Your weekly calendar reveals that you are scheduled to meet with an industrial packager on Friday to discuss how best to ship your new product overseas. Suddenly, you feel just like you did back in school when the teacher announced a pop quiz.

You know that safely transporting your product to the customer’s site is the critical final step of the manufacturing process. But packing and shipping is not your area of expertise. So you have called in the experts to design and fabricate industrial packaging materials to protect your product on its journey.

Unfortunately, they can’t do it alone. The industrial packaging team will need significant input from you in order to customize the crate and skid to best match your product’s requirements. Will your answers to their questions earn a passing grade?

If you do your homework beforehand, you can avoid that pop quiz sensation. With a little time and effort, you can familiarize yourself with the required details and feel well-prepared for your meeting.

Practice Questions

Here is a set of questions that will help you gather the details that the industrial packaging team will need in order design the best solution for your shipment:

  1. Are there mechanical drawings we can review (or an actual product to inspect)?
  2. How much does the product weigh?
  3. Is the weight distributed evenly (or is the product top-heavy, for example)?
  4. What are the dimensions of the product?
  5. How is the product shaped? Do any elements extend beyond the core of the product?
  6. How fragile is the product? Will it be damaged if it drops 6 inches or 12 inches? Can it handle vibration or will that cause screws to come loose?
  7. Will the product be shipped fully assembled? How many separate elements will need to be shipped? Are there smaller pieces that should be packaged separately within the crate?
  8. How will the product be assembled and/or installed at the customer’s site? Should certain elements be crated together for ease of assembly or installation?
  9. To where is it being shipped? Which regulations, restrictions, or limitations will apply to this shipment? What types of weather is it likely to encounter en route?
  10. Via what modes of transportation will it be shipped (truck, plane, train, ship,…camel)? Will the shipment change altitude, travel on unpaved roads, or be exposed to seawater?
  11. What type of equipment do you have on hand to lift the product into packaging and then move the crate onto the first mode of transportation? Is there a loading dock at the manufacturing facility?
  12. Does the customer’s site have a loading dock? What type of equipment is available for unloading and unpacking the product?
  13. Are there any other unique or challenging handling requirements that will require special arrangements with the riggers, trucking company, or freight forwarders?

Ace Your Shipment with CDC Packaging

Nobody likes to feel unprepared. Use our sample questions to do some fact-gathering before you meet with your industrial packagers to help ensure an efficient collaboration. Contact us today to learn how CDC Packaging can translate your research into an accurate price quote and, ultimately, a successful shipment.