1. The order process and reducing costs
At the Packaging Experts we are blessed with a wonderful team of individuals with a diverse range of complementary skills and experience. This allows us to analyse each project as a team and then present what we feel is the best option for you.
Our goal is to produce high quality luxury packaging and we fully appreciate the importance of keeping costs down, whenever we see an opportunity to save money we will talk to you about it.
2. Project Planning
This is the most important part of the whole process. If the project brief isn’t clear we could begin to develop a specification for an inadequate solution. Don’t panic! Once the brief has been detailed we will send you visuals or where required physical samples of previously produced products so you know exactly what we are developing for you.
Generally all projects will fall into one of two categories, you may be looking for a better price on an existing piece of packaging or for us to create and manufacture a bespoke solution for you.
3. Design/Creative
Packaging design and brand delivery are major factors to take into consideration when planning product development and branding.
Your product packaging does the talking when you aren’t there to do it yourself so you have to get the message right!
Each design brief needs to be reviewed so we can create the right solution for you!
We design with manufacturing in mind so you will achieve the right balance of creativity and manufacturing economy when it comes to producing the final package.
The experienced team of packaging designers and cardboard engineers can work with you and your designers to provide cost effective and suitable packaging.
Our creative team offers (but is not limited to) the following services:
- Brand & logo creation
- Corporate style guide management
- Creative design
- Art working
- Cardboard engineering
- Packaging samples
We have invested heavily in the sampling equipment to ensure you can present a “real” sample to the product “stakeholders” in order to get the wow factor… A full colour mock-up beats a white sample every day of the week!
The packaging experts culture is based on building long-term business relationships so we always welcome prospects and clients alike to visit us for a preliminary project review to discuss the options available.
4. Client Approval
Any creative work we manage on your behalf will need to be reviewed and approved prior to order progression. You will always receive digital pdf proofs and you are required to provide written confirmation of approval or indeed any required amendments for your sample or the sampling/manufacturing of the full production run will be delayed.
5. Pre-production Sampling
We will always recommend a pre-production sample which can be plain or printed depending on your requirements.
It may seem this is an unnecessary cost/delay and where you feel this isn’t required you can sign a waiver and production can begin without us manufacturing a sample. An example of when sample approval may not be required is for a re-print of an existing project with a minor artwork change.
It can be a very expensive mistake if you proceed with a project without the reassurance of a pre-production sample and then find a mistake further down the line.
Please note: The costs for samples vary greatly and these will always be confirmed before a sample is manufactured. Generally the sample will be paid for in advance and then credited back against the production order should you wish to proceed.
6. Client Approval
It is imperative you receive a sample and provide written confirmation of approval or indeed any required amendments for your sample or the manufacturing of the full production run will be delayed.
7. Manufacturing
As with all manufacturing processes a great deal of the cost is in the set-up.
Depending on the style and materials required for your packaging the manufacturing processes can be very different. If you would like to understand more about the process involved in producing your manufacturing please ask one of our advisors.
The variety of manufacturing processes mean that there are too many variables to write about in this process breakdown.
8. Warehousing
Due to the economies of scale that can be achieved by manufacturing larger quantities it may be more cost effective for you to order in larger quantities and then call off your product a pallet at a time!
If you are interested in requesting a full cost benefit analysis on producing larger volumes versus warehousing please get in touch.
Whether you store your goods in your own warehouse or you want us to store them for you please ask us about our “litho laminated flat-pack/self-build” solutions. Introducing these as a packaging solution can save hundreds if not thousands of pounds in hidden costs from storage through to shipping.
9. Fulfilment
The packaging experts offer a fully integrated service solution and you can pick and mix the products and services you need to make your project a success.
Choosing the packaging experts full turnkey service regularly saves our clients thousands of pounds without actually reducing the cost or quality of their packaging. This is due to the fact that the packaging is only one component of the full solution.
Other components include any required assembly and build time, does the packaging fit the pallets easily and securely or do you require additional outer shippers, and most importantly what is the cost of damages both directly to your product and also to your reputation?
We are experts at understanding the complete process and helping you to improve efficiency just by choosing your packaging design very carefully. It all comes back to the initial planning!
10. Distribution
We have an in-house logistics team who manage relationships with domestic and international couriers on a daily basis, we use these relationships to maintain excellent service quality and pricing for all of our distribution needs.
If you are looking to outsource your requirements or you are unhappy with your current service provider please call and speak to one of our distribution experts who will arrange a site visit. We can also provide first hand feedback from clients who have benefitted from this service.