you use, touch and consume requires some amount of packaging at some point in the supply chain. It’s so easy to take packaging for granted and forget that every packaging component has a specific purpose and can provide value to your product's total cost of ownership. This seems especially true in food packaging, where the consumer's main focus is to purchase, consume the product and toss (or recycle) the packaging.

However, as a packaging engineer, it’s the little things that stand out for me.

For instance, I recently purchased a case of mandarin oranges from Costco. OK, my kids love mandarin oranges, so I actually purchased two cases. When I opened the case I noticed that the manufacturer had nested the cups to improve the overall efficiency of the secondary packaging. It’s not overly flashy or innovative…just smart packaging! Ahhh! A packaging engineer’s dream!

Nested oranges inside corrugated shipper

Nested fruit cups

Non-nested fruit cups are inefficient

The high-level takeaways from this? A seemingly minor package orientation can lead directly to multiple savings across the supply chain through:

1. Less corrugated material

Corrugated shipper material comparison - Nested fruit cups vs. Non-nested

The corrugated shipper with the nested fruit cups utilizes 386 square inches material.

The not-nested case uses 411 square inches of material. Or a 6.5% increase in material!

2. Improved pallet cube efficiencies

Nested cups shipper vs. non-nested cups shipper

Nesting the fruit cups allows for an extra 20 cases per pallet (or 8.6% improvement in pallet efficiencies). This translates to fewer pallets in the system, fewer trailers and less handling labor.

3. Fewer trailers in transit

Improved pallet utilization leads to fewer trailers on the roads

Fewer trailers provide cost savings and sustainability gains from less diesel usage and lower carbon emissions. Plus, the need for fewer trailers on the road also helps alleviate driver shortage constraints.  Again, it's the simple things that can lead to big time savings for consumer packaged goods companies.

4. More product on the pallet at Costco

This one is pretty obvious, but having more product on the pallet at the stores leads to less handling and fewer touches throughout the supply chain - even at the store level. 

What other simple changes in everyday packaging could lead to greater efficiency and supply chain savings?

The packaging team at Chainalytics focuses on packaging cost reduction efforts that lead to a chain reaction of savings across the entire supply chain.

Rob Kaszubowski is a Packaging Engineering Manager at Chainalytics Packaging Engineering practice. His track record of success ranges from delivering packaging cost savings and damage reduction projects to optimizing packaging throughout clients’ entire supply chains including retail, DIY, and big-box channels.

Combating Driver Shortage Through Packaging

by Rich Lindgren, CPP
Chainalytics

If you pay attention to transportation and long haul trucking rates, you know that the current driver shortage is a real problem and is causing increased rates and reduced load acceptance ratios.  For more details on the driver shortage and how it effects transportation costs, check out this article by Michael Kilgore.

The most widely accepted solution to the driver shortage is to increase compensation for over the road truck drivers so that the profession remains competitive against other appealing semi-skilled construction jobs that are on the rise.  That will definitely help with the supply end of the equation and probably deserved for quality drivers, but at the same time those wage increases will just transfer through to your company in the way of rate increases across lanes.

Here is an alternative way of thinking about this problem from the the demand side of the equation.  Shipping less product is obviously not a solution to reduce demand and unless you own your fleet, you can't really hire or pay drivers more, you rely on your carriers for that.  So lets look at something you do have control of.  Believe it or not, it starts with your packaging, specifically your distribution and unit load packaging.

Do the Back of your Trailers resemble this?

By optimizing your packaging and increasing the density of your unit loads and thus leading to more goods shipped per trailer, you reduce your demand on your carriers and the over all system.  Kind of like adjusting your thermostat in the heat of the summer when you are not home, you are reducing impact on the grid and waste.  Empty cube space in trailer is probably the worst and most expensive kind of waste there is.

