The
ongoing digitalization and the associated changes in consumer shopping behavior
have a major impact on the design and construction of packaging. Mass-produced
products lose their attractiveness. Brand manufacturers, retailers and
logistics providers are adapting to the new challenges of online trading. They
receive strong impetus from the packaging industry, which has a lot to offer
when it comes to e-commerce packaging made of corrugated board with innovative
solutions and state-of-the-art print technologies. 74.4 billion: this is the
number of shipments that courier, express and parcel (CEP) services carried
worldwide in 2017, according to the latest figures in the annual Pitney Bows
Parcel Shipping Index. Roughly 17 percent more than in the previous year. This
surge in parcel volume is being fueled by the continuing boom in e-commerce.
Already by 2020, it is expected to exceed 100 billion parcels in the thirteen
industrial nations surveyed. In view of such volumes and growth rates, it
becomes clear: Packaging has long since emerged as a key component in the
e-commerce logistics chain.
The
Empty Space Economy
The
report “The Empty Space Economy”, drawn up by Forbes Insights in collaboration
with the international packaging specialist DS Smith, reveals that nearly every
package shipped online contains empty space. 60 percent of executives surveyed
felt that more than a quarter of what is sent to customers in transport
packaging is in fact thin air. An enormous amount of extra material is used -
both for the overbox and the filling material. Consumers are becoming more and
more critical of this. Brand manufacturers and retailers are also increasingly
addressing the issue of packaging optimization. The reasons are obvious: lower
material and logistics costs, less transport damage, more sustainability and an
improved customer experience. The study is available for download from
https://www.dssmith.com/EmptySpaceEnglish
Tailor-Made
for Every Channel
The
development of optimized e-commerce packaging solutions from corrugated board
is by no means trivial. They pass through a completely different supply-cycle
than goods that go into retail. There is often a lack of reliable data to
provide information on the actual loads during transport. Online shipping places
the highest demands on the packaging, as the goods are not only expected to
arrive at the customer undamaged but also ideally to inspire the customer about
the product and brand in such a way that they will share this positively on
their social media channels.
DS
Smith started early to deal with the peculiarities of the delivery cycle, the
trends and insights around e-commerce. Today, in addition to its extensive
know-how, the company has developed and offers a whole range of special
e-commerce solutions and innovative technologies. These include the exclusive
DISCSTM testing standard, which simulates the real loads within the so-called
‘last mile’ and, on the basis of the knowledge gained, allows the material and
design of the packaging to be matched to the respective supply-cycle and its
specific requirements. The innovative Made2fit packaging solution ensures, for
example, that package sizes can be adjusted manually or fully automatically
according to the volume of the products to be shipped. And this is possible in
all three dimensions.
E-Commerce
is Slimming Down
Innovations
like these generate real added-value in the e-commerce supply-cycle. As online
distribution becomes more and more important for the consumer goods industry,
there are hardly any manufacturers who do not need special e-commerce packaging
for their products in order to optimize their processes. Single-item shipments
lead to new challenges in fulfilment. To streamline processes, packaging
specialists like DS Smith came up with a number of great ideas. The e@Box, for
example, combines product packaging and overpack. On-site filling of the boxes
with the branded product takes place directly at the manufacturer's premises.
This saves valuable time and cost in logistics. At the same time, the
all-in-one solution for shipping single items always has the right size and
strength - regardless of whether cosmetic products, chocolates, shoes or
cordless drills are shipped with it. In addition to high product-protection and
convenient handling, the clever box-in-box system guarantees one thing above
all: that the online shopper will remember the unboxing of the product as part
of a positive brand experience.
Brand
Activation in Focus
Product
lifecycles are getting shorter and shorter, also because start-up companies are
launching ever new, ever more stylish products onto the market. Mass-produced
products lose their attractiveness. Shoppers' brand loyalty is fading and
eco-sustainability aspects are becoming increasingly important. All this
creates new challenges for the industry. Today's customers want to be inspired
and courted by individualized products that are as sustainable as possible. It
is more important than ever to focus on the customer and tailor business
processes, products and shopping experiences to their needs. And this is
precisely where transport-packaging made of corrugated board can bring strong,
new accents to a manufacturer’s brand.
When
it comes to customer centricity, digital pre-print and its associated
flexibility open up a new dimension of interaction. And this is no longer true
only for short, but now also for medium and long print runs.
Attention-grabbing
interior prints and seasonal campaign motifs also enable a differentiated and
more emotional customer approach in e-commerce. Smart packaging informs,
entertains and networks the online shopper. A scan of printed Quick Response
Codes, for example, can provide information about growth areas, as well as tips
for the optimal preparation of the product ordered online. In the same way,
consumers can gain access to bonus programs or social media platforms where
influencers showcase the product or provide helpful video tutorials, for
example on make-up applications, as well as on the installation or
commissioning of complex products.
Thanks
to so-called mosaic printing, even individual shipping-packages can each be
given a unique, individual design in digital pre-print. Thus, thousands of
unique copies are produced in just one print run. Even last-minute changes of
the artwork are now easier, because printing plates are simply no longer
necessary.
Brand
Protection: Secure QR Codes and Watermarks Provide Security
Digital
printing technology also has a lot to offer in terms of brand-protection:
secure QR codes are not replicable and provide a reliable method of verifying
whether a product is genuine or counterfeit. It makes sense to combine this
with a tamper-evident closure on the corrugated cardboard transport packaging.
Printed,
serialized codes allow packaging to be tracked, but also verified. In addition,
this can be used to “marry” product and packaging with each other, for example
to record individual batch numbers, production data and production times. This
also makes traceability much easier to implement in the event of a recall.
Watermarks
can also be printed on the transport-packaging in digital pre-print, which
enables hidden coding in the printed image. When used selectively, this can in
turn be used to check whether it is an original product or not.
Next
Stop: Omnichannel Packaging
Modern
technologies and changing consumer habits are bringing about constant changes
in e-commerce. Offline and online are increasingly blending into each other.
Already today, industry, physical retail and pure online players are investing
in the development and expansion of their omnichannel initiatives. The
relentless, continuing networking of the online and offline worlds has
far-reaching effects on the entire supply cycle. In the packaging sector in
particular, there will be more and more demand for comprehensive, integrated
solutions that work equally well on store-shelves and in online retailing.
