Functions of Quality Corrugated Shipping Boxes and Other Packaging Materials

Packaging has always been a very important consideration in transporting goods from place to place. Manufacturers of packaging materials, like World Packaging Co., make it a point to offer their customers a wide array of options for virtually all shipping and transport needs. Disregarding the nature of the goods, their packaging materials are made with the following considerations in mind.

Protection

The most obvious function of any packaging material is to protect its contents from any harm. This is especially important if the contents are very sensitive and innately fragile, such as food. However, inward protection (i.e. from microbes) is just as important as outward protection. To address the former, sturdy corrugated shipping boxes in the US are made with the standards approved by Corrugated Packaging Alliance (CPA) that include custom ventilation and cold-chain insulation.

Storage

This not only includes the obvious function of safely storing goods for a long time. It also involves the ease of storing the goods in larger facilities such as warehouses and small storage units. A high-quality stretch wrap film, for instance, makes the process of storing beverage bottles that much easier since they can now be safely stacked on top of each other.

Shipping

When transporting goods involves miles of treacherous roads or rough ocean waves, the stability and integrity of packaging materials become especially important. Also, goods can be classified as “light” or “heavy,” depending on how easy it is to load or unload them manually. Many packaging materials are designed with “heavy” applications in mind and are tough and stable enough to be handled by mechanical equipment such as cranes and forklifts.

Information

Most packaging materials such as corrugated and foam boxes are made so that some pieces of information can easily be posted on or attached to them. These include details about the contents, their owners, and their respective destinations for easy sorting. CPA’s standards also allow for high-resolution images for marketing and improving aesthetics, identifying a corrugated box as a “ready-made billboard for brand identification.” While the concept is simple, packaging is very important in the bigger picture of shipping and logistics. Packaging materials are made with protection and storage in mind. However, their ability to make transport and sorting easier is also just as important.