These unprecedented times have created many new challenges for businesses as they face the new reality they find themselves in. Demand for certain products such as food and drink has grown rapidly, buying habits are changing, and businesses need to keep products moving out the doors, while at the same time ensuring their employees are well protected against infection. Keeping workers safe while demands are at an all-time high can be a challenge in itself, especially when measures such as social distancing, very rightly, need to be enforced. Learn how packaging machinery can help.

The growth of online retail is no longer ‘news’ but finding ways to cope with the peaks and troughs in demand continues to be a challenge for many retailers and logistics businesses. It’s a challenge that some might feel is compounded by the continued uncertainty around Brexit and how that may affect the availability of casual labour that is often relied upon to cope with packing work during busy periods.

Why automate your stretch wrapping process?

Well according to Mick Carless, Sales and Engineering Manager for the Antalis Packaging Machinery Division the answer is simple – cost and time savings.

• More than a fifth of logistics firms say dominance of online shopping will increase operational costs over the next two years
• More than half admitted changing packaging in the last 12 months has benefitted their business

 As ecommerce continues to dominate the retail arena, new research has revealed that UK logistics firms are facing an unprecedented rise in operational costs over the next two years, which is set to have a knock on effect on their packaging needs.

Amid predictions that 2019 is set to be a challenging time for many UK businesses, leading packaging solutions supplier Antalis has revealed that improving the impact that packaging and packing are having on warehouse operations and transport logistics, whilst adopting eco-friendly solutions will be the key trends in the year ahead.

With a record number of unwanted Christmas gifts expected to be returned in the first week of January, Antalis Packaging is advising retailers to overhaul their returns processes as the simplest way to cut the crippling costs presented by rising numbers of New Year’s returners.

Amid ongoing pressure to diversify their product offering, Antalis is urging dealers not to overlook the benefits to be had by cross-selling packaging to their existing customer base.

When you’re in the thick of managing a busy packaging and logistics operation – coping with the seasonal peaks in demand, managing staff, handling new products that challenge your existing set-up, and so on – keeping on top of your packaging costs, too, can sometimes feel like an impossible task.  However, taking the time to review your packaging process on a regular basis can pay real dividends.

Finding new ways to reduce your packaging costs might, at first sight, seem pretty obvious. Your first thought might be to simply order boxes at a cheaper price point, or perhaps switch to a narrower tape. While these changes may seem logical and a quick and easy fix, chances are you will find your costs start to increase further down the line: your new, cheaper boxes will probably be less robust and so more likely to be damaged in transit; your narrower tape means that instead of one strip of tape to seal a box, two, or even three, are now required, adding to production time and creating a false economy.