by Elizabeth Hines | Jan 27, 2014 | Blog, Manufacturing & Distribution, Marketing, Supply Chain
This post originally appeared on EBN.
For many customers, both current and prospective, you are your packaging. Take the time to do it right.
I recently read a great piece by Zach Williams, founder and creative director of Venveo, on the role of packaging from a marketing perspective.
Williams puts forth the idea that packaging is a critical element to marketing, and therefore, should become the fifth P in marketing (the other four being Product, Pricing, Placement, and Promotion). He makes the point that “packaging embodies so much more than promotion… [it] can make or break how your company is positioned.”
Williams discusses how packaging can create customer experiences. He offers the example of Apple’s packaging and how getting a box with the Apple logo on it creates an emotional response for customers. So emotional is the response that Williams pointed out that there are videos on YouTube of people “unboxing” their new products. When Williams wrote the article in October 2012, there were “thousands” of videos; when I looked today there were close to 3.5 million. That growth alone says a lot. And, the joy and excitement displayed in the videos speaks volumes to Apple, the product, and to the packaging itself.
Another company whose packaging has become iconic in the realm of creating customer experience is Tiffany & Co… New York Times writer Alice Rawsthorn wrote an articleabout the role Tiffany’s packaging played in her decision to purchase a pendant for her goddaughter: “Would I have bought that pendant without the packaging? I’m not sure, but the thought of Delilah opening that duck egg blue box tied with white satin ribbon certainly clinched my choice.”
Williams also notes that packaging can also serve to justify the price of the product and that “packaging should always aim to increase the perceived value of the product.” To Williams’s point, look at both Apple and Tiffany — their prices are higher than their competitors.
The final point in Williams’s article is that the packaging of a company needs to go beyond the physical and extend to the company’s website — that the website “can be considered packaging as well.” The point is a good one, but I think it should go further. I believe packaging should not only include the company’s website, but should also extend to the company’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages, Twitter account, blog, and any outward-facing materials. If your company does not take the time to create an exceptional package for customers, you will be passed over.
Your company’s physical packaging and online packaging speaks volumes about your company. For many customers, current and prospective, you are your packaging. Take the time to do it right.
by Elizabeth Hines | Jan 21, 2014 | Blog, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain
This post was originally published on EBN.
Summer is over, fall has arrived, and winter is right around the corner. As the days grow shorter and colder, don’t let inertia take over. Instead, put your packaging on a diet.
Here are three reasons why a packaging slim down will improve the health of your company’s supply chain and the world:
1. You can save money. By reducing the amount of packing you use for a product and/or by using right-size packaging, you can reduce transportation costs and materials costs.
For example, the packaging used for Apple’s iPhone 5 is 28 percent smaller than the packaging that was used for the original iPhone. The reduction in the size of the packaging translates into being able to fit 60 percent more iPhones on each shipping pallet. Apple points out that this saves the company one 747 flight for every 416,667 units they ship.
Poland Spring provides another example. Poland Spring has reduced the amount of resin that goes into the making of their bottles by a significant amount — from 14.6 grams of resin per bottle in 2005 to 9.2 grams of resin per bottle in 2012. Not only is the bottle 40 percent lighter (read: reduced transportation cost), the company also saves a sizeable amount of money each year in materials. In a recent Slate.com article Kim Jeffery, CEO of Nestle Waters North America (Poland Spring’s parent company), is quoted as saying:
You can’t be a public company and ask shareholders to bear the burden of higher costs just so you can be green. It has to be consistent with creating shareholder value. There needs to be a return on these investments. So, for example, when you use 200 million fewer pounds of resin a year, at 90 cents a pound, that’s a huge savings.
By my calculations, that’s a savings of $180 million annually.
2. It is better for the environment. Putting your packaging on a diet can reduce the amount of waste, CO2 emissions, deforestation, water use, water contamination, and hazardous material use.
In a September 2013 Packaging Digest article, Ron Sasine, senior director of packaging for private brands for Walmart, wrote that as a result of the company’s efforts to reduce packaging it was “able to reduce the overall greenhouse gas impact of our packaging by an average of 9.8 percent in our Walmart U.S. stores, 9.1 percent in our Sam’s Clubs in the U.S. and 16 percent in our Walmart Canada stores.”
3. It makes your customers happy. A 2012 survey conducted by Packaging World and DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers found that the primary focus of the packaging world over the next 10 years will shift from cost to sustainability. Specifically, the report found that 45 percent of those surveyed believe that perceived “greenness” will be important to consumers.
Additionally, a 2012 study released by Perception Research Services reported that in 2011 significantly more shoppers were more likely to choose environmentally friendly packaging than in 2010 (36 percent versus 28 percent), and that half of shoppers surveyed were willing to pay for environmentally friendly packaging.
Tell us your thoughts on packaging trends in the electronics industry. What’s important to you and your customers?
by Elizabeth Hines | Oct 22, 2013 | Blog, Leadership, Strategy, Supply Chain
Source: Simply Silhouettes
Within the logistics and supply chain industries, the key to providing your client with an end to end valuable offering is providing the core value yourself and outsourcing the rest. Finding the right outsource partner is critical to success. Here are seven things you need to consider when choosing a new outsource partner.
