Contract packaging companies specialize in designing, producing, and fulfilling a product’s packaging. This includes thermoformed plastic clamshell and blister packaging, printing components like labels or manuals, and assembling complete packages such as retail point-of-purchase displays and transport trays.
Having your packaging facility and equipment can be expensive and time-consuming to set up. By outsourcing this work, you can save on overhead and focus on growing your business.
Increased Flexibility
Contract packaging companies offer a vast array of types of packaging. They also have the equipment necessary to handle these specific types. This flexibility can be especially helpful for businesses looking to maximize their sales potential with point-of-purchase displays (POP).
Unlike manufacturing companies, which typically only offer limited types of packaging due to space limitations, contract packagers can use many different types of equipment. For example, they may have thermoforming machines essential for clamshell and blister packaging or the capability to produce shrink wrap, stretch carding, and cartooning.
Additionally, contract packaging companies like Epic Packaging can produce large runs of products in a short amount of time. This can be beneficial for businesses that need to meet urgent retailer demands. For instance, manufacturers experienced a dramatic spike in demand for sanitizing products and other high-demand staples during the coronavirus pandemic. Contract packagers can quickly ramp up production to meet this increased need without the hiring company incurring additional costs for expansion.
Finally, contract packaging companies often have extensive experience with compliance issues. This can save hiring companies a significant amount of time and resources. This is because contract packagers are dedicated to their role in the supply chain and have already worked out the best practices for ensuring compliance with all required regulations.
Reduced Labor
Contract packaging can take away time-consuming duties from your employees, saving labor costs. Additionally, contract packaging companies often employ specialized equipment that can simultaneously produce multiple pieces of your product. This means they can run much faster than your facilities, allowing you to get your products out the door sooner.
Packaging services can also help you save on storage and warehousing costs. They can perform secondary packaging within your distribution center, reducing combined warehousing and logistics costs by 30 percent and order-to-delivery cycle times by seven days.
Another way that contract packagers can save your business money is by distributing the costs of their equipment across multiple clients. This makes it easier for smaller product manufacturers to afford high-quality automation equipment without putting a strain on their budgets.
Finally, contract packagers can offer a wide range of product packaging options. This allows you to find the perfect fit for each product and create a more attractive package to grab consumer attention. This can boost your sales and improve your brand image. As a result, you’ll see increased customer satisfaction and fewer return orders due to unsatisfactory products.
Increased Productivity
A contract packager will have specialized machinery for your packaging needs. This can range from a heat tunnel on a conveyor to thermoforming machines and blister packs. This equipment can save your company time and money compared to having a production team build the packaging by hand.
As a specialized company, they are also more capable of optimizing their processes and workflows. This allows them to offer high packaging runs at a reasonable price. Contract manufacturers have also established supplier relationships and can use bulk buying prices. They can pass these savings on to their clients.
Contract packaging can benefit a growing business that can’t invest in a full-scale production line. It can also help with short production runs for promotional products or test product launches. A contract packaging company that provides various packaging formats can make your business more competitive.
By outsourcing their production capabilities, companies can save on purchasing a facility with packaging equipment and warehousing space, along with the staffing and technology required to run it. A contract packaging company can also help you reduce shipping costs by consolidating your orders. This is a huge benefit for a business trying to stay competitive in e-commerce and omnichannel retail.
Reduced Costs
Contract packagers have the expertise, production facilities, and materials to handle various packaging needs. They can also often employ lean manufacturing techniques to minimize waste, leading to cost savings for the hiring company. In addition, contract packagers don’t have the same overhead associated with staffing, floor space, and warehousing that a manufacturer would incur.
Contract packaging companies are often preferred for test runs, promotional products, or short production runs, especially when a manufacturer needs more continual volume to justify the planning and capital investment of building an internal packaging operation. Additionally, contract packagers can provide a quicker turnaround time than the manufacturer could achieve internally due to their dedicated resources and equipment.
Contract packaging firms are experts at managing promotion-related and seasonal volume spikes. They can offer a flexible approach to workforce management, deploying cross-trained associates and temporary workers to manage the uptick in packaging demand.