By Jan McCormick, Jr., Marketing Director

When you look at the advantages a packaging partner can bring, it’s easy to see why so many companies are choosing to go the outsourcing route. According to Mordor Intelligence, the North American contract packaging market is projected to reach $16.35 billion by the end of 2022, at a growth rate of 12.7%.  Packaging has become a critical component within the supply chain, but it’s hard for some brands to focus on it because it takes them away from their core business.  We did some research with our own clients to find out why they partner with us and discovered five key factors – experience, flexibility, speed, cost, and resources.

Valuable experience

Packaging partners breathe, eat, and drink packaging every day of the year.  So, it makes sense that experience is one of the main reasons our clients decide to partner with us.  “A lot of times brands like CPGs come to us because they’ve got a problem to solve and we’ve got the experience to provide solutions for them,” says Bill Gilmore, Sales Manager for Bonded Pac.  Our Key Account Managers have a broad range of industry experience and act as extensions of our client’s team.  We utilize a Tier1 inventory and production management software specifically built to handle the challenges of packaging while allowing clients real-time visibility into our facility. Quality Assurance Supervisors are trained how to inspect finished product to make sure everything is matching or exceeding client standards.

Flexibility to ebb and flow

Managing the ebbs and flows of a production schedule can be a nightmare, but it’s something packaging partners understand is part of the business.  We have a large, versatile production floor that can scale up for big projects but also scale back when working on smaller projects.  This is especially helpful when it comes to seasonal displays or larger runs for big-box stores like Walmart and Costco.  We have the ability to work with our labor force to flex up or down to meet client demands.  And because most co-packers work with more than one client, we can manage the workflow to make sure the production floor is being optimized.  “Flexibility is an overlooked benefit for co-packing clients, but it’s so important because there’s no way most would be able to handle this type of ebb and flow on their own successfully,” states Jon Hayward, Bonded Pac Vice President.

Speed to market

In today’s marketplace, it’s all about who can get on the shelves or in the stores first.  Outsourcing to a packaging partner allows the packaging process to accelerate, helping brands get their products to market faster than their competitors.  “Speed to market has become a consistent need across all our clients to stay ahead of the competition,” adds Gilmore.  We also help to reduce turnaround times because everything from equipment to labor is already in place and can be up and running quickly once we have everything we need for the project.  There is also a mindset of continuous improvement, especially here at Bonded Pac, focusing on getting faster and faster with each production run we make to cut down time in the supply chain.

Opportunity costs

It takes a lot to set-up an efficient packaging operation – including space, equipment, and people to name just a few – and all that requires a heavy investment.  By investing in a packaging partner, companies can refocus these resources away from packaging to more strategic growth and profit generating initiatives.  There is only so much time in the day, and successfully outsourcing non-core or non-strategic activities allows them to focus on more important things.  “Our anchor clients take advantage of this and concentrate their spend on product design, R&D, manufacturing, and marketing where they can get a better return on their investment,” adds Hayward.

Variety of resources

Packaging partners are often packed with resources because they have to be ready for anything clients throw at them.  This usually includes being well-versed in a broad range of services, which for us is bundling, kitting, sleeving, assembly, and fulfillment.  In order to provide these, co-packers house various types of equipment like shrink sleeve bundlers, steam tunnels, and even filling lines (we have all of three).  “Often our clients come to us for a project using one piece of equipment, then see our capabilities and make use of another one,” states Hayward.  Utilizing our sourcing network, we can find experienced partners to help with creative design, sourcing corrugate, and purchasing other raw materials.  And then there’s the value-added resources like warehousing and transportation to help us become an end-to-end logistics solution.

Thinking that outsourcing to a packaging partner like Bonded Pac makes sense for your company? Reach out to us to see how we can help!