With this in mind, Stuart Roberts, European Director of Marketing – Protective Packaging, at Sealed Air – a leading global manufacturer of innovative protective packaging materials and systems – explains how companies can work towards reducing packaging waste while still providing the best possible protection for their products.

From Supplier to Shop Floor
The typical journey of a product, incorporating pre and post-production, can often span thousands of miles, with the average product being subjected to multiple stresses and strains during both handling and transportation. Damage can commonly occur at several points throughout the distribution cycle including stacking, loading and unloading, containerising and transportation by truck, ship and aeroplane.

Over the course of a typical journey, there are numerous distribution stages before the product reaches its destination, during which time it will be vulnerable to various forms of damage. The most common risks of damage include vibration, from the modes of transportation used and also impact stress, which can occur during both transit and handling.

The Cost of Damaged Products
In the current economic climate, damaged products are not an option, so getting the maximum protection from a packaging solution is a high priority for manufacturing and distribution companies.
Not only do damaged goods cost money but a company’s reputation is also on the line every time their packaging fails to measure up to the task. The right choice of packaging solution can enable companies to meet deadlines and maintain their reputation with consumers by reducing the number of damages incurred during transit and the journey to the shelf.

How to Reduce Packaging Waste without Compromising Protection
To help companies achieve significant savings and avoid unnecessary damages during handling and distribution, an expert packaging company should be consulted and carry out a comprehensive testing process to find the right balance between providing maximum protection and minimal packaging. Testing often involves inspection of the product including size, volume and surface area. When a product arrives for testing at Sealed Air, the technical team carry out an initial inspection of the product and cross reference it against similar products it has provided protective packaging for from its central database.

It is at this stage that the most appropriate form of packaging should be evaluated – whether it is paper, plastic or foam.  Arriving at this decision involves analysis of several variables, including the cost of packaging against the cost of damage.  To calculate this, it is advisable to have a packaging value analysis carried  out to ascertain which solution will deliver the maximum financial benefit. For example, if a company is experiencing significant damage costs, then the introduction of a more premium or fit-for-purpose protective packaging solution will prove more cost effective in the long term as losses incurred via breakages and resulting redeliveries are reduced.

Once the correct type of material has been identified, the best design for the specific product should be determined, with the consideration that it needs to maximise protection, while minimising the material used.  Once this stage is completed, a number of tests should be performed, in-line with standards set out by the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA), to ensure the packaging solution will protect the product in ‘real’ terms.

Before the testing procedure begins, the packaged product should be weighed to ascertain the drop height at which the product should stand and the speed at which it should be vibrated.  At Sealed Air’s Packaging Design and Development Centres (PDDCs) across Europe, the test process includes a vibration test, during which the packaged product is placed on a fixed vibration table and subjected to 14,200 impacts. The procedure also includes a drop (shock) test, in which the product is dropped on all surfaces, from its most fragile base corner to its largest flat face.

The Protective Packaging Materials Available
There are currently a wide range of protective packaging solutions available on the market – from protective wraps such as AirCap® barrier sealed bubble cushioning and PackTiger™ paper cushioning, to specifically tailored solutions such as Korrvu® suspension packaging and Instapak® engineered foam – each of which are assessed for optimum protection when determining the correct packaging solution for a given product.

In order to maximise protection and minimise packaging, many companies are turning towards foam based protective packaging solutions, such as Sealed Air’s range of Instapak® foam. The liquid foam based solution, which moulds around a product within its outer packaging, has been chosen by a number of engineering, industrial and distribution companies to provide void fill, blocking & bracing and cushioning.

Instapak® is of particular benefit for companies transporting fragile, delicate and expensive products, due to its premium protection performance. One customer that was using cradle card to protect car alternators in transit switched to Instapak to reduce damage costs which were in excess of £70,000 per annum.  As well as eliminating damage the Instapak based solution helped to maintain a fast packaging method and reduce packaging storage.

In addition, the new Instapak Quick® RT Quick Start Kit has been launched so that companies can experience first hand how Instapak® can enable them to provide maximum protection for products during transit.

The unique foam bags are stored flat and expand up to 27 times their original volume, when, where and as required, significantly reducing the costs of storage, handling and overall operation.

Taking the First Step to Waste Reduction
Many companies are unaware of the options available, how much they could realistically cut back on packaging waste and – moreover – how much money it could save them.

To calculate potential packaging savings and to ensure companies get maximum protection from their packaging solutions in a quick and simple way, we’d recommend using our brand new Packaging Value Analysis (PVA) calculator at www.pvacalculator.com

Fronted by packaging-guru Professor Packaging, visitors to the site are invited to fill in a few simple fields including: industry type, product description and product weight and after just a few seconds the PVA calculator formulates a potential cost saving.

We want to show companies that with the right analysis, they can reduce the volume of their packaging with significant saving on transport, storage, material costs and reduce product damage. We hope that this website encourages visitors to review their packaging needs and make changes that will have a significant impact on their bottom line.

To see how much you could save, visit www.pvacalculator.com  and challenge Professor Packaging to help cut your packaging costs – and to request a consultation from one of Sealed Air’s packaging experts.