Monday, December 7, 2009

Doing food packaging, you may also want a company with fulfillment services?

Food packaging is a key area of fast moving consumer goods and finding the right co packing services is not an easy job. In fact, there are several packaging companies that also offer fulfillment services but you want to make sure that the combination is balanced a way that will optimize your investment in packaging. You need to be extremely cautious when choosing a packaging firm because not all firms offer turnkey solutions, quick turnaround, multiple packaging locations and fulfillment services all under one roof. Make a checklist of your requirements before you start looking for a packaging company.

The first aspect to look for in a co packing services company is the standing and overall reputation of the company in the industry. Make sure you collaborate with a packaging services company with experience and over 10 years in business. Ask others in your industry and confirm that the reputation of your perspective packaging partner is unblemished. Since this is a competitive industry where good manufacturing practices matter, companies with over 10 years of standing in the industry are the best fit. Even after you have shortlisted a fulfillment services firm, you need to check their clientele and conduct a thorough search of the services offered making sure they match your requirements.

There are many different types of fulfillment services that most of the top packaging companies offer. For most of the co packing services company, this can refer to a simple pack and pack operation or individual hand assembly process. Depending on the requirements it can also mean a full turnkey solution that includes the sourcing and procurement of all the raw packaging materials and management of the supply chain and drop shipping a finished product to the end customer.

When selecting a company, you need to find out if the fulfillment services firm in question has enough industry experience as well as resources for evaluating your requirements. The firm should be able to provide a comprehensive proposal highlighting all fulfillment services included. From those you may get a fell for which co packing services fit your requirements as well as your budget. Most top co packing firms offer quick turnaround, broad capability and multiple plant locations as these are some of the important factors that provide them with the flexibility to handle any type of project requirements especially those with a tight deadline.

Some of the other important aspects that you need to consider in a fulfillment services firm include 24 hour guaranteed shipping, internally owned transportation company, both which help allow for immediate shipping. Other fulfillment services that you should look for in a 3PL provider include but are not limited to: picking and packing order fulfillment, in-house shipping,
tracking systems for Federal Express and UPS, password protected and highly secure web-based solutions for checking inventory levels as well as an on-line interface enabling the placing of orders.

The co packing firm you choose should also be able to offer other services apart from fulfillment services. Some of the services that they should be able to offer include contract packaging including cello wrap, Skin packaging, Blister packaging, Shrink wrap, Clamshell sealing, Contract Filling & Blending (Food, Personal Care, Dry or Liquid filling, Tube & Bottle filling, Pouching, and Towlettes/Wipes), Hand Assembly (POP display assembly, Gift sets, Kits, Repackaging, and Rework,) and many more. The bottom-line is to look for a fulfillment services firm that will take care of all you requirements and be cost-efficient at the same time.

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