January 2003

You need to package your product it you want to deliver it intact, but the options are myriad. Marcia MacLeod helps to unpick them

Most businesses, whatever they sell, usually think of the box, crate or envelope last. "Packaging is seen as a necessary evil," says Tony Johnson of David S Smith Packaging, where he is general manager PSM (packaging service management). He probably speaks for the whole industry.

Yet the best products in the world will be returned if they are damaged, and the supplier will be out of pocket if it has to replace orders that never arrive.

Choosing packaging depends on various factors - size and type of product, where it is going (home consumer, retail store, depot), and how it is being transported. "If an item is going direct to a store, it needs to be shelf-ready," says Johnson. "If it is going to a home consumer, it has to be user-friendly - and also easily handled by the delivery company to minimise delay and risk of damage."

For delivery to manufacturer, a depot or a retail outlet, most goods are packed in crates, cartons or containers. The varieties in size, type and material are endless. Some stack, or nest, on top of each other; others fold for easy storage and transport when empty. The way they close is important, too. "Attached" lids, for example, are hinged on either side, meeting in the middle with interlocking fingers. Most containers can be used on automated conveyor systems, although they may have handles to allow them to be picked up.

Crocodile Packaging specialises in heavier-duty transit packaging: wood clip-together boxes, incorporating spring steel clips pushed through slots to hold wooden panels together. Similar packaging can be made with plastic or other materials.

"We concentrate on non-standard size, non-standard requirements," says Henry Corp, marketing manager. "Everything we make is bespoke; most is reusable. Body Shop, for example, ships its cosmetics to bottling plants in a bag within a box; the bag is then thrown away and the box re-used. Electronic retailers selling TVs, cookers and fridges also use our wooden boxes for returns. Often the wrong item is delivered to the consumer; half of those sent back are damaged on their way to the depot because they don't have the right packaging."

Crocodile's use of wood meets much of the growing legislation governing packaging, waste and recycling. "Re-usability is becoming more and more important," Corp says.

Plastic can be environmentally friendly, as Arca Systems and Allibert Buckhorn prove. They specialise in RTP, or returnable transit packaging, in the shape of crates, cartons and containers ranging from small totes to large bulk boxes. "Most packaging in the auto industry, for example, is returnable," says Simon Mendes, marketing manager at Allibert Buckhorn.

"The biggest move in RTP is the emergence of folding crates," says Tim Ansell, managing director of Arca Systems. "Traditionally people used nesting crates, but folding crates flatten and therefore take less room. They also have vertical, rather than sloping sides, to allow stacking without a baling arm or lid. Vertical-sided containers hold more product, too.

"The main market for these containers has been fruit and vegetables, but other manufacturers and retailers are looking at them. I think home delivery for supermarkets will change, too. Now everything is put in polythene bags inside large boxes, but the impending taxation on polythene bags will force change. They may turn to depositable plastic boxes."

The life span of a returnable crate "depends on its use and abuse," says Mendes, "but can reach an average seven years. Some are still being used after 20 years." Allibert Buckhorn encourages returnables by offering a "new-for-old" recycling scheme.

The cost of returnable plastic is higher than that of other types of packaging, but the initial outlay has to be weighed against the volumes of disposable packaging needed to do the same job. There are disadvantages with returnable packaging, though: what happens if goods aren't returned? "People are looking at returnables," admits David S Smith's Tony Johnson. "If you have a reliable loop, it's great, but otherwise it's not so good as packaging isn't always returned. A number of supermarkets have been burnt by non-returned returnables in the past.

"Expendable packaging still has a part to play. Corrugated paper is now considered a good medium because it is easily recyclable, and is often made of recycled material in the first place. Combined packaging is also coming in. In some sectors, manufacturers used a number of different packaging methods for one consignment. In engineering, for example, they used to use rust-inhibiting paper inside a sealed plastic box, inside another box; now they're using a rust-inhibiting corrugated box"

Both paper and plastic are incorporated in the sort of envelopes used for home shopping. Pac 3000, which initially supplied the courier market, specialises in polythene or board envelopes, particularly for the SME market. The Polyjacket and Tuffjacket are most popular for garment retailing. When filled, they resemble sealed plastic bags. Tuffjackets are the economy product and are available in a range of sizes, including extra large. They can be custom-sized and custom-printed, although most e-tailers go for "neutral" (unbranded) versions. Rigijackets are made of rigid cardboard, making them suitable for artwork, documents and so on.

