Space-efficient materials help cut costs
By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 2/1/1998
So-called "skinny" packaging is compact, space-efficient, and puts a lot of protection into a little container. Specifically, "some protective packaging materials on the market today are 80% to 85% more compact than traditional materials like pre-formed polyurethane or polystyrene cushions," according to Steve Schultz, director of sales and marketing for Korrvu Packaging at Sealed Air Corporation.With this space-efficient protective packaging, a company gains the same protection using up to 85% less material. Or a company can store five times more material in the same area previously occupied by bulky materials.
Certain skinny packaging materials are versatile enough to create "universal" packs that protect a wide variety of products. By reducing the number of packaging designs on hand, companies can save additional space. For businesses that operate on "just-in-time" principles, space efficient packaging facilitates stacking enough materials at the packing station to meet packaging goals without storing large and bulky inventory.
Schultz adds that skinny packaging is also effective when packaging is done in work cells or individual stations. It enables materials to be stored for immediate use and places fewer constraints on the number of stations that a limited space can accommodate. By reducing the amount of storage space and material handling that protective packaging requires, skinny packaging helps companies keep fixed costs under control.
Tighter inventory control is another advantage of this packaging. It offers tighter control over how often the material turns over. Because skinny packs require less space than "fat" materials, a company can decide how many skinny packs it wants to store, as opposed to how many it has the ability to store.
How do you know whether skinny packaging is right for you? According to Schultz, storing packaging materials at a secondary location is a key symptom. "If you are stockpiling materials in an off-site warehouse or remote location, you probably need a more space efficient product," he says.
Schultz states that, "the first step in finding space-efficient protective packaging is to work with a company that will learn your business and can understand your goals." Your packaging supplier should understand the complete impact of packaging on your company's operations.
Key questions to ask a potential supplier are: (1) Are you willing to spend time on-site to understand my business needs and operating environment? (2) Can you help me create a custom packaging design?
(3) Do you have a testing lab to ensure that the pack will provide adequate protection? (4) Can you provide data that demonstrate the package's effectiveness?
By reducing bulky protective packaging materials, companies also cut down storage, material handling costs, and the volume of waste that goes into landfills. If your materials are a little too fat, skinny packaging could be right for you.
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