Top 8 Ways to Reduce Packaging Costs – Corrugated Shipping Boxes

Everyone in a shipping room uses shipping boxes to ship their products. Whether you’re just setting up a new business and looking for the lowest cost packaging or you’re an established manufacturer, this article was written to help you reduce your packaging costs, specifically how to reduce your corrugated box costs.

1. Check your box sizes to make sure they fit the product you are protecting and shipping. A good rule of thumb for protection is 2″ around all products. If you are using a box that requires a lot of padding (more than 2″ around), you can find a smaller shipping box. Since most packaging supply companies carry over 100 box sizes, chances are you’ll be able to find the right size.

2. Choose the right box design and style. A good rule of thumb on corrugated boxes is “deeper is cheaper”. If you can configure your box to open at the smallest dimensions and the largest dimension to be the deepest, this allows the least amount of corrugation to be used to produce the box. And so “Deeper is cheaper”. There are many box styles available. The standard RSC-style shipping container is the most common, but if you have a long, narrow product, a five-panel folder or FOL might work better and can be made with less corrugation. Check with your corrugated cardboard supplier for alternatives.

3. Make sure you’re using a box that’s rated (not overrated) to carry the amount of weight you’re packing. There are many grades of corrugated. Corrugated grades ranging from “no test” grade to over 1300# triple wall are all common. Consult your packaging professional for the appropriate cardboard strength for your product.

4. Industry knowledge can be valuable; Knowing when paper and flipchart prices rise and fall can allow you to better negotiate with your corrugated supplier. Use sources like Pulp and Paper magazine, available online, to gather industry news and paper prices. When the price of paper has dropped, asking for better prices will save you a lot of money on shipping cardboard boxes. If paper goes up, your corrugated supplier must notify you and give you the opportunity to pre-purchase before the effective date of the price increase.

5. Switch or buy corrugated suppliers to create some competition. The Internet is great for buying retail products, but not so great for industrial products. You still need to find good local companies and get them to list your corrugated board needs. You want to be the customer that the cashier knows will buy prices at the mere mention of a price increase. Business relationships exist, but friendly competition goes a long way toward keeping packaging costs down. Plus, introducing a second vendor allows for a backup vendor and a fresh set of eyes on your process. Many times the savings can come in the form of a change in packing method or case size.

6. Change your box to reduce your Shipping Costs. I know this doesn’t exactly fall under “save money on your shipping boxes,” but if you can reduce the weight of your box by changing the way you pack, that can lower your one-time shipping costs. Also changing the case size to allow more of your product on one pallet can increase the total product shipped and on full truckloads or even LTL this can reduce your freight per product.

7. Purchasing large quantities of custom corrugated boxes per order can reduce the cost of the box. Most corrugated box manufacturers sell converted boxes per square foot of corrugated cardboard per run. Price per square foot rebates can be as significant as a 20% reduction going from one square foot board rebate to the next. Always ask your supplier to quote you the table rests. If you are looking to order between 1,000 and 2,000 boxes, please order the board breaks between those quantities. Many times you will find that a quantity of 1,200 will give you a reduced cost of 10-15% over the price of 1,000 boxes.

8. Just-in-time inventory and general purchase orders for a period of use. Many packaging distributors will stock your custom boxes for you on a “bulk purchase order arrangement” and release the boxes as you need them. This will allow you to purchase a larger quantity (usually at a lower cost) and receive boxes as needed. This should lock you in at a lower price and allow you to keep your cash flow and inventory the same, since you only have to pay for boxes as you receive them.

Using the above techniques with a good corrugated board consultant can result in significant packaging cost reductions. This was written specifically for anyone looking to reduce packaging costs. I hope this article has given you ideas to reduce your packaging and shipping box costs.