Packaging for Changing Worlds

Our packaging is ever-changing, especially with the needs of customers and trends that happen globally becoming very complex. You do need to understand the demands of a consumer, which might include more eco-friendly forms of expectations. Choosing the right packaging that allows you to meet these needs is important. 

If you’re trying to adjust this packaging to meet the requests of a client, there are various methods to achieve this.  The change to improve the preferences of customers is vital.  Here, we’ll go over the different ways packaging is changing. 

Need for Sustainability 

These days, being sustainable is important. With the environment breaking down, and global warming being a huge part of this, more eco friendly forms of packaging that lower the impact on the environment, contributing to greener actions is nigh. 

Many people want sustainable packaging because it does decrease pollution that’s there especially if you can offer recyclable products.  This is something that’s good for ensuring that it doesn’t harm the environment. 

Being Convenient 

The demand for convenience isn’t going to stop. Many consumers want this type of packaging that’s simple for them to open, and won't require excess tools in order to do this. They also expect the packaging to be lightweight, easily carry itself, and also doesn’t require them to have to use excessive force to open it. 

With more clients being on the lookout for easily recycled and reused packaging, this is important. Packaging that’s recycled does contribute overall to a better environment, as it does improve the reusability of packaging.

 

Whether a customer wants to return this, or if they want to just toss it without regrets, offering reusable packaging is good for convenience. 

More Ecommerce 

With more and more people getting into ecommerce, this also means that they’re looking for better shipping. 

They want good shipping that’s not super expensive. They also want packaging to go from point A to point B without it being damaged. Companies will ship and pack these products over longer periods of distance and will use durable packaging that’s industry-grade supplies. 

Customers don’t want to eat at the costs, and the right solutions offer a packaging that won’t be too hard on their wallets. 

How they’re responding to this 

With more packaging companies responding to these needs, there are different methods that’ll be used to satisfy the clients and offer the best packaging solutions. Here are a few ways that they’re doing this. 

Being Agile 

Many companies are looking to work with agile, flexible packaging. This allows for companies to change these solutions, planning accordingly with the market shifts. 

With more and more market changes and demands happening, it’s imperative to make sure that these are happening. 

Agile packaging might require you using Paper Bubble solutions, rather than plastic, in order to meet the needs for more sustainable forms of packaging. They may also look towards compostable pouches for food, instead of the more unsustainable ones, especially when working with eco-conscious audiences. 

Staying one step ahead is important. 

Being innovative 

Innovation is going to be your best friend, as more and more customers are adapting to this. 

Through innovation, packaging and their companies are offering new concepts for designs, which address the pain points. 

With more and more technology being used, innovation is definitely being embraced. This also offers more advanced solutions to meet the demands of customers. 

For instance, many may work alongside experts for a lot of packaging solutions, including paper air pillows, in order to be sustainable while protecting these packaging products. 

These are some of the ways companies are adapting to consumer needs. 

AI and Packaging

AI, or artificial intelligence, is something that you’ve probably thought and heard about. While it has been dramatized in different ways, it’s actually something that some people are getting used to. While a lot of people are worried about using AI in their everyday lives, and also some worry about it possibly reducing the use of humans for jobs, it’s here to stay.  There are now even updates for writing stuff using AI! 

However, in the packaging industry, it’s actually been used for good, and while some are concerned, for this sector, it’s not the case. Here, we’ll go over how AI and packaging work together. 

Optimizing Packaging 

Some products need different types of packaging.  That’s why some companies are using AI to determine what’s going to be used. 

This actually reduces waste by a lot, and also further reduces the shipment damage by almost 25% in some cases. 

Utilizing machine learning is great for determining the packaging used for these products. It also reduced the shipping costs by around 5%! Pretty cool right? 

Reduces Delivery Costs 

You can put a whole lot more into every single shipment, and for some companies, they’re using it to optimize how stuff is packed.  It’s actually improved transportation, making the shipping supplies over 20% more efficient in a lot of cases. 

The AI is used to determine what type of packaging is ideal for every single product, such as mailers rather than boxes, you’ll be able to transport a lot more within each truck, which saves on delivery costs and money used for packaging. 

