It’s been over a hundred years since Gutenberg printed the first bible and even with the advances of technology, one thing remains unchanged in the printing and packaging industry; set up costs have not reduced significantly regardless of quantity. The cost of the first print/packaging is still almost as much as that of printing a few thousand units.
Fortunately, this is about to change. The arrival of short-run packaging means that consumers can now order for small quantities of high quality products at very affordable prices – you will now only pay for what you get.
Short run packaging promises several benefits to both packaging manufacturers and consumers of packaged products;
- Budgeting benefits
Initially it was almost impossible to acquire less than 500 packaging units from a supplier because most manufacturers set their minimum orders at 500 units. Of course it was understandable; you couldn’t expect the manufacturers to sell at a loss. However, this often impacted negatively on consumers because you had to buy more packaging units than you needed. If you were operating on a tight budget where, for instance, you could only meet the cost 300 packaging units for your 300 products, it became a huge challenge. With shot run packaging, you can now order for any number of packaging units required.
- Inventory benefits
Today’s unpredictable economy means that you are only safe stocking what you need. You no longer stock products for the sake of filling up your shelves. Short-run printing allows you to order in increments, only when you need to. After you complete the first round of sales, you can make your next order. This way you also eliminate the chances of being stuck with out-of-date or obsolete products. If there are changes that you wish to effect on your packages, you can now do that easily and almost instantly.
- Reduced risk
One major disadvantage of ordering items in bulk is risk of theft, damage etc. Fires, floods, and other natural disasters can strike at any time. One way or reducing the potential damage is to have as few items in your store as possible. Actually, experts advise that you need to store only items that you expect to use in the immediate future.
Risk also comes in the form of paying for an order only to realize that the contents don’t meet all your requirements. If the order was significantly large, you’re likely to suffer a catastrophic loss. Ordering in batches enables you to avoid such problems.
- Reduced need for storage space
Ordering in bulk often also means that you need more space for incoming items. Some packaging units are significantly big in size and can consume a lot of space. The cost of floor spacing has also been on a steady increase. Ordering in bits and thereby reducing your need for storage space therefore also helps to cut on overall costs.
- Faster turnaround
Finally, short run packaging also promises faster turnarounds. Why not when you can now have 10 units delivered incrementally? For example, what happens if you have a short-notice order and are short of packaging materials? In the past, it was almost impossible to get just a few cartons to help deliver on such short-notice orders. Today, these cartons and packages will get to you stores much faster because they can be produced in manageable bits.
