How damages can affect your business & the environment
Have you ever ordered an item, been geared up with anticipation prior to its arrival, only for it to be delivered in a damaged state? As well as being slightly disheartening, it can be frustrating having to then make arrangements for return.
Statista carried out a survey which investigated the ‘Most prominent problems encountered with parcel deliveries in the United Kingdom in 2019’, of which ‘parcel damaged during delivery’ accounted for 7.4% of responses. Furthermore, it is estimated approx. 20% of online shoppers regularly return the products they bought online, should it fail to meet their expectations.
Damages have a significant effect on your business, notably on your company’s expenditure. This highlights the significance of putting appropriate preventative measures in place, including reporting, and recording any damages, whilst taking into consideration the security of your packaging. Damaged packaging has a knock-on effect on your internal processing, costing your company time and money.
Below we take a look at some of the causes for damage & how this can impact a business and the environment.
What causes damages?
If your company is receiving numerous accounts of damages, it is important to locate the principal cause, so thereafter steps can be taken to eliminate the rise of damages. When considering packaging, and damages, the following reasons may be something to consider:
Minimal In-Pack Protection
- Selecting the correct protective packaging for your product is essential in ensuring your product arrives to the consumer safely. Bio-based void fill has a positive effect on your customers, due to its protective and environmentally conscious nature, your business, and the environment. Hub Packaging stocks both the PWF1B-1021 and PFW4B-4245 Air Wave BIOFILL bio-compostable Air Pillow Films, which are both household-biodegradable films.
Excess Space in Your Package
- The size of the packaging used requires careful consideration, taking time to select the correct size of packaging for your products has significant benefits. The size of packaging has significant effects on the products safety; assessing a products size and delicacy and then selecting appropriate packaging increases the packages durability. For example, using a large box for a small product results in excess void space, increasing the likelihood of movement and thereafter damage. As well as having a negative effect on the environment, excess packaging is also viewed as less favourable by the customer.
Packaging Process Inconsistencies
- Consistency is essential to an effective packaging process. Assessing your packaging processes, and putting in appropriate guidelines to improve consistency, whilst reducing packaging waste can have significant benefits. Although it can initially be a costly investment, automation has numerous benefits with regards to consistency and waste reduction. Our previous blog takes a detailed look at how technology and automation can improve the packaging process, read here.
The Cost of Damages – On Business and the Environment
As noted throughout, if your product is damaged it will have significant effects on both business and the environment.
The effects of damages can be felt within both operational and financial costs, depending on your business infrastructure and the products you sell. Some key considerations that should be taken into account include:
- How quickly can the return be dealt with and processed?
- Can the damaged product be repurposed/ refurbished and resold?
Additionally, the effects on businesses reputation must be considered.
- Will this waver a customer’s loyalty?
- Will the customer leave a negative review?
The above points are an important consideration. In the age of technology & social media, a negative review can leave an unwelcome impression on any business.
Damages have a significant effect on the environment. If a product is received damaged, and then a return is processed and delivered – the impact on the carbon emissions and thereafter the environment can potentially have a dramatic impact. If an effective process is put in place to manage and minimise damages, the effects on carbon emissions will be significant.
Get In Touch with Hub Packaging
If your business wants to get a grip on damages and their impacts, Hub Packaging are here to help. To find out more information about how Hub can assist you in making choices which are damage and environmentally conscious, get in touch today. Our technical team can provide information regarding the products mentions, and will reply to any queries you may have:
Sales (NI): +44 (0) 28 4175 4977
Sales (ROI): +353 (1) 866 0136
Email: sales@hub-packaging.com
