Choosing Your Packaging Supplier

Author: PACKQUEEN   Date Posted:21 October 2021 

You already know how important packaging is to your business. 

 

You’ve spent hours designing the overall look and feel of your ideal package. Now it’s a matter of finding the right packaging supplier to bring your ideas to life.

 

Now, you might think that you can easily find a supplier given that there are lots of packaging companies out there. The first mistake you can easily make is to assume that all packaging suppliers are equal. You can’t be further than the truth. Packaging companies are differentiated by their expertise, experience, and level of customer service. 

 

So you definitely need to put some effort if you want to ensure that you’re choosing the best possible packaging supplier for your requirements and budget. It’s not a walk in the park, but it’s definitely possible to find one that can do both! 

 

Below are seven important criteria you can use to select the best possible packaging supplier for your business.

 

A. Packaging Quality and Standards

Quality is the most important consideration when choosing a packaging supplier. 

 

That’s because packaging not only protects your products; it also heavily influences the “presentation” aspect and unboxing experience. 

 

Your packaging boxes and materials need to have a quality that’s consistent with your brand. They have to be of high quality if you’re aiming for the premium segment. Even if you’re not a premium brand, you still want decent-enough postage boxes, gift boxes, or storage boxes that won’t easily fall to pieces when used. So when looking for a packaging supplier, you want someone who can produce high-quality items consistently. 

 

The supplier you choose should pay attention to quality assurance and meet minimum standards in their production. This also means that your supplier should be able to help your business meet compliance and regulatory standards for packaging in your industry. For instance, if you’re in the food business then they should be able to produce packaging and packing materials according to food-grade specifications. 

 

At PackQueen, we help customers decide whether we’re the right fit for their packaging needs by allowing them to order samples of our products. We also have a very low minimum order requirement, which allows smaller businesses to get great quality packaging without forking out a lot of money.

 

B. Product Range and Availability 

Another consideration that needs to be high up your supplier criteria is product range. 

It’s important that your supplier can provide you with a wide selection of packaging materials for you to choose from. You need to check if the company offers everything you’d need from boxes to fillers and packaging tape. Or if they have an assortment of packaging types to give you enough options. This ensures that you don’t need to have different suppliers for packaging materials. You also won’t have to look elsewhere should you add more products and need another type of packaging down the line. 

Your potential supplier shouldn’t just have an adequate product range. They should also be able to maintain enough stock levels of their products. This helps you avoid the risk of your packaging materials going out of stock when you badly need them. 

At PackQueen, we offer both custom and stock line products so you’re sure to find one that fits your needs. We also make sure that our stock-line products are always available and that customers are promptly notified in the event that they do go out of stock. Our website is a one-stop-shop for everything packaging so you avoid spending too much time and effort on sourcing your packaging needs from different suppliers.

C. Packaging Knowledge and Expertise

There’s no shortage of packaging suppliers out there. This can make it difficult to choose the right company to trust your packaging with.

This is where scrutinizing the supplier’s experience and expertise is very valuable. You want to make sure that they know their stuff and that they have a solid business that won’t fold up overnight and leave you hanging. 

 

An easy way to verify is by checking their reputation among past and existing customers. You can either ask them directly for names of customers that can vouch for their business, or find reviews of their products and services if they have an online presence.

 

An experienced and knowledgeable supplier would be able to help you determine the right packaging materials for your requirements and within budget. They’d be able to anticipate your needs as well as potential business challenges. They can draw from their years of experience dealing with similar customers to provide you with insights and ideas into improving and utilising packaging as a business advantage.

 

PackQueen has been helping businesses of all sizes for 15 years. We started from 20 products to having 6,000 today. We have a deep understanding that our growth depends on the growth of our customers. So we make sure that our products are able to provide value to your business. 

 

D. Price and Affordability

Price is a key consideration in choosing a packaging supplier. 

 

You want quality boxes and packaging supplies that add value to your products and services but at a price point that you can afford. 

 

That said, you shouldn’t decide based on price alone. 

 

You have to remember that pricing isn’t just what you pay for the packaging materials themselves. You’re also paying for the level of support and customer service you get. While there’s no shortage of cheap boxes out there, oftentimes you’ll also get what you pay for. So be sure to consider the hidden costs of settling for the cheapest option when it comes to your packaging supplier.

 

PackQueen provides economical options through over 6,000 standard packaging products.  This is perfect when you’re on a tight budget but need high-quality packaging for storing and shipping your products. At the same time, we also offer custom printing and packaging solutions if you’re looking to enhance your branding and create a better unboxing experience for your customers.

E. Local Manufacturing and Operations

You may be able to shop for your packaging needs from any company online but that doesn’t mean you can take location for granted.

 

A company’s location has an impact on its operation, including its pricing, delivery, and customer service. For instance, you can easily find packaging suppliers abroad who offer products at your price point, but you could also incur hefty shipping costs. 

 

As an Australian-owned and operated business, we at PACKQUEEN manufacture around 80-90% of our products locally in Melbourne, Australia. By manufacturing right here in Australia, we can:

• Offer shorter lead and delivery times on your order. Most of our made-to-order and custom products have a manufacturing lead time of 5-10 business days
• Keep a close eye on product quality and pricing. You benefit from consistent product quality and also reliable, transparent prices

 

A local company is also highly likely to understand you and your local market better.  There are no language barriers that could get in the way when placing your requirements. Supporting a local Australian company also means you get to support the local economy and the livelihood of Australian workers that the company employs.

 

F. Turn-Around and Delivery

Your potential supplier’s turnaround and delivery time are crucial to your inventory management. 

 

You don’t want to be sitting on a pile packaging materials but don’t want to be running out of them just when they’re needed. So when deciding on your packaging supplier, go with a company that has a track record of having reliable turn-around and delivery times. This way, you can properly plan the restocking schedule of your packaging supplies. 

 

At PACKQUEEN, we understand how important it is that you receive your packaging orders in a timely manner. We work to ensure that you’re always informed of delivery times to avoid the risk of financial and productivity losses that even slight delays can cause for your business.

 

G. Customer Service

Last but not the least, you should consider the customer service levels and quality that your potential packaging supplier provides.

 

You want a supplier that ensures your needs as a customer are taken care of not only from the beginning of your purchase but well into post-purchase. 

 

How would you know that a potential supplier focuses on excellent customer service? Here are some good indicators:

• Your supplier has a local phone number that you can call up when you have concerns or inquiries, and they actually answer the phone when you do
• They respond within a reasonable time frame to your chats or emails
• They’re transparent and honest about what they can and can’t do for you so you can make the best decision. They don’t overpromise

 

Another way to gauge customer service is to look at the company’s experience. Packaging is a very competitive industry so a packaging supplier wouldn’t survive very long if they’re failing to meet customer expectations. 

 

At PACKQUEEN, we’ve made customer service a core part of our business. You can always trust, whether you are dealing with us for the first time or the 100th time, that you will be provided with the same superior customer service experience and packaging that your clients will love. 

 

Constantly changing your packaging suppliers can be costly. It takes a lot of time and effort to research your options. So you want to make sure you choose the right packaging supplier from the start. Ideally, this should be a company that works with you when something inevitable happens, like your orders getting delayed at the courier or there are mistakes in your order.