How to Make Packaging Multiple Products Easier
By Jan McCormick, Jr., Marketing Director
Packaging multiple products to boost marketing efforts has become commonplace for manufacturers across the consumer goods industry. Take a walk around big box stores like Walmart or Costco and you’ll see promotional displays packed with multiple sizes of apparel, variety packs of soft drinks on pallets, and aisles lined with combo-packs of household or automotive products – to name just a few.
Unfortunately for most CPG manufacturers, the work that goes into packaging multiple products is difficult. Their production facilities and distribution centers are focused on producing, storing, and picking single SKU packaging for their retail customers. Facility space is often at a premium, and because this type of work is done as a secondary step after products are in inventory, it’s hard to justify the cost of equipment or hassle of finding the labor it takes to complete these projects.
So, what do manufacturers do to make packaging multiple products easier on themselves? They outsource it to an experienced contract packager like Bonded Pac. Our resources are planned and designed for this type of environment, specifically when it comes to equipment, facilities, systems, and project management.
Equipment
We house a variety of equipment options when it comes to packaging multiple products together. This includes a shrink tray wrapper that is perfect for bundling a range of products like cans, bottles, or jars into variety packs and multi-packs. It uses heavy, clear film allowing consumers to see the product through the packaging. We also have an L-sealer that is better with lightweight films to put a fully-encased protective cover over variety pack and multi-pack boxes. Our newest piece of equipment is a steam tunnel, which is perfect for consumer goods manufacturers looking to package different-shaped products into twin packs, combo-packs, or bonus packs. And steam provides a much cleaner finish with the shrink film than heat, making the finished product look pristine and perfect.
Facilities
Our 218,000 sq. ft. packaging facility is set-up with the flexibility to handle projects that involve multiple products. This includes bulk and rack storage for raw materials, a versatile production floor, and a labor pool with regular and temporary employees that can scale to accommodate different sized projects. We also have access to over two million sq. ft. of space across 13 additional locations if our dedicated facility is at capacity. This is particularly helpful when it comes to meeting the demands for seasonal point-of-purchase (POP) displays that involve many SKUs and a larger footprint to complete the project.
Once production is complete, value-added warehousing services can help with storage and distribution of finished product pallets or displays to ensure they get delivered on-time.
S
ystems
Keeping up with projects that involve multiple product SKUs can be hectic, but we’ve put systems in place to make this easy to manage. Our packaging software from Nulogy allows us to inventory and organize all raw materials needed for the project as they come in. It also gives us the ability to manage workflow and keep track of inventory in real-time using scanning devices to make sure we have everything we need to keep pace with production. Our software also allows our customers real-time visibility into what’s been produced, what’s happening on the production floor, and any work remaining.
In addition to packaging software, we’ve established systems to manage production and quality control for each project. This includes producing a first article for approval before production begins along with dedicated leads on each line to supervise and make sure production is running smoothly. We also have trained quality assurance supervisors on the production floor inspecting the work to make sure it’s done correctly and up to customer standards.
Project Management
Project management is one of the areas where we set ourselves apart from the competition, especially when it comes to packaging projects with multiple products. With experience in industries such as apparel, food and beverage, automotive, and household products, our Key Account Managers know all the right questions to ask ahead of time to make sure they have all the details covered. Every customer is assigned a dedicated account manager to work through the entire process, including management of raw materials, production on the floor, and finished products distribution. They also have the ability to help source raw material components like corrugate, labels, or shrink film to make things turnkey for the customer.
Ready to learn more about our capabilities and see some examples of recent work we did packaging multiple products, click here!