Nothing bags, boxes, tapes, labels, and ships itself without some human involvement. Wherever there is packaging, there’s labor associated with it. Even automated packaging machinery needs to be fed something by someone to function as designed.
There are a myriad of packaging solutions possible for the same application with each having its own labor requirement. In any business, labor is a factor that affects both operational cost and productivity. Here’s an example of wasted labor and diminished productivity using a common packaging material. In one factory, we discovered (2) workers tearing 12x12 sheets of bubble from rolls and stacking them inside boxes for later use. This great inefficiency and needless labor cost could be eliminated by using pre-cut bubble sheets instead. Bubble manufacturers have machinery to produce both rolls and sheets. Labor-free packaging does not exist. Solely focusing on packaging cost without considering its associated labor and productivity impact is missing the bigger picture. The packaging cost-of-use should always be fully measured 'before' its procurement. These days, packaging reps are mostly catalog sellers than solution providers. Gaining the advice of an expert packaging consultant remains your best ROI value for cost-cutting, enhanced productivity, and overall workflow improvement. Shopping for lower pricing on consumables is how most companies strive to fulfill a yearly cost-reduction mandate. Given how prices increase but rarely decrease, these yearly saving mandates are difficult to maintain. When price-cutting finally reaches its lowest termination point, companies are then left with seeking other ways to reduce their operational costs.
Material usage reduction (e.g. Lean Manufacturing) efforts aren’t forefront because that requires a greater collective involvement than just price shopping. Adopting a Lean Manufacturing program would require a budgeted allocation of ongoing training and management oversight at additional cost. FACT: 'Packaging' affects all workflow areas of any goods-related business because nothing arrives or is internally handled or shipped uncontained. FACT: Some type of 'Process' is being utilized in each workflow area of every business operation. The 'Packaging Process' is inherently integral throughout every operation making and/or selling physical goods. Gaining an operation workflow analysis from a professional packaging consultant usually leads to a savings discovery well beyond the lowest price termination point of consumables. |
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This blog author has a myriad history of successful packaging solutions in process and materials from the manufacturing to distribution channels. Archives
April 2021
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