What opportunities do you have to reduce your box costs?
Internet sales now account for nearly 19% of the total retail sales in the UK, with statistics showing a steady growth from year to year.
That’s a lot of parcels going up and down the country, taking up van space, sitting on doorstops waiting for their owners to get home from work.
Have you ever ordered an item online that arrived in a box far too big for the product? How many attempts of delivery did it take to get to you when, if packed smaller, it potentially could have gone through the letterbox.
I’m sure we’ve all had a scratchy head moment of collecting a huge parcel from the post office and wondering what it could be…
Nearly 1 in 3 respondents in our unboxing study last year said the packaging of their deliveries was not a good fit for the product. Have you ever wondered what implications this might have for your business?
Firstly for consideration there is the knock on effect onto transport costs. It looks like there could certainly be room for increased transport yield and reduced vehicle and fuel costs.
Then, there are material costs – using a smaller box will cost you less, but you should always ensure that it is fit for purpose. Too much skimping and you could be faced with the costs of replacing damaged products.
And what about the environmental impact? Using a box that is too big means too much room is taken up in transportation, potentially adding more vehicles to the road.
Finally, there is the customer experience – not only is it inconvenient to miss deliveries due to the parcel size but, as a consumer, it can be incredibly frustrating to look into a large box and find a very small item inside…
Ensure your postal rate, packaging cost, environmental and customer experience targets are all met by conducting a simple review of your box sizing.
Contact Macfarlane Packaging today to see how we can help.
