A simple guide to reducing Christmas parcel damages

Are you spending too much time and money on managing damaged products? It’s time to take a step back and review your packaging operation.

With Christmas fast approaching, using the right packaging will reduce damages, so that you can focus your time on fulfilling orders.  It will also help you to avoid some disappointed customers too!

Below are some solutions to help you ship your products with confidence ahead of Christmas.

Choose the right packaging

The type of items you send will help you to identify the kind of packaging materials you need. For example, if you ship irregularly shaped items such as knives or tools, you need to make sure that the sharp edges are wrapped and placed inside a padded envelope for added security and protection.

If you’re shipping fragile items such as dinner sets or ceramics, you will require an extra level of protection during shipping. Geami is a perfect solution for this, it provides a cushion for your items in transit and retains its shape during the shipping process, making your parcel resistant to multiple drops, kicks and shakes.

Pack smarter

Our recent unboxing survey found that overpacking amongst retailers is still an issue in 2019. Overpacking can also lead to product damage during shipping as if packed too tightly there is no opportunity for shock absorption. It also adds extra costs to your packaging operation. It’s not great for customers either, as they have to manage the disposal of all that additional packaging.

Solutions such as Korrvu® retention and suspension packaging use a minimal amount of packaging material and is ideal if you ship electrical items such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops. Korrvu® holds products firmly within a retention frame, providing shock protection during the shipping cycle.

The use of packing stations will help your packers improve their productivity, by having everything to hand. A multi-purpose packing station incorporates a broad workbench and shelving, making it ideal for the complete packing process.

Provide protection

As a rule of thumb, heavy larger items require a heavy-duty packaging. Using strong outer packaging such as double wall corrugated boxes will provide the extra level of protection you need as they incorporate two rows of fluting, ensuring your items are safe during transit.

Sealing all open edges with a strong tape to prevent your parcel from opening in transit is important. There are environmentally friendly solutions such as gummed paper tape, a biodegradable and recyclable option, which is much stronger than traditional packaging tape. It requires water to activate the adhesive and once applied it creates a “bond” with your box that does not peel away, even if is the parcel is crushed in transit. This makes the entire parcel stronger and more secure.

If you would like to speak to a packaging professional about reducing damages and returns, contact Macfarlane packaging today.