Global Auto Industry: “Delivering Excellence Globally – Insights into Cost Effective International Packaging”
An article by Brett Swanson, Manager of Ghafari’s Packaging Group, recently appeared in Global Auto Industry’s eJournal. Titled “Delivering Excellence Globally: Insights into Cost Effective International Packaging”, the article details the myriad considerations that manufacturers must factor into their global shipping processes.
As Brett observes, in an increasingly globalized economy, manufacturers may receive components from suppliers all over the world or have their own internal supply chains with components produced in one country and shipped to another for final assembly and yet another for delivery. These companies therefore need to adopt shipping processes that reduce costs and protect their investments, focusing on efficient packaging, effective transportation, and minimizing the need or frequency of repacking wherever possible.
“The materials and labor required for packaging and especially shipping are highly significant,” he says. “It is important to do it right the first time and that means knowing what is being shipped and where it’s going to ensure it arrives unharmed and the receiver can handle it.”
Brett advocates comprehensive upfront planning in developing packaging and shipping strategies that considers the countries through which the shipment is traveling along with their respective shipping / packaging protocols, environments, and available modes of transportation. All of these factors should inform the manufacturer’s packaging and shipping processes to ensure cost-effective, on-time delivery with no product damage.
“When a shipment is in transport, it is out of the hands of both parties,” Brett writes. “Effective planning and attention to detail can give both sides the comfort of knowing they have done everything they can. The goal is to deliver component parts and assemblies cost-effectively, on time and without damage in a safe, ergonomically friendly and environmentally sustainable container designed to withstand the global distribution environment.”