Tag: ecommerce

Reduce Packaging With These Simple Fixes

Posted on by definitionconsulting

If you operate an e-commerce business, packaging is something you can’t avoid but reducing packaging is becoming even more important .  Whether you’re sending your products onto suppliers or onto consumers, it has to be packaged in a way that keeps the goods inside safe and secure until they reach their final destination.   So can reducing packaging work?

The risk here is that, in an effort to make sure your product doesn’t get damaged in transit, you use too much packaging which can end up costing you money that you would much rather see going to your bottom line.

In manufacturing, Forbes magazine identified packaging as one of the three best ways to cut costs, and the same applies if your business is online.  How, though, do you reduce the amount of packaging you use? Here we look at some six simple fixes for reducing the packaging your business uses.

  • Review your packaging

Before you start to reduce your packaging, you need to know just how much you use.  Look back over the past three or six months and work out how much packaging you used – and how much you spent on it.  

Then, look at how much packaging you keep in reserve and whether any of it has been sitting there for more than a month; if it has, it probably means you don’t need it. Don’t forget to look at additional packaging material such as bubble wrap too.  

  • Decide on the packaging you need

Take a look at the goods you sell and decide what type of packaging is best when it comes to shipping. If you sell clothes, for example, mailing bags may be better than boxes and probably won’t need much, if any, additional packaging materials to keep them damage free.  

You might need to use additional packaging materials for fragile items, which will also most likely need to be shipped in cardboard boxes.  As well as the material, consider the size. If you ship smaller items, you won’t need big boxes; if you ship items in bulk, you will.

Finally, think about how you store goods in your warehouse. Do you use cardboard boxes for these that are then discarded? Can they be replaced with reusable plastic crates?  These not only reduce the packaging you use (internally) but reduce your costs (though there may be an additional initial outlay).

  • Only buy what you need

Once you know what packaging you need, work out how much stock you think you’ll be shipping and buy just enough to cover these sales. This way, you won’t be left having paid for packaging you don’t need, and you won’t be tempted to over-pack an item.  

Better yet, consider investing in a system such as Right Size that lets you customise your packaging to perfectly fit the items you’re shipping and create exactly the number of boxes you need at any given time.

  • Cut back on additional packaging

One of the best things about systems such as Ribble Right Size is that they allow you to cut down on additional packaging.  The same applies if you buy boxes that are as close in size to the products you want to ship. This is harder if you buy in bulk because you can end up with too many boxes that aren’t a good fit, meaning you’re much more likely to use boxes that are too big and fill up any empty space with bubble wrap or packaging peanuts.

  • Change your mindset

Using the right sized-packaging and reducing the amount of additional packaging material aren’t difficult changes to make but they could well mean you need to change the way you work.  The same applies to your employees too. So, while it might be quicker and easier to reach for the first available box when preparing an item for shipping, instead, you’ll need to look for the box that best fits the product.  

  • Reuse and recycle

Think about how you can reuse packaging too.  Can used packaging paper be shredded and used as packaging material, for example, or can boxes used by customers to return items be reused when you send out your next order?

By taking these simple steps, you’ll be able to not only reduce the amount of packaging you use but cut your operational costs (including warehouse space and transportation).  You’ll also be reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and your carbon footprint, both of which are good for not only the planet but your reputation.

Why You Need Custom Packaging for Your ecommerce Business

Posted on by definitionconsulting

Over 75% of people in the UK bought goods or services online last year. This is a staggering figure considering the internet has only just turned twenty, but one that goes a long way to explaining how – in just two decades – we’ve become the world’s third largest ecommerce sector.

This means, however, that if you own an ecommerce business, you are working in a very crowded and increasingly competitive market, one that is constantly changing and requires you to change with it if you want to succeed.

So, whereas once upon a time, your customers were probably more than happy to receive their purchases in a plain brown box and surrounded by brown packaging paper, now they want something more.  Something, many of your competitors are probably already offering – custom packaging that turns ordering online from a simple transaction into an experience.

Packaging goes a long way to telling a customer who your company is and what you stand for.  It can show them you care about them, value their business and want them to buy from you again.   Or, it can show them you aren’t that bothered, that they are nothing more than a sale in a long line of sales and you wouldn’t miss them if they go.  Which is why custom packaging is so important and, if you don’t use it already, why you need to make it part of your plans for 2020.

