When choosing the correct flexible films to use, you’ve got a lot of options. On the one hand, you have BOPP or biaxially oriented polypropylene overwrap film, or you’ve got bundling film. If you’re not sure what’s right for you, let’s dive into this, and figure out the properties of each, and the applications of such too. 

What are they 

First, you’ve got biaxially oriented polypropylene or BOPP film, which is a kind of film packaging that’s stretched on equipment and goes with differ directions, which causes a chain orientation in the direction it’s used. This is done with a tubular type of production, where a bubble of film is inflated, and from there warmed to the point of softening, and from there stretched up to 400%. 

There is another stretching process that’s used too called tenter frame film, and in this one, the polymers get extruded, placed on cold cast rolls or base sheets, and then stretched in the direction, using the same several kinds of rolls to make BOPP film. 

This increases the properties of the barriers to the oxygen and the vapor, making it resistant to impact, and it does also have flex crack resistance, which is much better than shrink film. 

What about bundling film. This is shrink film that’s created out of different plastic layers, with most of this being used to package items which’re heavier. 

This is done to generate what’s called multi packs that have a better, higher strength than the regular shrink film. This is sent through a sealer and then is placed with the product inside of a heat tunnels, so that it shrinks all around the product. Unlike normal shrink film, this type of film does cool and usually starts to do so after it leaves the heat tunnel. 

Applications 

For BOPP film, this is used mostly in the packaging of food, replacing what’s called cellophane for tobacco and food packaging, and it has a better barrier against oxygen and vapors, at a much lower cost. 

Many businesses choose to use this because it’s got better properties along with capabilities. This is hard for heat sealing to fully implement, but it’s pretty straightforward as well by coating this after processing with a heat sealing material, or through co-extruding with what’s called a co-polymer before the processing happens, which allows for the film to be multi-layer. 

Bundling film is to put together multi-packs of items, which are basically a bunch of consumer products that are all the same, when sold in bulk they have a lower price usually. This is easier for people to purchase since they save money by buying more, which encourages them to purchase more of these too. 

What’s right for You? 

If you’re curious about which one is better, it depends on what you’re going to use it for. If you’re packaging anything with tobacco, you don’t want to treat it to too much heat, so you want to have BOPP film If you’re going to have multi-packs though, and want to sell items in bulk, then do that. 

For any products that need better barriers against oxygen and vapor, then you want to get BOPP. If you want bulls eye packaging to help make everything a unit, then you’ll want to use bundling film since it’s indeed the better choice. 

If you’re worried about impacts and want some impact resistance, then BOPP is your best option. If you’re selling beverages, then bundling film is the best. If you’d like to minimize the flex crack reissuance, then BOPP is going to be the item needed. 

You may wonder how to properly distribute the product that you have. Most places rely on self-fulfillment since this can help a business when starting. But the problem is, businesses outgrow this super-fast too. Having the proper distribution partner is a big step in the journey. The idea may be a little bit intimidating, but the right partner increases the revenue, sales, frees up your time and helps you get into new markets. 

First, what is it? 

Basically, this is a partner that gets the merchant’s products out to customers, into the hands of customers that purchased them. It’s different for everyone, so these distribution partners may offer different services depending on the channels that are utilized. In terms of retail distribution, these partners offer logistics of getting the products out, and usually, on the ecommerce side of things, this involves processing, the fulfilling of orders, and shipping out these orders. If a business utilizes these strategies, it needs someone who can function across each of these different channels. 

What’s Required 

Here are some different considerations to have when choosing the right destitution partner for your ecommerce business. First, you need international shipping including them handling the tariffs, customs, deities, and any regulations or restrictions needed. This can cost a lot of extra fees, making it hard for sellers and customers, and it can take a bit longer. Having an ecommerce distribution partner for international shipping makes it easier for many people. 

You also want to consider the time it takes to ship stuff. Most shoppers expect their deliveries to get there fast, with most of them willing to wait up to a week, but not much more before complaints come in. 

When customers have to wait too long, it ruins the experience, and it can impact brand loyalty, improve the sales, get more repeats, and of course reduces cart abandonment that happens. Distribution does help small businesses start off in an affordable manner, and most logistics experts and distributors will help with optimizing the supply chain in order to maintain proper order fulfillment and reducing the costs of shipping. 

