COVID and The Cardboard Box Apocalypse!

Covid has created a lot of hardship for our world. There is no doubt that the start of the pandemic brought on some serious challenges for our society. But, as any other efficient and intelligent society does, we have adapted to life around the virus. The world has been experiencing a shift from small businesses and supermarkets to the lifestyle of eCommerce. Companies like Amazon have made a fortune during the pandemic, mostly due to the convenience of having purchased items directly shipped to your door. In some cases, it can take only 1 or 2 days! Now that is a competitive market. With so much online shopping being done, companies are experiencing backlogged orders and quickly depleting stocks on a global scale. Moreover, consumers are starting to completely adjust to covid life and take advantage of eCommerce and its benefits.

One thing that a surplus of online shopping creates is a surplus of cardboard boxes being ordered, produced, and shipped. Cardboard boxes are one of the most effective means of shipping various goods and products because they are cheap and easy to assemble. With so much online ordering being done, cardboard boxes are flying off the production line all the way to an Amazon warehouse and then to the front door of someone’s home. Packing supplies are also in high demand because they are usually complimentary items to cardboard boxes. Things like packing peanuts and bubble wrap are cheap and effective ways to make sure fragile items are not broken during shipping.

One time during the pandemic lockdown, I ordered a pair of shorts that were expected to arrive in about a week from the day I ordered them. I eagerly awaited their arrival and continued to check the mail towards the end of the week, hoping to see my order arrived and ready to open. However, after about 10 days of waiting, I realized something was wrong. Later, I received an email that my shorts had been damaged beyond repair during shipping and that I would be refunded within 20 days. This seemed crazy to me because shorts are nowhere near being a fragile item and do not require much care while shipping. My guess is that my shorts were being shipped over from China via shipping container, and were lost over the side of the boat when Captain Kooley hit a rogue wave somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. 

Whatever the case, I was very disappointed to not get my shorts. Perhaps next time that company ships a pair of shorts, they should take advantage of proper packing supplies to ensure that products arrive on time and in good condition. With all the cardboard boxes arriving at your door, make sure that you are properly recycling them. This is super important for saving our planet and making sure we are reducing the amount of waste in our society. The only problem with recycling boxes is that one has to cut them and break them down. This will require a bit of manual labor that most people are not regularly in the mood for; however, get yourself a good pair of scissors or a box cutter and you’ll be cutting through boxes like a knife through butter. Be careful of blisters, though, as they will form on your hands and fingers after a while.

Best of luck!

Tips To Move Your Inventory The Right Way

Do you struggle to keep up with consumer demands? Do you feel stuck between distribution center challenges? These factors, along with the challenge of ensuring fast shipping, can make the business survival a tough feat to achieve.

Most brands have to ensure safety and a positive product experience while packaging and shipping their products. If you want to deal with these challenges successfully, you have to move inventory the right way. Here are some inventory management tips to help you make the packaging and distribution smoother.

Housekeeping rules

While it’s one of the most fundamental tips, keeping up with housekeeping rules serves as a significant difference between easily finding an item and surfing through a crowd of products and supplies. Spending needless hours trying to locate goods results in the wastage of time, which is a precious resource. You have to make sure to organize everything nicely and in a logical order to save time and money.

Avoiding delays

Your warehouse operations will be affected badly if you are procrastinating unnecessarily. For instance, you have to inspect new materials as soon as they arrive. Processing damaged products or packaging is critical. Working efficiently will help you serve customers faster and more effectively.

Barcodes

Regardless of the size of your warehouse, picking orders can take a significant amount of time. You can use technology to avoid back-and-forth processes as well as manual errors that tend to be costly. With the help of barcodes, you can organize supplies and products in a better way. It will also help improve warehouse inventory accuracy. Your employees will be able to pick the right products at the right times.

Flexible reorganization

The methods you find effective in managing inventory and storage today may not work after a couple of years. That is why it is necessary to reevaluate your operations periodically and reorganize the storage space to maintain the product flow the right way. It helps particularly well when supply and demands change.

Quality control

If you want to ensure smooth operations, you have to maintain an efficient and safe environment. However, implementing an excessive level of checking can result in a bottle-neck before product packaging. You can speed up the production and packaging line and avoid bottlenecks by setting up appropriate systems in place. These systems may include the use of barcodes, utilizing dimensional weight checking components, and avoiding over-packing.

Benefits of efficient warehouse management systems

Whether you are a seasoned brand or a startup, using an effective warehouse management system will help you get the following advantages.

• You will be able to streamline your distribution processes and implement a robust warehouse management system.
• You will get end-to-end visibility of the entire inventory, especially when it is on the move.
• You can manage your products through all touch-points. That will help you ensure the safety and integrity of the package and product until unboxed and used by the customer.
• Your warehouse will be more organized, and you will be able to improve ROI.
• It will help improve every process involved in the fulfillment.