While Steve Johnstone, Pac 3000's managing director, maintains that "nothing exciting has happened in the market in the 12 years since we've been here," he admits growth has been tremendous. "There are so many mail order/Internet companies out there now, all wanting small quantities of standard envelopes at a good price. To provide a one-stop shop, we also offer integrated forms and self-adhesive labels (such as return forms and labels)."

VP Papier, part of Germany's Vereinigte Papierwarenfabriken, has also seen "a steady increase" in demand for its Aroful, Aropak and Flexipak padded envelopes from e-fulfilment companies, especially those moving CDs, videos and DVDs. These are made of either paper and plastic or plastic and plastic, available in a range of sizes. "Not many people are buying the plastic-and-plastic product," admits the company's John Dawson. "They're only a little more expensive, but people tend to go with what they know. The all-plastic envelope is better for doorstep delivery, as it offers protection from the wet, although the conventional plastic bubble in a paper envelope is completely waterproof anyway. For extra protection we can put in an extra layer of bubble, but this is currently being used primarily for distribution of spare parts and electronics."

Ideally, in most sectors, the product should fill the packaging to prevent it moving about too much. And while plastic popcorn or similar material is still widely used, anyone who tries to rid their home of those irritating white globules will appreciate the alternative: air bags. Easypak supplies paper or plastic airbags, sometimes made of recycled shredded card, to customers such as Boots and Hamleys.

The airbag is supplied flat and put through a machine which pumps it with air, sealing and perforating it every 100mm. They can either be blown up "hard" (full) or "soft" (part-filled, to be more flexible), and are then placed on top of the goods to hold them in place within the box.

A move towards plastic has now diminished, with companies again turning to paper: it offers more holding force than plastic because it is flexible, and it is safer, since puncture will deflate plastic. It is also about 20 per cent cheaper - a price difference that could rise if oil prices increase.

Whatever the packaging, security is becoming paramount. Seals, tapes and barcodes (for tracking) are the most common means of trying to protect product from theft. A new kind of tape from Limpet Tapes will leave an imprint saying "void" or "open" to indicate the box has been tampered with. (Limpet also offers Lock 'n Pop - adhesive sprayed from a can to secure boxes on a pallet for distribution.)

The other big development, of course, is RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags, now being incorporated into packaging at manufacture stage. There is, says Allibert's Simon Mendes, little take-up so far, but "it will take off exponentially," he believes. "A lot of our customers are investigating the cost effectiveness of these systems. At present, read-only tags cost £1.20 fitted in a container, but special scanners and software are needed, too."

According to Arca's Tim Ansell, the lack of common standards is holding up the implementation of RFID, although those involved with more high value products, such as electronic goods, are interested. Arca Systems has recently installed RFID tags in plastic pallets for the Swedish Retail Consortium for use by all of its members, from fashion retailers to food vendors.

One trend - putting logos on packaging - contradicts the growing interest in security, since it advertises what is being moved; yet branding is becoming increasingly important. "Some manufacturers are more interested in the way their products look than in protecting the package," says Henry Corp of Crocodile Packaging.

It just proves, as David S Smith's Tony Johnson emphasises, that packaging is an integral part of the product. "You need to get it right; you can't use the same packaging for everything."

And with such a lot to think about, it's no wonder more companies are outsourcing all their packaging needs. David S Smith's PSM division is getting more and more demand for its outsourcing service, ranging from choosing and providing the packaging material to taking total responsibility, putting its own packaging staff in the customer's premises. "Supply chain management is becoming key to efficient packaging," says Johnson.

"Packaging must be involved at the product design stage." Tell that to the R&D team.