DHL: Minimize packaging waste to help offset increased shipping costs.
What aspects of the ecommerce packaging shipped by brand owners/packagers is annoying or problematic for your company? Why?
Geoffrion (DHL): I would not say there is any aspect of ecommerce packaging that is “annoying” for DHL Supply Chain. However, ecommerce packaging that is more complex and consists of more custom components drives complexity, labor, and costs in the downstream execution of the packaging process.
Ecommerce packaging does have to protect products, but it also has to be designed to give the end customers a great unboxing experience — similar to what they would experience within a store — so brand owners need to balance these two priorities.
Sustainability is also in play when it comes to ecommerce packaging. End customers expect all ecommerce packaging to be minimized and as sustainable as possible. This can be challenging for organizations, as driving sustainable, right-sized packaging can sometimes lead to increased costs.
DHL Supply Chain has focused on minimizing scrap from materials inventory and production runs as much as possible to offset increased costs that could be associated with more sustainable materials and custom equipment, producing right-sized packaging through our OptiCarton AI solution.
What advice would you give brand owners and packagers regarding improving their ecommerce packaging?
Geoffrion (DHL): Brand owners must ensure that their ecommerce packaging is aligned to their brand, all graphics are consistent/compliant with brand guidelines, the quality of ecommerce packaging matches the in-store experience brand owners expect customers to have, and that the ecommerce packaging pricing is aligned with the price point of the product.
Brand owners and packagers should categorize all products to ensure that packagers have standardized guidelines for what type of packaging should be used for fulfillment, such as mailers, corrugated boxes, custom inserts, and so on. The categorization process should be based on product type, fragility, price point, and the like.
When possible, brand owners should leverage product packaging that can communicate a brand message while also being used as the shipper, to ensure extra corrugated boxes are not needed for shipping, as appropriate.
Brand owners and packagers should leverage ship test data to ensure that excess fillers are not used if not needed to protect the products, saving on space, weight, materials, shipping costs, and more.
Balancing the need to standardize packaging with the need to create a great unboxing experience for end-customers is a top priority for brand owners.