Many customers we help achieve 5-15% improvements in full truck load densities, which usually translates 10-15% less truck load shipments.  This improvement obviously generates immediate transportation savings but also reduces the demand on their carriers and improved load acceptance ratios.  Now while one company reducing a few truck load shipments a week is not going to solve the driver shortage by itself, but a small percentage shift across the market would.  Not to mention, this would result in significant savings for companies and a large reduction in truck emissions from a sustainability standpoint.

To learn more about Packaging Optimization, follow the link.

What’s New with Dimensional Weight?

by Rich Lindgren, CPP
Chainalytics

We are about half way into 2015 and the new Dimensional Weight pricing model issued by UPS and FedEx earlier this year. Fortunately, many shippers and 3PLs have been able to avoid the price increases taking immediate effect thanks to negotiation or multi-year contracts that haven't yet expired.  

(If dimension weight charge is news to you, check back on this previous blog entry.)

Rumblings and rumors from the packaging and supply chain industries suggest that the carriers are forming contractual partnerships with companies like Pack Size not only to secure business for each other, but ultimately appear to relieve the sting felt by shippers with the price increase. Naturally, the details of these dealings have been kept hush-hush. 

There would have to be a pretty compelling financial savings for a company to lock into long term exclusivity for both packaging and single parcel carrier arrangements. In my opinion,  if you already have a relationship with one or the other, why would you want to bring another company into the mix? Sounds messy. 

How much air are you shipping from you distribution centers?

If your company was not so fortunate at the negotiation table, and your plan A was to wait and see if the changes affected your ground pricing, now would be a good time to start reviewing your FedEx and UPS invoices against past quarters to see what the ultimate cost impact has been to your business and profit margins. Chances are after seeing the delta you will have to go to Plan B, and try and salvage some money to not blow this year's budget.  

Admittedly, sometimes Plan B's can be better than Plan A's in the long run. An exceptional Plan B in my opinion is to redesign the packaging for your high volume products, or implement a simple box sizing optimization exercise for your distribution centers.

Shipping air is almost like using dollar bills as void fill!

Either way, with dim weights in the mix, there is a lot of jockeying for market share by both carriers or packaging suppliers in the parcel game as "grace periods" expire for companies currently phasing in the dim weight pricing changes immediately. And frankly, there's a lot of money to be made (or lost) depending on the packing strategy you take. It's important to be aware of this the next time your contracts are up. Go line by line and review them carefully.

Packaging Fail - How not to unload a Truck

Packaging and material handling are everyday activities when they go as planned, but there are always special occurrences and variances to normal processes and events in your supply chain.

Check out the following video of pallet jack material handling dock truck unloading gone amiss.


That is quite the pallet jack fail, hopefully the operator was not harmed too much.  Most certainly the impacts on the product and packaging in that stretch wrapped unit load saw forces above and beyond that in your normal ISTA or ASTM test protocol.

Just proves that you probably can't ever afford "Zero Damage" in your supply chain, but finding that balance is still the biggest trick. We can help! Contact our packaging consultants today.

Get Your Millions Back!

by Rich Lindgren, CPP
Chainalytics


You may remember a few months back that H&R Block wanted to help all us Tax Payers get our Billion dollars back from mistakes made by doing our own federal tax returns.  Well, that got me thinking about all the money that will be left on the table by companies and individuals that will keep making the same mistakes they have been making come January 1, 2015 as it pertains to shipping single parcel.

For those of you that have not heard, UPS & FedEx will both be applying dimensional weight to all ground shipments, not just those over 3 cubic feet and air shipments.  So what does that mean to you?  Bloomberg and others estimate that the cost to the industry will be $350 million or more.  When you head out to the shipping department at your company, if you see anything that resembles the picture collage below, there is a good chance your company will be one of the ones effected with this multi-million dollar cost increase.

If your company has a single parcel shipping area like this, you probably are at risk!

H&R Block estimates that there about 11 million returns divvying up that Billion, which only comes out to around $460 per incorrect return, which is nice for an individual, but for a company, that is pocket change for most.  When it comes to single parcel charges, there are more like a few thousand companies that will burden the brunt of this $350 million dollar industry hit. For some companies, this will cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars if they don't do something about it.  Regardless, it's your money, Chainalytics wants you to get it back!

