Time is money in the business world. Spending too much time on tasks like packaging, designing, and shipping can really cut into the profits of a business. Fortunately, there are tools available to speed up the packaging process. These tools are used by the biggest manufacturers in the industry and can lead to increased productivity, and thus, increased profits.
Weighing systems
As a business begins to grow, one of the first things they often do is regulate orders and control usage. If you have multiple locations, it is important to regulate orders. Otherwise, customers could receive different products from different manufacturers. This is a common practice even in the food industry. If one franchise were to provide a customer with a larger sandwich than another, it could cause brand recognition issues. Weighing systems, such as checkweighers, help to control the amount of product that is packaged. Checkweighers are also a quick food packaging process, saving time on both productivity and packaging.
Automated food inspections
If you are a single chef in a single restaurant, you might have the ability to inspect every single dish that goes out of your kitchen. What if you were to expand though? How would you monitor that your food was prepared and cooked properly? One of the biggest struggles with growing a business is keeping up with brand consistency. Businesses that do not keep up with inspections of the product tend to fail.
Automated food inspections are often used in the manufacturing business. Instead of automatically inspecting every item, it is done on a randomized basis. For example, when using pre made pouch filling machines, potentially only one out of 1,000 packaging products will be randomly inspected. Food inspectors are looking for contaminants or metal products that have made their way into the packaging. In a typical metal detector application with a wet or conductive product where 2.5 to 3.5 mm stainless steel can be detected, xray frequently can detect 1.5 mm or less thus improving food safety and brand protection.
Pre made pouch filling machines
Plastics and pouches are a common type of manufacturing in the food industry. Pre made pouch filling machines take human error out of the packaging process. Without pre made pouch filling machines, individual employees are filling plastic pouches by hand. Not only do these pouch filling machines keep harmful contaminants out of the pouches, but they also seal them to last longer. Vacuum sealers preserve food 3 to 5 times longer than food that is stored in plastic bags or containers. The removal of the air gives it a much longer shelf life.
Recycling systems
Businesses can also cut packaging costs by using recycled materials. In addition to cutting packaging costs, consumers tend to be more loyal to businesses that care about environmental responsibility. Approximately 52% of people around the world make purchase decisions partially due to packaging that shows a brand making a positive social and environmental impact. Studies show that by informing customers that you only use recycled materials that they are more willing to purchase your brand over a business that does not recycle.
Minor costs can quickly cut into business profits. For the manufacturing and food industries, one of these high costs is packaging. Packaging, such as plastics and paper, can get expensive and wasteful. Following these tips will ensure that you are keeping your packaging costs low, while also keeping your customers satisfied with both the product and the packaging that it comes in.