Only if you want your customers more engaged in packaging than the product, go for traditional packaging. When we talk about frustration free packaging, it is for both- the consumers and the manufacturers. For consumers, it is easy to unpack. For the manufacturers, FFP is the minimum turnaround time (TAT) for packaging. The video below illustrates how time-consuming it becomes to unpack a "not-so-smartly" packaged product. Plus, there is the packaging material overhead.
Courtesy: Amazon News - YouTube
To make your packaging effortless, you can switch to frustration-free packaging techniques. We tell you why.
If you are packing your item in a large-sized or smaller packaging box, then the product is prone to damage while shipping. The right size of the box helps in reducing the material and time needed for packing the orders. Hence, one can ship more items in a go.
According to Amazon frustration free packaging guidelines, one can use at most 50 mm packaging material around the non-fragile products. This reduces the size of the container box significantly.
To reduce the box size, keeping product safety intact, you can opt the following measures.
Plus, choosing the right sized box saves money!
Except for the fun gifts, nobody likes a box inside the box and then the actual item. Many e-commerce sellers are collaborating with manufacturers to design packaging, which will not need a container for shipping. For example, DELL is switching to this idea even for shipping the delicate gadgets.
When you start by reducing the package size, it will eventually reduce the material required, assembly, and shipping cost.
Material - FFP can save the outer packing material, fillers, and tapes. This reduces packaging material cost, especially in scale packaging.
Assembly - Smaller the package size, lesser is the efforts and logistics associated.
Shipping -The shipping industry considers the dimensional weight of the package to determine the cost. The dimensional weight system accounts both weight and volume of the package to determine the shipping cost. Compact packages have lesser volume and so the dimensional weight. More information about calculating dimensional weight here.
Have you ever thought, why e-commerce gained this popularity in such a short time? It is because of the ease of accessibility. Frustration-free packaging for retail adheres to the same idea- the ease and comfort for consumers to unpack the item. Although the packaging is easy to open, it ensures product safety during transit. You will not face the product spill or open package while receiving.
The salient features of easy-to-open packaging are-
The frustration free packaging favors the right shape of the box for packaging. The preferred shape is the rectangular box with square corners. This makes the packaging easy to stack. Also, the elementary shape of the box does not require expert packaging. It's easy and quick to assemble the parts. Because of the simpler shape, one can stack and move the boxes along the assembly line. This saves a lot of packaging time in mass production. FFP uses lesser gums and tapes. This helps consumers and retailers open the package with ease.
If your business handles supply chain as well, the frustration free packaging can be helpful in the following ways-
The frustration free packaging requires less packaging material which makes it cheaper. Common fillers used in packaging are packing peanuts, air cushions, shredded and crumpled papers. The consumers hardly reuse any of these fillers, although they are reusable.
The traditional packaging also involves blister packs, and wire-ties to organize the parts. But, this system needs many different packaging materials. Even if these materials are recyclable, there is an overhead to sort them.
That’s true. FFP favors the packaging material which is either recycled or are recyclable.
Yes, the frustration free packaging is frustration-free throughout the lifecycle of the packaging. It ensures the least environmental impact. Here is how-
Packaging must be simple. If a product is packed in a simple container, it will be both easy to pack and unpack. Well, let’s point out the basic packaging requirements first.
Is frustration free packaging able to adhere to these basic packaging requirements? The answer is yes. The FFP is the simplified and smart process of packaging.
The FFP prefers packaging with fewer types of materials. For example, a packaging which contains cardboard, blisters, wire-ties, bubble wrap, and tapes in a single unit cannot be considered a frustration free packaging. There is no rule in particular about the use of packaging materials. For example, one can make blister packaging from both recycled and fresh plastics. The packaging can become frustration-free by using limited material and simple design. Some of the preferred packaging material for FFP are-
Folks, Amazon’s frustration free packaging guidelines and certification is a good source for businesses to start with this sustainable packaging solution. You might feel that the benefits of frustration-free packaging converge to reducing human efforts, packaging material, cost, and ultimately the environmental impact. In fact, this is the need of time. With millions of tons of packaging waste contributing to landfill every year, a step towards a sustainable solution is worth appreciation. It all starts with an idea to reduce the packaging material, which leads to the reduction in packaging logistics, shipping, recycling, waste disposal, and hence the overall carbon footprint. And yes, the frustration free packaging is pocket-friendly too.
Looking to explore the most innovative packaging ideas of 2021? We got you!