Being Eco Friendly 

Choosing the lightest, best packaging for safely transporting stuff can help as well with reducing the packaging that has to be recycled 

By minimizing this waste, it actually helps with supporting environmental, governmental and social goals. 

But you don’t need to rely on AI to be more eco-friendly.  try working on new ways to commit to less landfill waste and ensure that the pallets that you have get recycled or used as mulch.  Some companies are even looking to pay for pallets that are broken, so you’ll learn from the breakdown of these. 

Designing Packaging 

It’s being used to create a primary packaging that’s highly customized. 

This can create some cutting-edge designs for a lot of people. 

You can feed the ideas into AI, and they’ll give you a prototype.  It can create some eye-catching packaging, and it does a lot of the work. 

While it won’t replace getting the final say on the ideal types of packaging, it’s something that more companies are working towards, as they can get the most that they can through this. 

Better Customer Experience 

Finally, it does offer a better experience for customers. 

Have you ever browsed on by and seen the “recommended for you” part of their websites. 

You can thank AI for that one! 

They work directly with customer relationship management software, using data and efforts to determine the needs of customers. 

For instance, online retailers take the data that they get from you, whether it’s your browsing history or purchases in the past, and from there determine the products that you’re interested in. 

One company that’s using this is Ikea.  They give recommendations to customers, and it’s actually increased the average order by 2%, and also caused a 30% increase in the click through rates since they started to use it.

While some may not like AI, it is here to stay, and a lot of companies are looking for ways to use AI for good in their packaging and customer experience.

How Barcoding Helps Packaging

In our world, we have a lot of options for packaging.  There are a lot of different ways to use your packaging to display some aspects of the box. One thing is barcodes.  A barcode is basically a small little brand that’s on there, usually with some numbers, and they’re put on boxes to help showcase the logistics, and the information about the product when you scan this. This is important to have on hand when you’re going through the consumption process, including the storage, and the process of distribution.

In our digital era, the best way to use this is on the packaging that’s there, offering some self-adhesive types of labels that offer an advantage over the normal flexographic printing that you use in the industry. It also reduces the inventory on the boxes, and it offers some different flexibility in terms of the formatting changes for the lines, decreasing the complexity of the process of coding, and also maximizing your warehouse space, saving you a lot of money. In a sense, barcoding is a tool that offers a secure, and really reliable sort of process for you to use.

How it’s done 

So how are barcodes made? The first thing that’s done is you get your package, and the information about the product that you want to put in there. Then, you take this out, and you put this inside a database of different types of products that you are selling. From this point, you then put it on the packaging.

One of the most popular ways is through inkjet printers. Many companies add this to incorporate images, some texts, and also other content that definitely has a density that’s very contrasting, and it’s one that definitely works best on boxes.

That’s because boxes have a strong substrate that can really shine. These, of course, will definitely help with ensuring that you’re able to provide the proper sorts of printing on there without possibly messing up the packaging.

There are also those that are great to use with UV ink as well. UV ink is actually an ink that’s put on these boxes through UV lighting, and it’ll stick there. These are great for secondary packaging, and then there are other types. 

The Benefits of Barcodes 

Barcodes are great for a variety of different treasons.

For starters, barcodes are simple to print on there but they tell you everything that you need to know about this. different retailers and databases incorporate barcodes, so that when you scan it, the product is right there.

Imagine that you’re trying to have people buy an item, and you have to manually put each and every single code that corresponds to an item in there.  that of course, takes forever, but a barcode offers a unique spin on things, making them even better for you too.

There are also other benefits too.  One of them is inventory. Many retailers have barcodes for all of their items that are put into fulfillment centers and databases. Rather than just displaying just the product information, this also talks about how much stock is present with this.

In the event of low stock on an item, the barcode can say this.  when people purchase these, the barcodes start to show a number that’s decreasing. When the stock gets slow, this can prompt the retailer to order more, so that fulfillment doesn’t stop.

Bar codes offer a variety of benefits, and it’s great for cardboard packaging, not just because of simplicity, but there flexibility and usage of this as well.