As a customer damaged products are a painful inconvenience. After all, you’ll get all excited about a new product only to find that you can’t use it and have to wait for it to be delivered a second time.
It’s also a nuisance for the supplier. They will have sent you the package in good faith and will then be faced with having to prove that the damage was caused by the courier service. This will help to avoid them being liable for the cost of the original product and the replacement one sent to you.
Of course, this takes time, reducing the efficiency and profitability of the business.
That’s why companies need to find new ways to reduce product damage during transportation:
Damage Indicators
Take a look at the damage indicator options provided by Shockwatch and you’ll see that they can help to reduce the likelihood of damage in transit.
The premise is simple, a small sticker is added to the parcel with a colored dot in the middle. The sticker is capable of temperature monitoring, drops, and several other issues that often befall packages. The allowable range is controlled by the type of sticker you’ve purchased.
Putting it on the package alerts the courier to the fact that the customer and the supplier will know if there has been an issue during transit. This will encourage them to look after the parcel properly.
On receipt, the customer can check the color of the sticker, if it has changed from what it should be they can reject the parcel. This shows that the courier has caused the damage.
Packaging
Adding a damage indicator is great but that shouldn’t stop a manufacturer or supplier from packaging the parcel properly in the first place. It’s important to choose a box that is as close as possible to the size of the product being sent. Ideally, there should be separate compartments for each accessory.
The box also needs to be sealed properly and labeled properly, ensuring it goes to the right place with the minimal of fuss.
Stacking
It is also important to look at how the products are stacked, especially if you’re sending more than one item in different size boxes. When they are all placed together it is relatively easy for one box to be overlooked or squashed.
Of course, this will show up on the damage indicator, but, it’s better to avoid this in the first place.
Education
In general, it’s not the owner of a business that does the packing, it’s a paid employee. It’s easy for an employee not to realize the impact of bad packing, this is why it is so important that all businesses take the time to educate their staff.
Seeing the effect bad packaging has on the business profitability and customer satisfaction can help any employee to pack more responsibly.
In addition, making them initial after packing makes them personally responsible. If a package can be traced to the packer they will work harder to ensure the packing is done properly.
Getting the parcel to the customer in the best possible condition takes effort from every member of the process.
