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 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 22, 2014 | Blog, Strategy, Supply Chain
This post was originally published on EBN.
Packaging optimization is critical to supply chain optimization. To catch big advantages, change your mindset and make packaging a forethought rather than an afterthought.
In a Packaging World article, Elisha Tropper, president and CEO of Cambridge Seals Security (CSS), describes how packaging is typically thought of by manufacturers:
An afterthought… for most [manufacturers of industrial products] packaging is not a consideration. They are manufacturers; they are not packagers. They make an industrial product, and industrial products are dropped into boxes. But whether a box is an inch bigger or an inch smaller, what does it matter?
The truth is, it matters a lot. If you want to optimize your supply chain you need to optimize your packaging. This means changing your mindset when it comes to packaging — packaging needs to become an early consideration.
There are several components of packaging. For example, the product itself, the box or container in which the product is placed to sell, and the box or container the items are placed in for shipping. Each of these components are opportunities for optimization.
Package (re)design
A May 2013 industry study by Freedonia forecasts that pallet use in the US will grow 2.4 percent annually to 2.6 billion in 2017. The study also reported that demand for new pallets is expected in increased by 3.5 percent annually to 1.3 billion units.
The International Organization for Standardization sets the standards for pallet size; there are currently six pallet standards. The most common size used in the United States is Grocery Manufacturers pallet, which measures 48 inches by 48 inches. The dimensions of a pallet are not always considered with respect to packaging; this is a costly mistake.
Let’s look at an example previously highlighted in Supply Chain Digest. Adalis (now H.B. Fuller Adhesive Coated Solutions) worked with a telecommunications company to redesign their packaging to optimize pallet use. By reducing the size of each unit package by 1.5 inches in one dimension, the company was able to increase the number of units that could fit on the pallet by 150 percent (from 120 to 300 units). The result was a signification reduction packaging (materials) costs and transportation costs.
Product (re)design
Product design or redesign is another way to optimize packaging to optimize your supply chain.
Let’s go back to Elisha Tropper. Tropper was the former owner of a packaging convert and his packaging consultancy, T3 Associates, acquired CSS in 2010. When Tropper took over at CSS he challenged the company to take packaging optimization into consideration at the point of product design. The company took the challenge and redesigned the product. A significant reduction in package size and materials usage resulted. According to Trooper: “A standard pallet of our boxes can hold about 120,000 seals, while that same pallet will hold only about 80,000 of our competitor’s seals.”
Ikea provides another example, which Colin White outlines in his book Strategic Management. When Ikea first began manufacturing its Bang mug, 864 mugs could fit on a pallet. Ikea redesigned the rim of the mug so as to maximize pallet efficiency — Ikea was able to increase the number of mugs per pallet to 1,280. The company decided it could go further. Another redesign increased the number of mugs per pallet to 2,024. As a result of the product redesign, the company reduced shipping costs by 60 percent.
Outside the box
Ikea has taken packaging optimization for supply chain optimization even further and has created a system called OptiLedge, which eliminates pallet use. Retailers using OptiLedge have realized a savings of been $200 to $300 per container.
Major factors for cost savings include a reduction in man hours to off-load (a savings of between 15 to 23 hours or more of labor per container), space savings (one truckload of OptiLedges would be the equivalent of 23 truckloads of traditional pallets), and weight (OptiLedge weighs under two pounds as compared with the 50 to 75 pounds that a traditional pallet weighs). In addition, OptiLedge eliminates underhang and increases fill rates.
Too often, everyone thinks of packing as the thing that gets thrown away. Smart manufacturers, though, will ensure that good money isn’t tossed out with the box or pallet.
by Elizabeth Hines | Jan 22, 2014 | Blog, Strategy, Supply Chain
This post was originally published on EBN.
Packaging optimization is critical to supply chain optimization. To catch big advantages, change your mindset and make packaging a forethought rather than an afterthought.
In a Packaging World article, Elisha Tropper, president and CEO of Cambridge Seals Security (CSS), describes how packaging is typically thought of by manufacturers:
An afterthought… for most [manufacturers of industrial products] packaging is not a consideration. They are manufacturers; they are not packagers. They make an industrial product, and industrial products are dropped into boxes. But whether a box is an inch bigger or an inch smaller, what does it matter?
The truth is, it matters a lot. If you want to optimize your supply chain you need to optimize your packaging. This means changing your mindset when it comes to packaging — packaging needs to become an early consideration.