Usually, distributors work with a lot of carriers to ensure that the distribution is quick, and they also will be able to navigate through some of the supply chain issues to ensure that the person gets their goods fast. 

You also want someone that knows the logistics of the supply chain, and you are able to trust in them not to make errors. Even a small error can impact the management of this. Miscounting of inventory is one of them, and it can lead to inventory issues with replenishment, including stockouts, and slows the velocity of the supply chain. 

You also may want someone that’ll handle the quickness of making sure that the items gets out. For example, if you don’t get to the post office early enough, it’ll get sent out, and this can lead to it being late too. In most of these instances, these small mistakes get annoying for customers, causing them to have to wait for you to reply. Handing off these fulfillments to different distribution partners offer a much better way to prevent these little mistakes, and also provides proper streamline. 

You finally want someone that’ll fulfill the right areas. Having different distribution centers will offer a more extensive means to ship out these items, offering a much more readied means to give you the proper shipping means, and also some good opportunities for you to not only grow as a business, but as a provider as well too. 

A lot of customers wait for shipments, and they want it to be perfect. Packaging foam is a part of this since it protects the products that are shipped out. When in transit, it’s at risk of getting jostled without the protective elements, and the products may get damaged. This offers protection in the item and the hard surfaces too. It also helps protect them from the changes in contact with this too. 

The Packaging foam types 

You have different kinds of packaging foam that does protect it from the elements. Polyethylene foam is the closed-cell, absorbent foam that’s moderate to low in terms of fragility against the bacteria, chemicals, and mold, and mildew. Then there is cross-linked polyethylene, which is a closed-cell, compact format that’s high density and protects against water and chemicals. 

Then there is expanded polypropylene and polyethylene which are both durable and good for different cushioning needs, and they offer impact resistance too. The materials form the basis of different kinds of packaging foam, which include the rolls, the sheets, and pouches, and this s the best type of packaging for this. You should consider the following: 

• Weight
• Positioning 
• Fragility 
• Cushioning 
• Aesthetics 
• The abrasion 

They also have trays of this which you can use to organize all of this. 

The uses and Benefits 

Packaging foam is great because of how versatile it is. That means you can design this so that it handles items of all sorts of shapes. It can actually accommodate items with flanges, buttons, and brackets, so that they don’t end up getting messed up, or hitting sensitive areas. They can actually help to ensure that they’re protected from being jostled. 

There are also different grooves notches, and curves that help to keep the shape of this. It also lets you have better shipping of different product packaging. The uses of this are varied, and there are tons of benefits. First, it doesn’t damage the fragile items that you’re shipping via chipping, scratching, and whatnot. 

There is also low-density polyethylene which is actually eco-friendly and it can be recycled by other people for best results. It also is available with different types and purposes of such, which makes it very useful for a variety of different projects. It also will not break the bank like other packaging elements that may not be as good. That’s because it’s light, so you don’t have to worry about it eating not your profit margins, and it won’t increase the weight of the product that’s there. 

It’s also good for the products that you’re shipping such as electronics since it offers anti-static options that help protect the product from different damages related to shocks or static. Finally, it’s so lightweight and so versatile, but it won’t mark up or mar the product, so you can use this to properly package all of the items that you have easily, and effectively. 

The beauty of packaging foam is just how useful it is. If you’re someone that is shipping anything that may break, you don’t want to have to replace it, right? And you don’t’ want to have to worry about your customers leaving due to this either. 

That means, that packaging foam is the answer for the sole reason of how versatile it is, and also because, it’s so simple, effective to use, and easy, that you’ll be able to see some worthwhile benefits from this and be able to ship the products that you have without worry right away as well. 

If you’re shipping anything, you may wonder whether or not billable weight applies here. It can, and it can affect your shipping weights. Here, we’ll discuss what it is, and what you can do to reduce the costs of such. 

What is It? 

Billable weight is a type of technique in pricing that does reduce the costs of shipping that does factor in the weight and dimensions, and the weight of your shipment too. Usually, the weight that’s greater is what they take, and that’s the shipping rate they go for. Until about 2015, they used to have the weight of the package and how far it was to calculate shipping. 

