Carton right-sizing is the practice of using a container that will minimize empty space while still offering adequate protection and is critical to optimizing supply chain savings. Choosing the right protective carton for shipped products involves multiple considerations including protection, warehousing, sustainability and DIM weight optimization. This guide to right-sizing a box to its contents will help your business not only save money, but also ensure your products arrive intact and on time to your customers.
Packing a Corrugated Box to Ensure Product Protection
The more space in a package, the more likely contents will shift during transit, increasing the incidence rate of breakage and other damage. More space also equals more fill which adds cost and time to the fulfillment process. In order to adequately protect products being shipped to reduce return/replacement rates, it’s important to use the smallest box available for its contents. Training is key to this piece of the supply chain as it requires not only selecting the right container but also packing it correctly to ensure minimal movement.
Save Warehouse Space Through Less Packaging
One of the many benefits to carton right-sizing is the reduction in non-inventory warehouse space. Using smaller boxes not only means you’re storing less corrugated packaging while awaiting fulfillment, but you’re also using less fill to protect the contents. As a result you’ll have more warehouse space for your inventory.
Reduce Packaging Waste to Improve Company Sustainability
Reducing and streamlining protective packaging will decrease the amount of overall packaging material which means less waste. With companies moving more and more towards sustainability, carton right-sizing is a win-win. To take your company’s sustainability to the next level, consider using packaging made from 100% recycled material. Your customers will rest easy knowing that their shipments are not putting an additional burden on an already stressed environment.
DIM Weight Optimization and Carton Right-Sizing
By subjecting all packages to dimensional weight billing, also known as DIM weight, carriers hope to encourage retailers to make better packaging decisions. By right-sizing shipment packaging, carriers can maximize the number of packages being transported per truckload. Through DIM Weight Optimization via package right-sizing, your business can save money on shipping rates.
Pratt Industries and Right Sizing Shipment Packaging
If you’re looking to optimize your packaging, Pratt Industries offers a large variety of box sizes in stock and can also manufacture customized corrugated boxes based on customer needs. Whether you need a unique shape, a specially-reinforced structure, a simple one-color box or a multicolor display, Pratt’s experienced team can create and deliver packaging options that are right-sized to your products, saving you money throughout the supply chain. Contact us to learn more!