There are several components of packaging. For example, the product itself, the box or container in which the product is placed to sell, and the box or container the items are placed in for shipping. Each of these components are opportunities for optimization.
Package (re)design
A May 2013 industry study by Freedonia forecasts that pallet use in the US will grow 2.4 percent annually to 2.6 billion in 2017. The study also reported that demand for new pallets is expected in increased by 3.5 percent annually to 1.3 billion units.
The International Organization for Standardization sets the standards for pallet size; there are currently six pallet standards. The most common size used in the United States is Grocery Manufacturers pallet, which measures 48 inches by 48 inches. The dimensions of a pallet are not always considered with respect to packaging; this is a costly mistake.
Let’s look at an example previously highlighted in Supply Chain Digest. Adalis (now H.B. Fuller Adhesive Coated Solutions) worked with a telecommunications company to redesign their packaging to optimize pallet use. By reducing the size of each unit package by 1.5 inches in one dimension, the company was able to increase the number of units that could fit on the pallet by 150 percent (from 120 to 300 units). The result was a signification reduction packaging (materials) costs and transportation costs.
Product (re)design
Product design or redesign is another way to optimize packaging to optimize your supply chain.
Let’s go back to Elisha Tropper. Tropper was the former owner of a packaging convert and his packaging consultancy, T3 Associates, acquired CSS in 2010. When Tropper took over at CSS he challenged the company to take packaging optimization into consideration at the point of product design. The company took the challenge and redesigned the product. A significant reduction in package size and materials usage resulted. According to Trooper: “A standard pallet of our boxes can hold about 120,000 seals, while that same pallet will hold only about 80,000 of our competitor’s seals.”
Ikea provides another example, which Colin White outlines in his book Strategic Management. When Ikea first began manufacturing its Bang mug, 864 mugs could fit on a pallet. Ikea redesigned the rim of the mug so as to maximize pallet efficiency — Ikea was able to increase the number of mugs per pallet to 1,280. The company decided it could go further. Another redesign increased the number of mugs per pallet to 2,024. As a result of the product redesign, the company reduced shipping costs by 60 percent.
Outside the box
Ikea has taken packaging optimization for supply chain optimization even further and has created a system called OptiLedge, which eliminates pallet use. Retailers using OptiLedge have realized a savings of been $200 to $300 per container.
Major factors for cost savings include a reduction in man hours to off-load (a savings of between 15 to 23 hours or more of labor per container), space savings (one truckload of OptiLedges would be the equivalent of 23 truckloads of traditional pallets), and weight (OptiLedge weighs under two pounds as compared with the 50 to 75 pounds that a traditional pallet weighs). In addition, OptiLedge eliminates underhang and increases fill rates.
Too often, everyone thinks of packing as the thing that gets thrown away. Smart manufacturers, though, will ensure that good money isn’t tossed out with the box or pallet.
by Fronetics | Jan 14, 2014 | Blog, Leadership, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain, Talent
Hiring: Why you should try before you buy
Source: http://www.lethbridgemusicaltheatre.ca
I just finished reading a great post on hiring by Matt Mullenweg, founder of Automattic and the creator of open source WordPress software. The post focuses on the company’s “unorthodox hiring system” and how it has enabled Automattic to hire great talent and realize high employee retention rates. Although time consuming, I think Mullenweg and Automattic are on to something.
Before Automattic extends an offer, the candidate must first go through a trial process, on contract. The candidate is given real work and is compensated for doing the work. At the end of the trial process both the company and the candidate have a better picture of each other and if they are a good fit. Or as Mullenweg puts it: “There’s nothing like being in the trenches with someone, working with them day by day. It tells you something you can’t learn from resumes, interviews, or reference checks. At the end of the trial, everyone involved has a great sense of whether they want to work together going forward. And, yes, that means everyone — it’s a mutual tryout. Some people decide we’re not the right fit for them.”
Mullenweg acknowledges the “huge time commitment” of this process. But he points out the benefits and why they have not abandoned the system for an easier one: the process is able to identify great talent that works well within the company’s culture, the process weeds out candidates that are not a good fit before they become a part of the team, and the process had led to consistently high retention rates.
In my experience, too often both companies and candidates are guilty of moving their relationship forward faster they should – and regretting it later. For this reason “auditioning,” as Mullenweg calls it, or “try before you buy” as I think of it, is an hiring strategy that should be embraced more often.
What do you think of this hiring strategy? What are the advantages and disadvantages do you see?