Traditionally, companies have erred on the side of operation efficiency and reducing the number of boxes to inventory for their single parcel fulfillment packing lines.  That strategy will prove to be quite costly going forward.  Currently you would be often sacrificing a few pennies of corrugated box costs to make things go fast and easy, now those decisions will add up to dollars in a hurry with dimensional freight charges.  Not to mention the dissatisfied and irritated customers that are tired of receiving over sized boxes with little product and lots of air pillows.

This example of office supplies of a box that dimensions 14"x10"x5" that weighed 1lb will now bill out  at 5lbs under new rules.  Likely cost impact on this shipment is 50 cents or more, times hundreds of shipments like this every day and you have a big problem!

If you want to run some scenarios on your own shipments, feel free to use our free dimensional weight calculator from a previous blog entry.

That being said, this doesn't have to be all doom and gloom, there is a way out or to at least minimize this cost increase.  It all starts with right sizing and/or optimizing your packaging and over packaging strategies for single parcel and e-commerce shipments.  

Not sure how to do that, feel free to reach out to our Packaging Consultants at Chainalytics - Packaging@Chainalytics.com

We can help you reduce your shipping costs and at the same time reduce your sustainability foot print.

Chainalytics Selected for 2014 Supply & Demand Chain Executive Top 100

Supply Chain Improvements with Avaya Yields Savings, Sustainability Worthy of “100 Great Supply Chain Projects”

Atlanta, GA – May 28, 2014 - Chainalytics, a global leader in supply chain consulting, packaging consulting, analytics, and market intelligence, has been selected by Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine for inclusion into the “100 Great Supply Chain Projects” for 2014.

Chainalytics is recognized in this year's “100 Great Supply Chain Projects” for its supply chain planning and packaging optimization leadership from an engagement with Avaya, a multinational billion-dollar leading global provider of next-generation business collaboration and communications solutions.  

The winning supply chain initiative originated with an initial goal to identify strategies and options for reducing dimensional weight penalties for signal parcel customer shipments. What began as a simple cost reduction project to reduce dimensional weight penalties, quickly evolved into a holistic packaging optimization project focused on sustainability and systemic cost reductions.

“Chainalyitcs’ tools were used to clarify the business case and illustrate - for example - moving from 80 to 150 units per pallet; seeing that causes light bulbs to go on. People get it. The team created enterprise leadership buy-in, momentum, and rapid advancement of the project,” said Lance Casler, senior manager of global transportation with Avaya.

"The Chainalytics team, lead by Eric Carlson and Rich Lindgren, was able to bring strategic leadership to help transform packaging vision at Avaya and gain key stakeholder buy in at multiple levels in the packaging design and distribution & transport packaging testing stages. "

Indicative of the capabilities of the supply chain and packaging experts at Chainalytics, this winning project involved packaging redesign, cube utilization, customized cost modeling, product portfolio subdivision, optimization for transoceanic freight lanes with an emphasis placed on packaging sustainability and quantifiable metrics.

“Avaya required expert resources for packaging engineering, system-wide process improvements and significant reductions in packaging materials and shipping costs. Chainalytics made the most of available resources providing expertise where needed, leveraging Avaya data, quickly identify packaging optimization opportunities and executing action steps,” continued Casler.

The Chainalytics team helped ensure that the total system had a strong fit to meet the needs of the business, working closely with the Avaya team, to design and build a custom savings and justifications “calculator”, integrating freight rates & new container loading densities with considerations to new packaging designs.

Tom Blanck, Practice Leader for the Packaging Optimization team noted: "We had a huge challenge ahead of us, but were able to make a major impact, thanks in part to the collaborative effort of the Avaya's core stakeholder team and their internal packaging resources."

Avaya’s team was then able to take these process improvements and continue to realize tangible savings on their own. Chainalytics’ recommendations and processes remain in place generating lasting project and enterprise value year after year. 

