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Can anyone help me with packing tips?

By Anoop Nair on 26 Comments / 6756 views

Hello friends

I recently shipped an item -> Achappam from my store to one of my customers in Hyderabad. I packed it really well using two layers of solid plastic covers and another layer of bubble wrap. The whole packing was contained in a 3 layer corrugated cardboard box and was sealed using tapes. Now I received a feedback from my customer that the item was broken into pieces. 

I know Achappam is a very delicate and fragile snack. But It is one of the item that is not easily available online and hence proves to be one of my USP. I do not want to discontinue that product. Rather, I want to overcome the issue with the packing. I am here to seek suggestion from my fellow eCommerce store owners who ship similar fragile, glassware, ceramic items through courier. I want to know what measures I can take while packing in order to prevent those items from being damaged.

Thanks!

Anoop Nair (Co-Founder | The South Indian Store, Selling South Indian Snacks online )

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26 Comments

  1. I am presuming that each piece was not individually wrapped as described, but the entire shipment of X pieces were wrapped as a whole in one bubble wrap? In which case, it is probably because there is still enough space for the pieces to move around inside the packing. 

    I’d try to reduce that as much as possible so there is no movement possible. If cost and time permits, also consider individually wrapping each piece so there is no friction between two pieces. 

    After all the packing is done, also try bouncing the package around, dropping it a few times, etc. coz that’s what’s going to happen in transit – if it survives that, it is likely to survive the transport.

    Hope that helps.

  2. Yes. 

    Also, do you think vacuum packing will help? The way all these crispy snacks are packed.

  3. Am a big fan of achappam’s. They are brittle and are meant to be brittle. And many a time, they break on even first contact i..e when you open the pack. It’s very rare to eat a full unbroken achappam. So you are attempting a tough task indeed. 

    Way i look at it – don’t pack it in two columns – pack in a single column of 5-10 pieces. It is bound to break around the edges – just ensure that the breakage is minimum till it reaches the customer’s hands. 

  4. Hi… Anoop,

    I would suggest you to approach IIP (Indian Institute of Packaging.) In Mumbai they have their office at Andheri.

    The conduct courses, but best of all their faculties and visiting faculties giving consulting and reasonable rates.

  5. Hi Naveen

    They aren’t packed individually. They are packed in a set of ten pieces. Two rows having 5 pieces each. They are tightly packed together and there is no gap between them for any internal movement. The order was for 7 such packets. I had to make pairs of two packets and wrapped them using bubble wrap. I do not feel any internal movement between the pieces happened. But the main cause could be the movement of the whole packing within the box? or the impact that the cardboard box received while being harshly thrown by the courier guys? Just guessing.

    Thanks!

  6. I don’t think that would work Saikat. Because if the pieces moves internally, they will collide against each other and will break.

  7. Hi Karhik

    I know its a tough task and still striving to find a solution to overcome the issue. As i mentioned above, they are packed in a set of ten pieces. Two rows having 5 pieces each. They are tightly packed together and there is no gap between them for any internal movement. Even if we pack in a single column, I don’t think that would make any difference as it is still going to be moved inside the box due to external pressure.

  8. Hi Imran

    Thanks for the information. I will definitely look for that option as a last alternative if I do not find any other solution.

  9. Anoop, 

    We had sent across some cookies which were crumbly and what worked for us was to pack them in food grade plastic bags, bubble wrap them and add another layer of paper. Since you are sending large quantities what you could do is first seal them in food grade plastics, bubble wrap them, put them in plastic containers and then corrugated boxes. Hope this helps 🙂 

  10. Hey Tanul

    Could you please email me your contact details? I accidentally closed the chat. My email id is – anoop.yuvaa@gmail.com

    Thanks!

  11. I think put a thermocol layer and then do whatever you want to after that and things should be fine.

  12. Hi Anoop,

    a) You can try putting “Air Packs” like they do it for Wine Bottles : https://i00.i.aliimg.com/photo/v0/338982464/Wine_Bottle_Air_Pack_Bag.jpg

    b) Or try FillPak : https://www.ranpak.com/products/details/fillpak

    c) AirPouch or other Void Filling systems : https://www.airpouch.com/

    I hope this helps.

    Regards, Puneet

  13. Hi ..Anoop,

    Kudos to your idea and efforts.

    My solution : I don’t know .. whether this could be a reasonable one , what I suggest is to create two layers/boundaries of packaging, the external and the internal . The food items being bubble wrapped will be inside the internal packaging box and the surface contact between the external and internal packaging will be limited by introducing the offset with added cardboard sheets with minimum thickness and more gap, so that the vibrations are not completely transferred to the internal packaging. Don’t know, run a trail once. see the ref image below.

    Imagine there is one more box inside the packaging which is separated by the cardboard sheets as shown below.  

  14. Hi Arpit

    Thermocol will not be able to prevent the internal collision of the items. still I might give it a try.

    Thanks!

  15. Thanks Puneet 

    I will try those options.

  16. Hi Anoop, while I have no insights on solving your packaging problem, I just wanted to say that your site is really well done and clean and navigation was a pleasure.  From a conversion point of view you’ve got all of the major pieces in place.  Minimum distractions, clear call to action and a clear and simple checkout.  One quick win would be to include Point of Action assurances.  See this and this.  All the best and keep those chips flowing! 🙂

  17. Hi Abey

    Thanks for all your compliments and the links you suggested are of great value. I went through them and understood the concept. Will try to implement them soon.

    Thanks!

  18. Hi Surya

    The Idea looks good. Using another cardboard box to prevent the external impact and filling the gap between the two cardboard box should work to minimize the impact from outside. And for inside movement, I already got some suggestions earlier. So, the combination should work here. I still have to test the feasibility of this considering the cost and time.

    Thanks!

  19. if cost permits , you can follow the style of lays packaging, like air filling . The chips inside break very rare. wish you good luck and hope this disk would lead you to actions.

  20. Aha..!!!

    See what i found..!!!

    Fedex has a packaging guide on their packaging tips page…,this might be useful 🙂

    https://www.fedex.com/cn_english/tools/packagingtips.html

  21. anoop – check this post out. write to darshak shah – Darshak is the Co-founder of Securement Packaging

    https://www.therodinhoods.com/forum/topics/are-you-packing-a-punch-all-about-ecommerce-packaging-for-indian

  22. Thanks Asha. Will go through the post and do the needful.

  23. Hey Anoop,

    Here is my suggestion. I am also into E-commerce and ship essential oils in glass bottles regularly. The trick is to keep the box as tight as possible, I am guessing the acchappam is not too small in size so why don’t you come up with 2 layers of packaging 

    1. A box which will perfectly fit the acchapam, this can be done in pack of 3, 6, 9 or 2,4, 8

    2. Another box which this box can fit into, stuff the outer box(3ply)with packing material ( i use foam and thermocol)

    I know this can seem a little laborious but hey, this is way better than angry customers writing to you and reshipping again. 

    I daily ship glass bottles and have less than 1% breakage claims:) Hope this helps:)

    Regards,

    Akshara Kumar

    http://www.trulyessential.in

  24. Dear Anoop,
    I run a business of manufacturing high quality corrugated boxes. Most of which is usually used for exports or to ship fragile goods. Mail me your problem on the below mentioned id and I’ll try and help you with your problem. You can later have the boxes manufactured in your locality.
    jaiambe.pkg@gmail.com

  25. Hi Akshara

    I will definitely try this. Thanks for your valuable suggestion.

  26. Sure Anurag.. Will explain the issue in a mail.

    Thanks!

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