Five ways to be packaging-prepared for spring

With a lot of the primary sector forecasting and planning for the spring rush, having your packaging prepared will reduce the risk of unwanted surprises. Here are five important points to consider this season:

1. No bags – No business – we get this.

With hundreds of customers having to manage seasonal requirements,  we understand the impact it has on your business if you run out of bags. Even if accurate forecasting is a challenge for you, Smart Pack have the systems, capabilities and infrastructure to navigate variances, remove the risk and ensure you’re in safe hands.

Here’s a few things we do to ensure we never run our customers out of bags:

• Forecasting – Robust analysis of previous seasons actual numbers and collaboration on upcoming trends.
• Reporting – Detailed real-time reporting.
• Inventory Management – We’ll customize a plan just for your business to ensure it fits with your cashflow requirements and physical capacity to store and handle the stock.
• NZ Printing – In-house printing/overprinting service with low MOQ’s and fast turnaround – perfect for those times when you need to launch a new product at the 11^th
• Warehousing/Logistics – We have warehousing right across NZ and Australia to ensure you bags are there when and where you need them.

2. Compliance & recyclability

With the priority products identified for regulated product stewardship, the recyclability of your on-farm plastics has become more of a priority. Being ahead of the game and knowing the types of bags that are best for these recycling or collection schemes is a sure-fire way to not get caught out. We have been working with Agrecovery to identify the packaging materials and specifications that are most ideal to align with the schemes in place.

Talk to our team today about how your bags may be affected and what you can do to be working towards the future.

3. Packaging design and marketing

Design is a crucial part of your packaging, so try to make sure you have covered the following:

• Labelling – ensure you have the correct labelling of products so that you are compliant with any warnings/regularity requirements.
• Visual impact – ensure you’ve maximised on marketing potential – making sure your bags stand out next to competitors in retail situations.
• Product differentiation – maximise design elements such as colour as product differentiation, so your staff and customers can work quickly and efficiently with your bags.

Our in-house design team can offer expert recommendations based on your branding and operation to boost your brand through packaging design.

4. Integration with your packing equipment

When was the last time you reviewed your packing/filling processes? We’ve found that even the smallest of tweaks can make a world of difference in creating efficiencies to your operations.

Whether it’s switching a measurement or reducing the specifications, there’s usually a way to improve efficiency. Our Smart360 framework is used by our team to identify opportunities within your packaging processes where we can boost productivity and in turn profitability.

Contact one of the team today for a no obligation SMART360 appraisal.

5. Supply chain sustainability

A packaging partner that understands the bigger picture of your business, industry and operation is a huge advantage. Even though you can’t see what’s around the corner, you can have confidence that there will be no risks or surprises with your supply. 

Smart Pack has created a well-oiled supply chain network to ensure delivery lead times, quality and reliability never let you down. All our suppliers are taken through a rigorous validation process to ensure we are delivering you the best.