“Avaya’s partnership with Chainalytics created processes improvements with lasting, quantifiable, high-value effects for the enterprise,” stated Casler.

"Initial results achieved through the custom packaging optimization techniques developed by Chainalytics directly resulted in annual savings of 320 tons of corrugated, 16.5 tons of packaging foam, 4000 pallets, 19% fewer ocean containers shipped, and 200 tons of CO2 emissions eliminated."

“Avaya now owns sustainable processes and quality packaging specification development tools for our products. Ocean freight mix has since increased from 20 percent to 80 percent allowing us to realize far greater savings than when project was completed,” concluded Casler.

"Our goal with this year's '100' is to put the spotlight on successful and innovative transformation projects that are delivering bottom-line value to small, medium and large enterprises across the different functions that comprise the supply chain," said Barry Hochfelder, Supply & Demand Chain editor. "The projects featured in the '100' article can serve as a roadmap for supply chain executives looking for new opportunities to drive improvement in their own operations."

The magazine received hundreds of applications and chose the top 100 based on the scope of the project, creative application of technologies and services and the business results achieved.

All 100 winning supply chain projects will be featured in the cover story of the June 2014 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive to be released in June, as well as online at www.SDCExec.com.

About Chainalytics

Chainalytics is a recognized global leader in supply chain consulting, analytics, and market intelligence. Through a unique combination of best practice knowledge, exclusive benchmarking research, and advanced decision sciences tools and techniques, Chainalytics empowers fact-based decision making in the areas of Supply Chain Design, S&OP (Sales & Operations Planning), Logistics Operations, Transportation, Service Supply Chain, and Packaging Optimization. Chainalytics targets enterprises with a high degree of complexity created by their unique combination of scale, variability, and geography. With locations in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, Chainalytics serves companies globally in a borderless fashion. To learn more, visit www.chainalytics.com

About Avaya

Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications solutions, providing unified communications, contact centers, networking and related services to companies of all sizes around the world. www.avaya.com

No Time Like the Present to Start Right Sizing Your Packaging

Late last week, FedEx announced pricing changes for its FedEx Ground and Freight offerings.

For FedEx Ground, the company said that effective January 1, 2015, it will apply dimensional weight (aka: dim weight) pricing to all shipments moved via FedEx Ground, as opposed to its current method of applying dimensional weight pricing to oversized packages that measure three cubic feet or more. FedEx defines dimensional weight pricing as “a common industry practice that sets the transportation price based on package volume–the amount of space a package occupies in relation to its actual weight.”  FedEx officials said that this change will align the FedEx Ground dimensional weight pricing with FedEx Express by applying it to all packages.

What is dimensional weight, you ask? Dimensional weight is the volume of your package = (L x W x D) / 166. If the dimensional weight is greater than the actual weight of the package, you get charged for the dimensional weight. This formula applies to both UPS & FedEx.

This is going to be a major change for many online retailers, omni-channel shippers and companies that utilize single parcel for moving goods intra-company or business to business.  No need to worry if your company specializes in heavy good like replacement auto parts or gold bricks, but for many companies this could cause a substantial increase in logistics costs.  Based on initial research by WSJ, many companies could see price increase between 6%-30%+ on the majority of their single parcel shipments.

If you think you are protected because UPS is your carrier of choice, most experts agree that UPS will follow suit within a similar timeline.  There would be just too much money on the table for them to pass up.  Not sure if your packages will be subjected to dimensional weight, use our free online dimensional weight calculator below or find additional examples on dim weight in this previous blog post.

Domestic Single Parcel Freight Dimensional Weight Calculator

    

No longer will companies be able to afford ground shipments that look like the picture below.  Before, all this air space would often cost them a few extra dimes in extra corrugated box material and air pillows, but going forward they may be paying extra dollars for that extra air they are shipping in this under-utilized secondary package.