How to make custom packaging work for your eCommerce business

If you want to make custom packaging work for your online business, you need to think about:

  1. Branding: While a plain brown box works just as well as one with a logo from a practical standpoint, it doesn’t help you get your name out there or stand out in a crowd.  Branding your boxes mean that not only does your customer know about you, everyone who comes into contact with your box sees your name and may well remember next time they go online.
  2. Messaging: Every company has a USP, something that sets them apart from their competitors.  The trick is getting this message across. With custom packaging, you can do this. Food companies, for example, might want people to know their food is always fresh, even if it’s being shipped, or that it’s locally sourced.
  3. Image: In competitive markets, the more you can do to stand out in the crowd, the better, especially if you are starting out or aren’t the biggest player in the field.  Your custom packaging can help you do just that. It presents a professional image, one that says you are serious about what you do and won’t let your customers down.
  4. Sustainability: Today’s consumer wants to buy from companies committed to reducing their environmental footprint.  Creating custom packaging from recycled/recyclable materials and limiting (or eliminating) the use of plastics tells them what happens to the planet matters to you as much as it does to them and is likely to lead to repeat business.   
  5. Sharing: Social media has become increasingly important to ecommerce businesses over the last few years, with people sharing what they like (and don’t) about products online.  If the people sharing have large enough followings, it can create a real boost for your business. And they are more likely to share if what arrives on their doorstep has custom packaging – though you need to make sure that packaging looks good on camera!

Protecting what’s on the inside

At the end of the day, what you put in your packaging will always matter more to the customer than the packaging, we know that.  Which is why it’s important to get your packaging right because customisation isn’t just about what’s on the outside, it’s about what’s on the inside, and that needs to arrive with your customer in perfect condition.  

Think about what you’re shipping and how your packaging can be used to protect its contents.  This will probably mean moving away from traditional packaging – standard sized boxes with lots of excess packaging materials to something that fits your products perfectly, keeping them safe until they reach their destination.  

If you aren’t sure how this might work, talk to packaging companies such as Ribble, who can talk you through the process and your options, or explore packaging solutions such as Right Size, which allow you to produce perfectly sized packaging for everything you need to ship.

Excess Packaging Is Ruining Your Customer Experience

Posted on by definitionconsulting

When you run an eCommerce business, getting your products to your customers quickly is essential, as is making sure those customers get what they ordered, and that their goods aren’t damaged in transit.  

Which is why you might be tempted to use as much packaging as you can to make orders remain safe and secure until they reach their final destination.

Unfortunately, this can result in excess packaging which, rather than enhancing your customers’ experience, can actually ruin it.

How Does Excess Packaging Ruin the Customer Experience?

Last year, over 1.8 billion people bought products online, and, in the UK, we have seen a 50% increase in online sales compared to a decade ago.

Alongside the growth in online sales, there’s been an increase in customer expectations.  

Consumers are no longer happy to have a package arrive in a brown box full of bubble wrap or Styrofoam peanuts.

Instead, they want an experience from the moment their package arrives.  And, ideally, they want that experience to be environmentally friendly, which is where excess packaging can have a negative impact.  

Environmental Concerns

While customers want their products to be packaged well, so their goods aren’t damaged, they don’t want that packaging to be wasteful.  If the box is too large for the products your shipping, for example, you’ll need to use additional packaging materials to keep that product secure within the box.  

No matter the type of packaging and even if it’s recyclable, the impression excess packaging leaves your customer with is that your company is wasteful and doesn’t care about the environment.  Plus, having excess packaging can leave them frustrated because they then have to get rid of it, be that in a bin or by making a trip to the local recycling centre.

Make sure, therefore, that you source packaging that comes in a range of sizes that fit the products your selling.  Even better, look at options such as Right Size Solutions that allow you to customise the size of your packaging, reducing waste and – ultimately – helping improve your customer’s experience.

Ease of Opening

Excess packaging isn’t just about what you use to wrap the products in to keep them safe.  It’s about the products themselves and how they’re packaged. Not only does your packaging need to be the right size for the products inside, but it also needs to be easy to open.  Anything too complicated, and your customers won’t be happy.

Children’s toys are a perfect example of this; parents regularly complain about how long it takes to unwrap them.  Known as ‘wrap rage’, it’s something major retailers such as Hasbro are addressing with simpler packaging and is something you can do too to improve your customers experience by using only what is needed.  

Don’t use extra plastic wrapping, for example, and stay away from things like blister packs and anything else that adds to the time it takes to unpack a product.  Remember, though, this doesn’t mean that you should not use any packaging – you still want your goods to arrive undamaged after all – it just means only using as much as you need to make sure this happens.

Ways Packaging Can Improve the Customer Experience

Beyond reducing the amount of packaging, other ways you can improve a customer’s experience, include:

  1. Outer packaging:  When customers receive their order in packaging that looks good, it makes them feel special and excited about what’s inside. Use colour if you can to help build this excite and make sure your brand name is prominently displayed.  
  2. Quality: Goods are more likely to get damaged if your packaging isn’t up to scratch.  And, even if the goods are fine, receiving a box that is ripped or torn doesn’t make a good impression.  Make sure, therefore, you use good quality packaging, even if it costs a bit more. If you aren’t sure what type of packaging you need, companies such as Ribble can help you find what works for you.  
  3. Unboxing: There’s something special about ordering goods online and having the box arrive. It builds a sense of anticipation.  However, once the box is opened, customers want to see what they’ve ordered. This is why unboxing is so important. In fact, unboxing has been a bit of an internet craze for the past few years. Get your packaging right, and you could end up as an online sensation, reaching more customers and making focusing on the unboxing experience well worth it!
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