Do You Need Protective Packaging?

If your company sells anything that needs to be shipped, chances are you’ve thought about investing in protective packaging. Protective packaging such as bubble wrap or foam can prevent items from becoming damaged during the shipping process. Although businesses frequently look for opportunities to cut costs, this is one area where it’s much better to be safe than sorry.

If you’ve ever had a situation where a product arrived damage on a customer’s doorstep, you might need to rethink how your business is packaging its products (or risk losing out on profit margins due to the need for refunds.) 

Why Is Protective Packaging Important?

According to the Huffington Post, 1 in 10 packages arrives damaged to its destination. These stats vary slightly by carrier: the United States Postal Service reports that 10% of its packages are damaged in transit, a number which increases to 11% for UPS and decreases to 7% for FedEx. 

Still, you don’t want to take any chances when it comes to your customers. Here are 3 situations where you want to make sure you’re using protective packaging in your shipping process. 

1. You Sell Fragile Objects

If you’re shipping products that can break easily, you definitely want to use protective packaging. Wrapping breakable items in bubble wrap or foam can protect them from shattering during transit. Even if your products aren’t made of a typically breakable material such as glass, you’ll want to evaluate whether they can hold up to the serious shaking, bumping, dropping, and other damage that happens to packages during the shipping process. 

Although it’s impossible to guarantee that an item will arrive in one piece, you can certainly improve the odds by upgrading your packaging. If you have even a small doubt about your products’ ability to arrive intact, you should err on the side of protective packaging. 

2. You Ship to Other Countries

International mail tends to get tossed around a lot more than domestic mail, considering it has a much longer journey to make. In order to ensure that your products survive shipping, it’s a good idea to use protective packaging. Something that you might not think twice about mailing unprotected domestically could arrive in another country with the packaging torn, leaving the products within exposed to the elements or other damage. 

Protective packaging doesn’t just protect items from being jostled: it provides an extra layer of packaging that could come in handy if the box or envelope rips, or if the item is left outside in the elements. You never know what could happen when an item has to travel a long distance. 

3. Your Items Are Easily Scratched

Even if what you’re shipping isn’t necessarily breakable, solid objects are prone to getting scratched or scuffed if they’re manhandled too much during the shipping process. No customer wants to receive their order only to find it covered in scratches! Protective packaging can act as a barrier around the object, shielding it from getting scratched by the inside of its container during shipping. 

4. You’ve Experienced Product Damage Before

Even durable items can become damaged during the shipping process. Surfaces can become scratched, dented, or cracked from being jostled and shifted around in a box. No matter what you sell, you always want to include an element of protective packaging when you ship your items. 

This is especially true if a customer has ever complained about receiving damaged goods in the mail. No matter how high-quality your product is, you won’t get a good product review if it arrives damaged. It’s important to package your items with care to ensure the satisfaction of your clients. 

Want More Information?

Protective packaging is an aspect of your business that’s worth the investment, and Premier Protective Packaging does it best. For all of your protective packaging needs, contact our office in Grand Rapids, MI today! We’re proud to serve customers all over the country. To inquire about our products or to request a quote, give us a call at (616) 791-7400 to talk with our protective packaging experts.