Starting Jan 1, 2015 shipments like this will be costly for online retailers

That being said, this doesn't have to be all doom and gloom, there is a way out or to at least minimize this cost increase.  It all starts with right sizing and/or optimizing your packaging and over packaging strategies, and finding the balance between how many box sizes your fulfillment line should carry, what size they should be, and what's the balance between box size and dimensional weight impact.  Not sure how to do that, feel free to reach out to our Packaging Experts at Chainalytics - Packaging@Chainalytics.com

by Rich Lindgren, CPP
Chainalytics

Sustainability Product Expo 2014 Recap

by Kyle Ous@PKGPlaymaker
Chainalytics

Over the last 10 years, many sustainable improvements have been accomplished related to packaging and product design. This year at Walmart’s 2014 Sustainable Product Expo, eight of the largest food companies announced pledges to help ensure that tomorrow’s food supply is affordable and sustainable for the nine billion people projected to inhabit the planet by 2050. Executives from these leading CPG companies gathered in Bentonville in partnership with Walmart to help preserve the environment in the years ahead. Together, the participating suppliers represent more than $100 billion in sales at Walmart.

We are all smiles today with a #CEOselfie at the #WalmartExpo!

 “A great deal of innovative work is happening every day, but there are still too many gaps and missed opportunities. Today’s commitments are about creating real systems change from one end of the supply chain to the other — meaning how products are grown and made, how they’re transported and sold, and how we touch the lives of people along the way.” stated Doug McMillon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Walmart Stores, Inc.

At the expo and on the exhibitor show floor, two main areas that were evident to align with McMillon’s synopsis included Walmart’s ‘Made in America’ initiative that launched in 2013 and CPG companies continued interest in designing sustainable packaging for the supply chain. “96 percent of Walmart shoppers indicated they have purchased sustainable products in the past year” according to a recent survey conducted by Walmart’s Global Customer Insights and Analytics group.

“No one should have to choose between products that are sustainable and products they can afford,” said Manuel Gomez, vice president of sustainability for Walmart. “We want to make sustainability easy by taking the guesswork out of values-based shopping. Accessibility and transparency really put the customer in the driver’s seat.”

The Expo highlighted several initiatives to further expand access to sustainable products and create more transparency in the supply chain. If you think about all the energy and effort that goes into making the products people use everyday, not just the package itself, but all the components in the supply chain beginning with sourcing, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, product use, and disposal — there are several innovation opportunities that can lead to improved packaging supply chain performance and sustainable cost savings. 

Check out this example of one of the case studies shared at the Expo - http://www.slideshare.net/Chainalytics/2014-walmartexpo-chainalyticspackagingsupplychainsustainabilitycasestudyss

These innovation themes combined with Walmart’s ‘Made in America’ initiative will require retailers, product manufacturers, packaging suppliers, and supply chain partners to double down on their efforts to make a bigger difference as Walmart looks to reshore $50 Billion in goods over the next 10 years.  Companies that can optimize their packaging and supply chain will be best positioned to take advantage of the movement towards "Near Shoring".

Sustainability is no longer an after-thought and gaining priority for major companies across industries. What is your company doing to evolve sustainability throughout the supply chain?

Let us know. Send comments to kous@chainalytics.com

Considering Product and Packaging Shipability

by Rich Lindgren, CPP
Chainalytics

I recently came across  “The real impact of high transportation costs” from CSCMP’s Supply Chain Quarterly. I found their three main drivers on how high transportation costs are affecting supply chain strategies were very accurate, with one critical packaging element absent.

The gist of the article suggests rising and volatile costs of fuel are causing U.S. companies to shift operations in the following key ways:

• A shift from offshoring to nearshoring
• A shift from product design for marketability and production to design for "shipability"
• A shift from lean inventory policies to hybrid lean transport/inventory policies

In my day-to-day work on Packaging Optimization for our customers, the first two drivers challenge our clients with increasing frequency and intensity. There is a trend towards less overseas manufacturing or at least postponed assembly.  There is also clearly a conscious effort for almost all companies to make their product and packaging more dense. This has a ripple effect of savings in their supply chain and logistics specifically in efficiency gained through packaging materials, handling and warehousing.

