The global protective and transit packaging is huge and recent developments in the industry have created both opportunities and threats for both businesses and consumers.
Packaging is vital for the protection and safe delivery of items, both perishable and non-perishable. It is an essential for the transportation of goods and is one of the most efficient and safe ways of ensuring products reach their final destination in prime condition. There has been considerable levels of growth in the transit packaging industry, with the global market value increasing year on year. Despite this growth, the industry, like all others, faces changes and with this, comes opportunities and threats.
E-Commerce
With the continual rise in e-commerce (commercial transactions conducted electronically), the demand and requirement for both protective and transit packaging is increasing in correlation. As the sale channel rapidly grows and becomes a firm favourite method of shopping amongst consumers due to its convenience, the supply chain and packaging market must be highly reactive to meet the demands and expectations.
Secondary packaging is one of the markets that will continue to see a great increase in the coming years. With the requirement for cardboard boxes, bubble wrap and loose-fill shapes benefiting from the rise in E-Commerce.
One of the downsides of the rise in e-commerce is the additional cost to businesses. With the convenience of home delivery, companies are having to absorb the extra expenditure incurred through a more complex distribution channel. Companies are no longer just delivering to their own stores, they are delivering to addresses and locations all across the world! It is vital for businesses to carefully assess these extra costs, and optimise the logistics to avoid unexpected or extreme premiums.
The volume of time taken to package the item is also a huge drain and cost on a business. To fulfil e-commerce demands, both the primary packaging and secondary packaging needs to be completed in an optimised time and for an optimised cost. In order to do this, necessary equipment needs to be acquired, such as shrink wrapping machinery. Having the correct equipment ensures the item is distributed in an efficient amount of time, as well as reducing unnecessary waste. An item that has primary or secondary packaging that is much larger than it needs to be results in the business occurring additional costs. Larger than required boxes or cartons take up extra space in delivery vans, as well as demonstrate to the consumer that the business is wasteful. Excessive packaging can also cause considerable frustration amongst consumers, as people who regularly purchase through e-commerce are faced with growing piles of packaging to dispose of. In some instances, pouch filling machinery or flow wrapping machinery may be a more suitable option.
Distribution
Historically, the distribution channel has been a labour heavy industry, with equipment and logistics left to employees. In the coming years, the industry can expect to see a huge switch to semi-operated or fully-operated machinery, with stock-picking robots, automated inventory checks and robotic forklifts. This machinery will help to standardise the primary and secondary packaging standards, it will also reduce the requirement for such large warehouses, as products will be able to be stacked high and in a greater concentration.
Find out how Kempner can help with your primary packaging requirements and contact one of our team members today!
