A breakdown in shipping supplies can be compared to being stranded with no fuel on a very crowded highway. All forward motion stops; orders accumulate, personnel wait at the workplace, and ultimately the consumer waits longer than he/she should. For this reason, maintaining the necessary shipping supplies is probably the simplest way to continue operating a business.
Many people want to know what constitutes “shipping supplies.” Shipping supplies include much more than just boxes. Tape, packaging paper, bubble cushioning, mailing labels, mailers, stretch film, etc., all aid in ensuring that products are delivered safely. Each of these items provides a function and if you omit an item or fail to provide sufficient quantities of each type of shipping supply, then problems will arise.
Consider shipping a framed picture. Although the size and strength of the box are critical to protecting the contents, they alone cannot guarantee safe delivery. If there is inadequate protection within the box to absorb movement (i.e. bumps) during shipping then there is always a risk of damage. Therefore, good shipping supplies work together to ensure that your product is protected throughout its journey from your facility to the customer’s location.
A second question many businesses have is whether investing in higher-quality shipping supplies will result in cost savings. In many cases, purchasing high-quality shipping supplies saves costs long-term by increasing the durability of tapes used to seal containers and reducing the amount of damage caused to goods in transit through using durable packing materials. Additionally, using reliable shipping supplies reduces the number of damaged shipments and subsequent replacement shipments resulting in increased costs associated with those replacements.
Good shipping supplies also make the work environment easier. With all supplies easily accessible and prepared for use, employees have reduced amounts of time spent searching for supplies and therefore have more time available to prepare shipments. This results in faster shipment times, which is particularly helpful during peak periods of activity.
More and more businesses are also taking advantage of recycling shipping supplies. Recycling paper products and other environmentally conscious shipping supplies assist in reducing waste generated by shipping activities and allow consumers to see companies making environmentally responsible decisions.
