Packaging Advice

5 Things to consider when choosing your packaging supplier

Whether you’re a small business looking for your first packaging supplier, a medium sized business seeking a bespoke packaging supplier, or a large organisation looking to switch suppliers entirely, the process of finding the perfect packaging company to suit your requirements can be quite daunting.

Why? Finding the right supplier can be time consuming and comes with potential risks. If your new packaging line isn’t quite ready, your operations could be negatively affected. So, you need to ensure a smooth change over with a packaging supplier that understands your requirements.

This post will guide you through the process of selecting the right packaging supplier and provide insight on what to consider when making such an important decision.

1. Packaging product range

It’s important to think about both the selection of packaging materials and quality of the products available from the prospective supplier. Do they offer everything you need so you can consolidate suppliers? How often do they restock their products? Are they open to sourcing materials on a requested basis? These are just a few questions you may want to consider asking when completing your research.

You should gain a good understanding of the packaging products you require and ensure the supplier will keep on top of stock levels. This eliminates the potential of delays, which if not challenged, could hinder your production. If you are changing suppliers, make sure the new supplier has an onboarding process in place, so you’ll never run out of stock.

Swiftpak ensure their stock is always up to date by continuously restocking materials. In fact, 2,500 products are kept available in the Swiftpak warehouse ready to be shipped to customers within 24 hours.

2. Packaging expertise

With the thousands and thousands of packaging materials available, you need a supplier that looks at the bigger picture. An experienced supplier should consider the hard and soft costs to recommend packaging materials best tailored to your operation. You should seek a supplier that understands the industry you operate in; they’ll be able to recognise common challenges and pain points you’re facing. This in turn will result in efficient, cost-effective solutions set in a timely manner.

Swiftpak specialise in offering packaging solutions for the following industries:

We take time to understand your individual packaging requirements and pair this with over 40 years of experience to recommend the most effective solution for your business. If you’re looking for a packaging supplier to take responsibility of your packaging success, speak to an expert at Swiftpak today.

3. Packaging prices

Pricing. Of course, a very critical point. It’s important you get quotes from potential packaging suppliers, and that those quotes are competitive. But, be sure to consider the level of service you’re receiving compared to others, the soft costs and certainly don’t sacrifice quality for the cheapest option – This may cost your business more in the long run due to damaged returns, increased shipping costs and even failed shipments.

If you’re looking to maximise cost-effectiveness, a key thing to consider is custom pricing. Packaging companies like Swiftpak offer pricing that is affordable for not just today, but tomorrow. Swiftpak work closely with their customers to set agreed pricing for the future to guarantee affordable packaging.

4. Delivery

With many businesses working in a fast-paced environment, even a slight delay to receiving materials can cause problems with productivity and financial loss. When ordered, packaging products are usually needed within a timely manner. So, when deciding on your packaging supplier, make sure you’re aware of expected delivery times and if next day delivery is an option for you.

Businesses in the Electronics, IT and Telecoms industries work in dynamic, fast-paced environments, so next day delivery is often essential. Swiftpak takes care to understand this and use their packaging expertise to ensure perfect protection is delivered on time, every time. Did you know that Swiftpak has an OTIF of 98%?

5. Customer service & reviews

A crucial point to consider is the level of customer service you’ll receive from your packaging supplier. It’s important to know what you can expect in terms of:

  • Communication/response times - How quickly can you expect to receive a reply for general queries?
  • Expected resolution times – How long does the packaging supplier expect to resolve any problems you may face?
  • Dedicated account manager – Does the packaging supplier offer dedicated account management? This is something medium to large businesses may find extremely useful.

All in all, customer service shouldn’t be overlooked. How easy does your supplier make packaging for you? It should be a hassle-free experience.

If everything you’ve seen and heard from a certain packaging supplier is positive, it’s best to double check by reading a handful of reviews. You’ll want to be sure that other businesses have had positive experiences with the same supplier before you make that order. Check out Swiftpak’s score of 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot.

If you’re looking for a new packaging supplier, contact Swiftpak today and speak to one of our packaging experts. We’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.