How Has Packaging Changed

The corrugated packaging industry has undergone significant change in recent years, in no small part due to the meteoric growth seen by ecommerce. High volume, versatile packaging is a necessity to facilitate the same day handling, next day dispatch service that most consumers have come to expect as standard.

Whilst ecommerce is dominated by the likes of Amazon, plenty of smaller businesses have found that the internet is the best tool for reaching a much wider audience instantly. These businesses may sell their goods on large marketplaces like Amazon or Ebay, but many choose to fulfil orders themselves, and most don’t have access to the huge production plants that produce Amazon’s corrugated packaging.

Many of them resort to using stock boxes. These boxes come in standard sizes, can be bought in bulk and then stored in a warehouse ready to be used. Whilst this solution seems convenient, the drawbacks include large amounts of storage space devoted to packaging rather than products and large amounts of empty space in some boxes, which in turn means large amounts of loose fill also need to be kept in stock at all times.

Custom Packaging

For this reason a growing number of small businesses are turning to custom and bespoke boxes to fulfil their packaging requirements. They measure the product they are looking to distribute, send the dimensions to a short run box manufacturer, who then send them a sample box to test the fit. Once they are happy with the packaging, they place an order for as few or as many as they require. This allows them great flexibility, as they can adjust their order to suit their sales and only have as many boxes as required.

There are other advantages to custom packaging. Consumers are increasingly aware of how their online orders are delivered, and with the ever growing focus on increasing sustainability in every industry, are beginning to frown upon companies who send large amounts of unnecessary and unrecyclable packaging to deliver their items. Corrugated made to measure boxes are a perfect solution to this, reducing the plastic waste that the customer has to dispose of.

Short Run Box Making

As a result, the demand for short run custom boxes has seen an upturn. Companies which are able to produce unique boxes with a fast turnaround are in high demand, to provide both shipping and product boxes. The ability to produce a fast one-off sample and subsequently quickly set up a short run of boxes allows packaging companies to capitalise.

If you have ever looked at purchasing cardboard boxes online, you may have seen companies advertising hundreds, if not thousands, of available sizes in stock. This type of stock and serve packaging business requires vast amounts of warehouse space. In contrast, short run box makers have the luxury of operating with a relatively small footprint, using only the space needed to house two or three machines.

These factors have all contributed to growth in the industry. The boom in online retailing has heralded growth in a multitude of sectors, and with no signs of it slowing down, short run box making is set to continue to benefit.