What stood out to me as missing from the article’s “Shipability point,” and what I often see overlooked by some of our clients, is that shipability goes beyond on the size and shape of packaging.  Shipability should also include the product’s ability to survive the supply chain.  No matter how dense a product packs and ships as it fills out the perfect cube for your pallet or trailer load, if it is damage during the final mile before your customer gets it, the process failed.

Your product and package must work in concert to survive the rigors of your ever-changing supply chain.  Here is a simple equation demonstrating this point. 

 “Product + Packaging = Distribution”

If your product plus the packaging are greater than the rigors of your supply chain you are probably over spending on your packaging. If less, then you are going to see higher than normal damage rates.  It is evident there is a shift towards more single parcel shipments to end customers, which is causing many companies’ supply chain equations to fall out of balance.

Most packaging is designed for palletized shipment and is being asked to survive single parcel challenges. You can change any of the three variables in the equation (product, package or environment), but the distribution piece is often the most difficult and costly to change.  Companies that rely solely on supplemental packaging as the solution to this problem overlook the possibility of simple improvements to make their products more robust that can be more cost effective than adding packaging.

We recently completed a project that is a classic example of this. A customer with a domestically sourced product shifted from palletized delivery to a single parcel environment.  The team created a solution that incorporated small product improvements with engineered packaging designs to meet all out-of-box customer requirements while reducing packaging and damage costs.   

Chainalytics will co-present this “Story of the Mojo” with Stratsys at the upcoming 2014 ISTA TransPack forum on April 23rd. Check back here for more details and follow up to this story after the conference concludes.

Packaging Health Assessment: 5 Supply Chain Changes That Will Test Your Packaging Workout

by Rob Kaszubowski, CPP

Chainalytics

Fall is finally here, which means football season is officially underway. The first few weeks of the season determine whether all the hard work during the off-season has paid off. Players and coaches often question and second-guess their off-season decisions:  Did I choose the right off-season workout? Did I work with the right trainer? Was my workout challenging enough? Well, here in Minneapolis, we know that our 1-4 Vikings are definitely doing some self-reflection and second-guessing of their own.

At Chainalytics, we’re also gearing up for the season by helping our clients assess their packaging health. Every company has a different off-season and it is important to check your packaging workout to see if it can hold up against the gruel of a long distribution channel. The pace of today’s business environment is growing faster and faster, which means products (and their packaging) are oftentimes pushed through the development cycle without being fully optimized for the current supply chain.

Here are five supply chain areas that if changed may prompt a new off-season workout plan:

1. Logistics or distribution channel process:  A new handling method at the DC (fork truck vs. clamp truck vs. manual handling) may exert different forces and create new potential hazards for your packaged product. This can also happen when you move from traditional GMA pallets to slip sheets. Oftentimes this new process requires different handling equipment and transportation methods.
2. Manufacturing, distribution, or retail locations:  Adding or removing a node in your manufacturing and distribution network changes the distance your product must travel to reach your customer and the amount of packaging needed to adequately protect it.
3. Raw materials:  Like #2 above, if one of the main raw materials in your product has changed, it could change the level of strength and protection needed in your primary and secondary packaging materials.
4. Product design changes:  Seemingly minor changes to the product design -- think increasing the thickness of a material or adding a stability bracket -- may allow you to decrease your packaging requirements.
5. Transportation mode shift:  Moving from truckload (TL) to LTL (less-than-truckload), or from LTL to small parcel means significantly different handling methods and hazards.  A change to a harsher transport mode may mean your product is under-packaged, and more likely to see damage. A change to a more forgiving one may mean you are over-packaging your product and leaving money on the table. 

These are just a few of the areas that Chainalytics’ packaging engineers check when identifying cost savings opportunities -- packaging optimization and damage avoidance. If any of these sound familar, it may be time to call your personal trainer…err, packaging engineer, to make sure your packaging is optimized for the season ahead.