3 Ways to Ensure You Get the Best Value for Money for Your Company's Carton Requirements
Warehousing Made Easy, Part Four: Cardboard Cartons
How to Choose and Use Cartons in Your Workplace for the Best Results
With over 25 years industry experience as a
supplier and
manufacturer
of cartons in South East Queensland—we are the experts on helping you
get the best value for money and results on your carton purchases.
This article contains our very best 'carton' tips to help your warehouse run smarter, smoother and more cheaply..
1) Stock vs Custom Cartons
This is a primary consideration when looking at your carton purchasing.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both options and it is best to
choose based on your carton requirements, storage space and cash flow
needs.
Stock Cartons
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Custom Cartons
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- Always available
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Order as you go (cash flow benefits)
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Minimal storage required
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Up to 60 stock sizes
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General shipping and some heavy duty grades
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Great as a back up when custom boxes are in short supply
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- Lead time 2-4 weeks from order
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Minimum order qtys apply
- Possibly several pallet spaces required
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Custom fit for your products
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Choose your own board grade
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Custom printing available
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Often cheaper per carton due to larger, personalised runs
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View our huge stock range of cartons here
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Apply online for a custom carton quote
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2) Make sure your cartons perform…
a) Correct measurements
All carton measurements are
internal. When reviewing a stock list, or
wanting to design your own carton, realise that the measurements for all
cartons are internal, that is, they are taken inside the box rather
than the outside of the cardboard exterior. This means that the sizing of your carton will not be affected by changes to the board grade.
b) Don’t have goods rattling around in your cartons!
The quickest way to destroy a carton is to have the internal products
break it from the inside out.
Make sure you
fill any void space with
void fill or bubblewrap. This also will add shock protection to your products
when they are in transit meaning less damage, less replacements and less annoyed customers!
c) Use the correct board grade
Cartons can be made to look dramatically cheaper if one changes the
board grade. Sometimes this may make no difference depending on what the
carton is designed to carry… but in general, the performance of a
carton is determined by the quality of the board grade.
When asking for a quotation, make sure that you inform the carton manufacturer:
i) The
conditions your carton would be kept in (ie. refridgerated?)
ii) Whether it is to be
palletised, and if so, how high?
iii)
Weight and type of object/s to be placed into the carton
iv) How far the carton is to travel (ie. how many
handling points?)
It can be false economy to use a cheaper board grade and have pallets of
cartons that don’t do the job for which they are intended, costing you
lost or damaged stock, frustrated customers and wasted time.
d) Store your cartons correctly
To make sure your cartons do their job, they must be stored correctly. Imporantly,
don't leave them where they can get wet or be exposed
to even minor moisture. This will make for, at worst, a useless mouldy mess, or at best, a
weak, fragile carton that may collapse.
Also, if you leave cartons where they can get dusty,
remember to wipe them down before attempting to stick tape/labels onto them -
nothing sticks to dust!
3) Consider marketing your brand on your cartons
A few cents extra per carton can bring big rewards in return sales, and brand indentity.
Printing is a simple process to add to your custom cartons. There is a
once off charge for printing plates for each size of carton (and colour
of print) you require, and then an approximate 5-10% increase in the
price of your cartons ongoing. Simple designs of one to two colurs work
best on cartons.
Another cost effective way to brand your cartons if you are
using stock
cartons or a
large array of different sizes (or sizes that frequently
change) is to use
printed tape or custom labels to display your branding
information. Either custom carton printing, or labels / tape only add a few cents to each shipped carton but can prove a very effective 'silent' salesperson for your business.
Over the years, we have had many customers report a
strong increase in
sales from adding something as simple as ‘To reorder, call…. XXXXXXXXXX’
and their logo to their packaging. This is because many end users find
the old box something came in when trying to re-order a product – so
having your information makes re-ordering from your business is a
no-brainer for a time poor customer.
Please
contact us for more information if you are interested any of these customised printed products or complete our
custom carton quotation request form.