Corrugated Packaging: Supply-Chain Hero

Supply chains are growing more complex than ever, with omnichannel and e-commerce growth placing exponential demands on logistics to ensure delivery of the right product to the right customer at the right time.

Retailers and e-tailers are continually challenged to improve their delivery performance in order to keep their customers happy. Operational efficiency in the supply chain is a top priority for profit margins, as well.

Transport packaging plays a significant role in protecting products all the way to their ultimate destination, be that a manufacturing site, office, retail store or a consumer’s doorstep. Corrugated boxes have long been supply-chain heroes, preferred by manufacturers, shippers and retailers for their low cost, light weight with dependable strength-to-weight ratios, and high-performance product protection.

Quite simply, corrugated is the gold standard for shipping containers. That’s truer than ever in today’s dynamic distribution systems.

Custom design

Customization is a hallmark of corrugated packaging. Every box is engineered to specifically fit its intended contents and optimized for minimal waste and maximum value. Its fluted construction and elasticity help protect contents; high strength-to-weight ratio reduces the risk of damage in transit and eliminates wasted space in truckloads, reducing shipping costs.

The ability to custom design corrugated packaging for specific use underlies its versatility and performance in a wide variety of product and distribution scenarios. To design and engineer an efficient and cost-effective package, it is important to understand the package performance requirements of the environment. For example, some products need to be shipped with strict temperature controls maintained throughout their journey.

Environmental Factors

Packaging designers rely on industry standards and guidelines to ensure that each box is constructed to fit specific distribution requirements. The use of Environmental Factors helps engineers determine how strong a package needs to be for the actual weight it must support in the environment where it will be stored and handled.

This information is a fundamental necessity for establishing safety factors for corrugated packaging required to withstand top to bottom compression of loads in the environments it will be exposed to, such as distribution and warehouse conditions.

The impact of relative humidity (RH) is one of the largest considerations for corrugated packaging performance and safety factor development. Papermaking technology has advanced significantly since the Fibre Box Association first generated Environmental Factors guidance for package design in the 1990s. Modern substrates are significantly different, with variations in furnish, fiber orientation, and improvements in manufacturing technology.

In light of these advancements, the corrugated industry recently conducted technical research to see how requirements for Environmental Factors may have changed. The purpose of the research was to systematically examine the effect of moisture content on the top to bottom compression (BCT) of average boxes in the marketplace today. Based on the research, the FBA has updated its guidelines for recommended compression strength adjustments for relative humidity predicated on material testing of boxes made with today’s advanced machinery.

This research also proved that for most environmental conditions, stronger corrugated boxes can be produced with less raw material, without compromising performance. Better boxes can be made more economically even as raw material usage is reduced, supporting sustainability goals.

Sustainability

For all its essential performance characteristics, low cost and transport advantages, corrugated packaging is also the most sustainable packaging choice. It’s made from a renewable resource, using bio-based fuels and recycled materials, and a phenomenal 96% of corrugated is recovered for recycling. The average corrugated box contains 50% recycled fiber and the manufacture of new corrugated boxes perpetuates a continuous market for the recovered material, adding to its value.

Recycling is a big part of corrugated’s sustainability record, but it is not the whole story. The corrugated industry regularly conducts third-party, peer-reviewed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies to monitor the environmental impact of its products and to help guide continuous improvement in this area.

A life cycle assessment (LCA) is a standardized, scientific tool to assess environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product’s life, from cradle to grave or raw material extraction to end-of-life. LCAs are used to inform public policy; assist in research and development; and aid in decisions surrounding waste management, biofuels, and renewable energy.

Corrugated manufacturers continually work to increase use of biofuels and decrease use of fossil fuels for energy, and to improve energy efficiency and product performance through better engineering. Between 2006 and 2020, the latest corrugated industry average LCA shows the industry reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent, in addition to improvements in other environmental impacts.

Performance and sustainability are linked

Packaging represents only 3 to 15 percent of a product’s total environmental impact. The rest comes from the product itself, so protecting it from damage and premature disposal is very important. Corrugated suppliers specialize in designing packages optimized for performance and materials use.

Source reduction has been practiced within the industry for decades, engineering high performance packaging with the least possible amount of fiber material. In fact, the industry has worked with its customers to reduce the amount of corrugated per unit of U.S. industrial production by 12 percent from 2000 to 2017.

Conclusion

As supply-chain requirements, expectations and dynamics continue to change, corrugated packaging keeps pace with technical improvements and high-performance product protection. Its economical, lightweight, custom-designed configurations make corrugated an extraordinarily efficient transport package in terms of freight and labor. Corrugated’s sustainability is the icing on the cake, making it a packaging solution that supply-chain partners can feel good about.

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