Articles

Packaging

Rob Kriewaldt
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Be a Logistics Superhero

In recent months, there has been a steady stream of articles bemoaning the increasing costs and challenges within the logistics industry. You hear about driver shortages, rising labor costs, lack of available real estate, oversize package regulations, increased shipping rates, and additional governmental regulations. CSCMP’s annual logistics study charted a 3.1 percent increase in 2014 […]

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Bob Richard
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Changing Regulations Regarding Shipping Lithium Batteries Present Unique Hazards for Shippers, Carriers and Receivers

The world of Dangerous Goods (DG) shipping is complex and ever-changing. Take for example the changing regulations regarding shipping lithium batteries. While lithium batteries have delivered superior performance and reliability in an endless array of applications, the same technology that makes them so useful also presents unique hazards for shippers, carriers and receivers. Several significant […]

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Chris Miget
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Reimagining Molded Pulp Packaging: It’s Not Just For Eggs Anymore

As the world becomes more environmentally conscious, industry leaders continually find ways to make operations more sustainable. This can mean anything from recycling more around the office to adopting Lean principles. Some companies are even thinking green when it comes to packaging. Years of using plastics and foam packing peanuts have made it necessary for […]

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Preventing Shipment Damage

While it is impossible to prevent every mishap along the supply chain, shippers can take action to reduce product damage and returns. David Faulkenberry, senior vice president of logistics provider XPO Last Mile, offers these damage prevention tactics. 1. Allow time for testing. Before implementing a widespread rollout of new merchandise, packaging, or providers, test […]

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Darin J. Cooprider
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Packaging Postponement: A Game Changer for F&B Companies

Q: Why is packaging postponement an important consideration for food and beverage (F&B) companies? A: Market demands are constantly in flux as holiday seasonality dictates inventory needs. Also, consumers enjoy an unprecedented variety of food formats. Consider the different product quantities and sizes that one might find in a vending machine, a convenience store, a […]

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Leveraging Packaging-On-Demand Solutions

Packaging-on-demand solutions enable businesses to create cardboard boxes from bulk corrugated material in a variety of sizes—saving inventory space, and packaging and labor costs. Lance Wallin, executive director of global packaging systems for packaging solutions provider Sealed Air’s Protective Packaging Division, offers these tips for using packaging-on-demand solutions efficiently. 1. Select systems that can accommodate […]

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How to Reduce Costs by Integrating Packaging with Distribution Center Operations
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How to Reduce Costs by Integrating Packaging with Distribution Center Operations

Product packaging is often handled as a discrete supply chain function, separate from warehousing and distribution. But companies can capitalize on considerable efficiency and economy gains by driving toward greater integration of these functions. In fact, performing final packaging in the distribution center can reduce combined warehousing, logistics, and freight costs by 30 percent and […]

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Mike Marlowe
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Integrate Contract Packaging Into Distribution Operations to Cut Costs by 30%

Specific consumer products look exactly the same when they roll off the manufacturing line. To satisfy retailer requirements, however, these identical products are wrapped, sealed, tied and packed in dozens, even hundreds, of different ways for presentation on the retail shelf. Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies often outsource final packaging to outside contract packagers, adding […]

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Choosing the Right Product Packaging

With today’s complex supply chain and compliance requirements, manufacturers have a lot to consider when making packaging decisions. Here are some tips on choosing the right packaging for your product from Michael Smyers, CPSM, business development manager, and Matthew Paul, supply chain consultant, of Fort Myers, Fla.-based supply chain management and customs firm Allyn International […]

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Bill Armstrong
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Hold Everything: Adopting Protective Packaging Practices

Evaluating a company’s distribution and fulfillment processes can play a major role in reducing its environmental impact while enhancing its corporate image and reducing overall costs. Protective packaging is an important part of this analysis. Packaging supports and balances a company’s broader sustainability goals and initiatives for reducing carbon emissions, creating operational efficiencies, conserving resources, […]

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Packaging Automation Delivers What Customers Demand

“The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment,” writes author Warren G. Bennis. Well, not quite. But automation is certainly the watchword as today’s manufacturers face […]

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