Archive for October, 2011
Running a Business Means Paying Attention to Details
No matter what you sell, eventually you are going to notice things coming in or going out on flats and pallets. Sometimes these items will be secured by shrink wrap. Sometimes these items will be secured by plastic or metal bands. In order to protect the items inside the crates from being cut into by these bands there should be other protective elements included in the packaging process. The bands themselves are designed to be tough and unsurprisingly can damage the goods inside unless care is taken to protect them.
What exactly am I talking about, you might wonder? The ever humble edge protector is what. These devices are made of plastic or metal or even re-enforced cardboard and fit under the bands at the edges to keep them from crushing the boxes. A related item is the cardboard edge protectors that typically are found on the side edges of a box where the items inside are delicate and must not be jiggled about too badly. Both items are typically part of custom packaging solutions that creators of products should consider when they move to bulk shipping of items that become popular enough to be sold through street outlets as well as online.
Larger makers typically take such things for granted. The person in charge of packing things is usually not the one making the products or designing them. There is usually a large body of people involved in every process, with few of them knowing all the details of every step. A smaller business however may require the designer to make the items and to package them. A good amount of this can be automated, of course, unless it is mean to be “hand made” as a selling point.
Success for the smaller business may mean making items one at a time and packing them carefully by hand. In such cases then knowing about edge protector pieces, cardboard edge protectors, and custom packaging solutions for each product can ensure that the item arrives safely when it it purchased. Taking steps to protect the item before it leaves the door can save on returns due to broken items or damaged packaging because of shipping. Leaving this aspect to someone else of you run a small business is risky, unless they are demonstrated that they know what they are doing and can craft the ideal packaging for each product.
As a small business owner who might be putting a fair amount of time into crafting the product being sold, having one returned because of damage can be extremely difficult. You may end up replacing the item, if you still have one, but most likely you’ll end up having to give a refund. Such is the nature of hand made items, because no two will ever be exactly the same. If you are making one of a kind pieces then your customer will simply be out of luck. Taking the steps to know exactly how things are packed can help you eliminate this problem and create happy returning customers.