5 steps to think about to make your packaging a logistical asset for Marketplaces

1- Storage and durability

The first logistical asset for Marketplaces is storage.

In order to be stored in conditions that often vary in terms of temperature, humidity or positioning, your products must be protected and properly packaged. Several months can pass between the moment you receive the finished product and the moment the end consumer receives it. It is then a question of finding the right strength/cost ratio.

2- Picking

Good news, after you have listed and optimised your product, you get the first orders. Now you have to ship this product quickly, but no luck, you have products with more turnover and these new products are stored in the back of your warehouses and you have to open your overpacks in order to get the ordered sales units.

Avoid this situation and use rectangular or square overpacks for easy storage with openings for easy picking. Your overpacks can then be taken down to your picking line, emptied and reused for your next products.

This reduces the amount of time your teams spend picking up your products, as well as the amount of waste you generate by reusing the empty overpacks.

3- Shipping

We've all seen those videos of delivery men throwing their packages into the back of trucks to save time. Indeed, you can be sure that your boxes and products will not be treated gently in transit.

Provide the necessary protection for your products and resist the temptation to pack them in thin cartons with little protection. After all, nothing is more costly than a shipped product that arrives damaged at your customers' premises. Not only in terms of costs, but also in terms of your brand's image.

4- Reception

Also think about who will receive your products and how they will receive them. Damaged, soft or half-opened packaging is difficult for your customers to receive and adds to a poor customer experience.

In order to facilitate andoptimise the reception of your products, make sure that your packaging is guaranteed:

• An optimal customer experience thanks to quality materials and a well-packaged product.
• The information needed for the reception systems (ASN, SSCC, Delivery note, Product visual...) for BtoB
• A solid and regular shape , making it easy to transport and process.

5- Product returns

Of course you don't want to have product returns, but it happens and it is now a customer benefit that you have to offer and provide, because it has become a standard.

To do this, allow your packaging to open easily so that it can be easily resealed in case of return.

In addition, you can include a free return form in your delivery documents, allowing for easy, trackable and quick returns. You are then free to use this feedback to improve what is wrong, as a product return is often more valuable than you think.

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