The New England Patriots football team has achieved great success by encouraging each player on the team to “do your job.” Applying that same mindset to supply chain logistics can put your business on the road to victory.
On a football team, every player has a specific responsibility. You wouldn’t expect a wide receiver to guard the quarterback or ask a linebacker to run a passing route. When it comes to moving a finished product from the manufacturer to the customer, it’s just as important to assemble a roster of players that will each focus on their specialty.
Just like a football player suits up in a full complement of pads and a helmet, your product needs specialized equipment to protect it during its journey. But instead trying to elude the tackle, your package will be trying to avoid damage from a trio of worthy opponents: moisture, shock, and vibration.
You might be tempted to try to handle the packaging portion in-house, especially if you have power tools on hand and carpenters on staff. But it can take years to learn the subtleties that help protect your product during transport. If your product was manufactured by professionals, it deserves to be packaged by the pros, as well.
Your Shipping Roster
When your product is ready to make the journey from your facility to the customer’s location, it’s time to call in your transport team. Your roster should include:
Packaging Designer: Reviews the product specs and designs a custom packaging solution (including the crate, skid, bracing, cushioning, and moisture protection.)
Packaging Fabricator: Assembles the materials and builds the custom wood crate. (Can be partially pre-assembled for local projects or shipped flat for customers that are more distant.)
On-Site Packaging Team: Comes to your site to assemble the packaging materials and complete the packaging process. (Some on-site packagers specialize even further and are capable of packaging cleanroom products.)
Transport: Collects your package and delivers it to the customer site. (Often, there are several players in this slot, because your package will require multiple types of transportation (truck, train, plane, boat) to complete its journey.)
Just like a tight end that can throw a block, you might find a firm that can handle more than one of these key tasks. If you choose a packaging fabricator that is located close to you geographically, they might be the ideal company to also handle the on-site packaging. Or your packaging designer might be the best player to also build your packaging solution. Hiring a single vendor to perform two or more tasks can simplify logistics. Just be sure to check the scouting report and talk to past customers to verify their skills. Otherwise you will be sacrificing quality work for the sake of consolidation.
Recruit CDC Packaging for Your Shipping Team
There’s no Super Bowl in supply chain logistics, but when every “player” in the shipping process does their job and the package arrives safely at its final destination, that’s a win. CDC Packaging has deep experience designing and manufacturing custom industrial packaging solutions for a variety of industries. Contact us today to learn more about our cleanroom packaging services and mobile on-site packaging team.