Damaged in Transit? Tips for Designing Better Packaging for Your New Product

The sad truth is that a company can have a good product that actually sells and still fail as a business.

There are many things that can go wrong that you must account for.

One of these is the possibility of your products being damaged while in transit.

If this happens, your customers receive damaged, substandard products and will be unlikely to buy from you again in the future.

To prevent such disasters from occurring, you must be very concerned with your product’s packaging design.

Consider the Danger of Stacking

Unfortunately, you really are not always going to have a choice with how your products are distributed and stored once outside of your own facilities.

You have to consider every conceivable possibility and design your packaging to withstand many different factors.

For example, your product could end up being stacked on pallets while being distributed or placed into storage by a vendor.

While products near the top may be okay, products near the bottom of the stack could be crushed if your package can’t withstand the weight.

Use Foam and Other Protective Materials

Being able to protect your product while it is in transit requires including specific packaging materials inside the box.

One excellent choice is polyurethane foam. This material will provide an excellent cushion that will protect a product stored within if pressure or force is at some point applied towards the package.

It can be designed and cut to fit in nearly any package and around any product for proper protection.

You can talk to a foam company, like Sterling Manufacturing, about choosing the right protective materials for your packaging.

Avoid Under-Packaging and Over-Packaging

One of the biggest threats to products is under-packaging. This can be thought of as including a package that is not substantial enough to protect a product while in transit.

However, over-packaging can be an issue as well. This occurs when more packaging is used than is needed to keep a product safe.

Over-packaging can increase costs, decrease efficiency, and even harm the environment.

Overall, you need to perform extensive testing to find the exact sweet spot between the two extremes.

Guard Against Moisture Damage

There are other scenarios you must consider if you want to avoid costly returns.

For example, what if your product is left outside in its shipping container.

If the weather is poor, it may get rained on. In that case, you need packaging that will be able to secure the product from moisture damage even if the shipping box gets flooded.

You also have to keep in mind that your product could also be tested by fluctuations in humidity.

Without the proper protective packaging, that humidity could badly warp or corrode your product. It could even breed dangerous mold.

Overall, you need to do what you can to protect your products while they are in transit.

If you don’t, the losses you incur could put the future of your business in jeopardy.

Perform the necessary research and development to create a package that effectively protects your products until they reach the end consumer.

Tags: Packaging, packaging design

Category: Business