Shipping packaging must provide optimum protection for products, but must also be easy to dispose of and use for returns. At the first Packaging Day organised by the German E-Commerce and Distance Selling Trade Association (bevh) together with Thimm Verpackungen, various experts shed light on what exactly is important when it comes to shipping packaging.
The organiser of the event bevh the Packaging day in co-operation with Thimm, which was organised in Wernigerode at the end of October 2017. Due to the positive response from participants from the fields of logistics, online retail, packaging production and development as well as research, bevh has already announced a follow-up event.
The premiere focussed on the shipping packaging of the future. Various speakers shared their insights on this topic. However, the audience was also given very practical insights. According to the manufacturer Thimm, the „world's largest digital Web press“ for corrugated cardboard pre-prints. The Swiss start-up company „yamo“ uses such a machine to produce“ Shipping packaging for baby food. The packaging is designed as a single-material solution with an integrated safety closure. In addition to the Security features yamo also uses the packaging for brand presentation and direct communication with customers. The participants agreed that these functions are particularly important in online retail. This is because the packaging is usually the first time customers come into contact with the ordered goods. If the packaging is not pleasing, this has an impact on customer satisfaction.
Customers are happy to pay more for good packaging
The conference began with the presentation of the results of a representative consumer survey conducted by bevh in October 2017. Customers are quite prepared to pay for packaging with good Product protection, an uncomplicated Waste disposal and a light Reusability to pay a little more. However, the willingness to pay more is limited to just a few aspects. Packaging manufacturers, online providers and logistics service providers need to respond to this with clever and efficient packaging concepts.
One of the challenges in the mail order business is to ensure product protection and Brand communication with the requirements of the Process optimisation At the bevh conference, the fashion retailer „Zalando“ reported on the company's own Packaging and logistics management. Zalando must be able to deliver over 250,000 items quickly and efficiently. The logistics structures must also be able to keep pace with the company's rapid growth. The home shopping company „HSE24“ reported something similar and emphasised the importance of cooperation with logistics partners in order to be able to supply customers in an increasingly individual and flexible manner.
Innovative solutions for food shipping
With the Online food retailing was also the subject of a rapidly growing sector at the conference. Compared to electronics or fashion, food is still not ordered online very often. However, growth in the third quarter of 2017 was 26.6 per cent, as determined by bevh. New developments such as the online retail of chilled food were discussed in Wernigerode.
An ecological Insulated packaging was demonstrated by the Bavarian company Landpack. Especially in the food trade, environmentally friendly Packaging materials are the basis for gaining the trust of consumers. The Fraunhofer Institute presented another innovation for shipping food. A naturally preserving cling film was developed there.
Shippers of foodstuffs should pay attention to a DIN standard in 2018. Based on the DIN SPEC 91360 a temperature concept is currently being developed for the dispatch of goods that require refrigeration and goods that do not.
[infotext icon]This is the bevhThe bevh is the industry association for online and mail order retailers. Service providers are also members of the association. Following mergers with the Bundesverband Lebensmittel-Onlinehandel and the Bundesverband der Deutschen Versandbuchhändler, the bevh represents the small and large players in the industry. The tasks of the association are to represent the interests of the industry vis-à-vis politics and business, to inform members about current developments and trends, to organise the mutual exchange of experience and to provide expert advice.
http://www.bevh.org[/infotext]