1. Culture and values
Choosing the right partner goes beyond capabilities. You have to consider the corporate culture as well. In addition to being able to do the work, the ideal partner should be able do it seamlessly by fitting with your team and with your client’s needs.
When evaluating a new outsourcing partner, it is important to look at their mission or value statements. How do these hold up to your own company’s mission and value statements? Are they well aligned? If they are, move on and explore the company further. If not, walk away. Mission and value statements speak to the core culture of the company, so if you can’t find common ground here, it is unlikely you will be able to build a positive working relationship.
2. Standards and metrics
What standards of quality and delivery does the potential partner employ? Here it is important to look at their metrics and processes. How do these compare with the ones within your company? If they are similar, it is not only likely your systems will be able to work well together, but also likely that the two companies have a similar approach to standards of quality and delivery.
3. Investments
Next, take a look at where the potential partner has made investments. Has the company spent in similar areas to your company? Similar investments show business culture or strategy alignment. If the investments are different, find out why.
4. Financial stability
What is the financial health of the potential partner? You don’t want to enter into a partnership only to find out in a few months that the company is not financial stable. Entering into a partnership with a company that does not have its financial house in order is a costly mistake. Take the time to do your due diligence.
5. Where will you stand?
What will your relationship be? That is, will you be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond? When times are good this doesn’t matter, but when there is a customer satisfaction issue, it can mean the difference between client retention or client attrition. It is essential to know where you stand inside your partner’s organizational priorities. If you are comfortable with where you will stand, that’s great. If not, find another partner.
6. Long-term strategy
It is also important to look at the long-term strategy of your company and your potential partner’s company. Does the service they will be providing on your behalf align with their continuing plans? And with your ongoing plans? Continuity and service development is important to your company and to your customers. The potential partner needs to be able to provide the specified service for the foreseeable future and also needs to be able to grow with your company’s strategic needs.
7. Credibility
Finally, look to social media. What are others saying about your potential partner in an unfiltered environment? Are people pleased with the service the company provides? Are there any red flags with respect to the company or the service they provide? Social media can help call attention to potential issues.
Also talk with others within the industry – especially people who have worked with the potential partner before. What was their experience? Again, look for red flags.
By following these steps, you’ll be able to better evaluate potential partners and identify partners that are a good fit from both a business and cultural perspective.
by Fronetics | Sep 10, 2013 | Blog, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain
This post is written by our Marketing Analyst Intern, James Kane. James is a senior at the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics.
A recent article by Patrick Burson in Logistics Management discussed the use of 3PL providers. The article noted that 86 percent of domestic Fortune 500 companies use 3PLs for logistics and supply chain functions, and that the average customer utilizes multiple 3PLs. For example, companies such as General Motors, Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart each use at least 50 3PLs.
I decided to take a closer look at the use of multiple 3PLs. What I discovered is that companies utilize multiple 3PLs to minimize risk, and to maximize efficiency and revenue; the decision to engage each 3PL is strategic.
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What do 3PLs think about the use of multiple 3PLs? It turns out the majority are ok with it. A growing number of 3PLs see value in companies working with more than one 3PL. A Market Insight Survey found that 51.2 percent of 3PLs polled believe customers should have more than one service provider. Thirty-nine percent of respondents reported that they feel customers should work with just one 3PL and 9.8 percent reported that outsourcing strategies should depend upon the customer and the scope of the venture.
I’m interested. With how many 3PLs does your company engage?
by Elizabeth Hines | Aug 7, 2013 | Blog
In NBC’s comedy Outsourced,Todd Dempsy (Ben Rappaport) moves to India to manage the company’s newly outsourced call center. When he meets the team he will be managing he discovers that they have little to no understanding of the product-line and how to engage with customers in a culturally appropriate manner. The show is a great illustration of the need to give serious thought to: 1) Should I outsource?; and 2) To/with whom?
While outsourcing is fast becoming the successful business battle cry, it is not the panacea. You need to determine your company’s core competencies and how you can deliver the best value to your customers. Are there services at which your company does not excel, or non-critical services which could be carried out more efficiently/effectively if the service were outsourced? If so, you may want to think about outsourcing.
Look before you leap
However, before making the decision to outsource, consider the hidden and long-term costs which can potentially be expensive. Additionally, it is important to weigh the risks of losing customers or market share.
Acquisition?
If, through evaluation and analysis of your core competencies and value proposition, you believe you have the capability but not the technology, you may want to consider acquisition. Explore the competencies of small and/or niche companies in the technology, logistics, and supply chain industries. There are many such companies that have unique capabilities in terms of technology, talent, and/or customer depth or growth. Would acquisition make more sense than outsourcing? How would this impact your company? Your customers?
If you do decide to outsource, think carefully about what company you want to partner with. I’ve previously written about what to consider when choosing a partner.
