Packaging Supplies Sourcing Procedure

Sourcing the best packaging supplies could prove to be a daunting task for someone who is handling it for the first time. Regardless of whether you are sourcing heat treated wood crates, corrugated boxes, double wall boxes, industrial bags or shipping tape, one needs to know how to source the right packaging supplies. If this is your first time, here are some guidelines on the sourcing procedure.

The first step in sourcing your corrugated boxes or other shipping supplies is to have a complete understanding of your packaging requirements. The packaging materials required will vary from product to product. You need to work with packaging engineers who will be able to provide you with the most appropriate packaging solutions. This is not something that you would decide in a random fashion.

It would be appropriate only when you handle it with the help of professionals. Packaging engineers will provide you with the complete blueprint of how the products need to be packaged and tell you what are the different materials needed for packaging your products. Based on their packaging schema you need to make a complete list of packaging supplies.

Once you make a complete list of packaging supplies that you need including industrial bags and shipping supplies, you should establish the volume required every year. This will depend on a number of factors including the demand for your products and the manufacturing unit’s production capacity. If you are wondering, why it is important to establish why you should know the volume of packaging supplies right at the start then it is to budget correctly based on the actual requirements.

In order to set accurate and well-informed budget, it is essential to know the quantity of shipping supplies you need right at the start. When you have a clear understanding of the volume required, you will be able to establish whether it is possible to source your industrial packaging supplies from wholesale suppliers.

You will able to purchase wholesale cardboard boxes and other wholesale supplies only when you are able to meet the minimum order quantity requirements. This varies from one wholesale supplier to the other. You can consider such options only when you know how much supplies are required every year.

This is another crucial step in the sourcing process. You cannot possibly proceed with your orders before you have set aside the right budget. You should know how much you need to spend on your packaging supplies and how this budget is distributed across various shipping supplies including shipping tape. Have a budget that is as detailed as possible. This will save you from unnecessary glitches pertaining to funds.

The next step is to find the best suppliers in the industry. When you run a quick search online for the best suppliers of packaging materials, you will be able to find many companies listed. Does that mean you could order your shipping supplies from any supplier in a random fashion? Absolutely not, you need to screen all the top suppliers in the industry thoroughly.

Upon carefully reviewing your suppliers, you need to establish the best sources. How should one establish the right suppliers? There are a number of indicators to consider. To start with, you should look at the experience level of the suppliers in the industry. Some of them will have just one or two years of experience in this field while others would have been in this industry for more than a decade. It goes without saying that you should select someone with a vast experience. Take advantage of the expertise of the suppliers.

Finding a manufacturer cum distributor to source your supplies will prove to be useful. This will help you save a lot of money because you will be able to access the shipping supplies at wholesale prices.

Check the track record of the suppliers and find out whether they enjoy good reputation for the timely delivery of the orders and whether their products are competitively priced.

Having identified the top suppliers in the industry, you need to send out your request for quotes. In order to help your suppliers provide you with an accurate quote, you should give them as much information as possible. This is where the time taken to establish your requirements in the initial few steps will prove to be useful.

Once you get all the quotes, you should compare the quotes. While comparing the quotes, you should not merely limit your decision to the cost factor. You need to pay attention to a number of other factors listed about in terms of the quality of the products supplied, credibility of the suppliers and so on. If you should have any questions regarding the quote, it is important to have the doubts clarified before placing the order. You shall not proceed before all your queries regarding the quote are clarified.

Get supplier guarantees on the turnaround time required for the delivery of the products. This is an essential step in the sourcing process if you do not want to run into a series of issues pertaining to the delays in the delivery of the shipping supplies.

Once you have carefully addressed all the above factors you should place the order. You should closely follow up on the status of the order so that you know whether there is going to be any delay or whether your orders would be delivered on time. Knowing about the possible delays well in advance will help you be better prepared.

On the other hand if you learn about the delays in the last minute, you may not be able to deal with the consequences of the delays and as a result, you could succumb to undue losses.