This however was scrapped when smaller packages took more cargo space on the carriers. The problem with this is that the shoppers wouldn’t optimize the package for tinier items and weren’t charged for the dimensions of the package too. 

That means, that depending on what you choose to use, such as a small, light item in a big box, or a heavy item in a small box, they usually take the one that’s heavier. But this can eat at shipping costs right? How can you fix this? 

Look at Packaging 

One of the biggest mistakes that businesses make is that they use incorrect packaging. It may be a bit less of a headache for just using boxes, but the thing is, boxes carry a much larger dimensional weight than the billable weight, and it ca eat away at costs. It also may not be the best experience for customers too, since if it’s tiny in a big box, it comes off as super wasteful. 

You also may end up spending a lot more on excess. One way to fix this, is to choose the right shipping containers for you to use and be mindful of this. It saves you money and looks a whole lot less wasteful too if you choose to go this route. 

Switch to Poly Mailers 

Boxers aren’t always in the right dimensions, don’t have flexibility, and usually have a lot more padding than a poly mailer may require.  If you’re shipping stuff like clothes including t-shirts, then you may want to use a poly mailer instead. 

They’re sturdy, take up a lot less space, and are light and will also self-seal. It does save you ample costs on the types of packaging supplies that you’d be using for this. They are great for shipping smaller options, and if you’re going to ship something small, this is good. But be mindful because stuff like glassware and other fragile stuff is not good to ship in a poly mailer, for obvious reasons. 

Use SIOC Packaging 

This is a ships in own container packaging, which means that the product is shipped in the same packaging, and it doesn’t need an over box.  For example, shoes don’t need this in some cases, and it is great because not only does it get rid of the excess packaging so it makes you look less wasteful, but it also reduces your billable weight too. 

Choose a 3PL 

A 3PL usually saves you money, even if you’re getting someone to work with you, since they can choose the right packaging for you to use, and they can offer a cheaper and more efficient sort of means to do this. They also look at the metrics which are there, to help you determine the correct shipping costs of such too. 

Regardless, be mindful of the weight here, since it plays a big part in the costs of shipping various goods too. 

For those who do business on the internet, you probably will get some international customers every now and then. There are some big little differences in how they handle packaging and different things for you to consider. Here, we’ll go over the three biggest factors, and the most important tips that come with actually dealing with these types of customers. 

Be mindful of Rates

The rates change a lot the second you bring international shipping into the fray. What this means is that the changes can oftentimes be something that can actually change within the company website itself. Singing up for newsletters and alerts is a good way to be abreast of changes, and it also lets you know how to prepare the package. 

Remember that with international shipping, the smallest is the best way for you to go, especially in weights and sizes. Compact, lightweight kinds of packages usually offer faster and cheaper delivery, provided there is a measurement that lets you know of the dimensions that are exceeded. Before you mark a package to send, you should also check the current rates, choosing the cheapest one, and also see if they do offer batched shipping to take off the price as best as you can. 

Know what’s Not sendable 

There are certain items that you can and can’t send to certain countries. Usually, there are certain items that customers usually know about, but some are random, and you may not know this until it’s too late. Some alcohol, foodstuffs, seeds, and plants and even tableware are actually banned from shipping in the US for various reasons. 

It’s similar in other countries too. If you send this as well, customs will actually hold it, resulting in legal problems and fines too. Before you ship off a package, you should always check to ensure that it’s allowed there. 

The Right Packaging matters. 

The other thing is that you should always make sure that your packaging is good for the journey ahead. Having the address, return address, and the postage is very important, but there are different other factors that also need to be focused on too. Some may require markings that are extra, and different tags and different paperwork too. 

When you ship to other countries, find out the regulations, and also make sure that you have itemized lists of the contents that are on the outer parts of this, including the manufacturer of this, and the price as well, and also have this on hand too in the event that the package is lost. You should always make sure that you have the proper filler, and some packaging tape that’s good for sealing this, since of course, it will help to ensure that everything is properly secured and sealed throughout the journey itself. 

Having a secret package will offer a faster journey for lots of people, especially if there is some worry about this too. With that said, you also should try to maybe add a little bit of branding to this too. Even branded tissue paper and stickers letting people know the logos and your brand’s existence are always very important for people to see. 

Why? It’s because you’re going to have to show to others who you are, and these international customers should be treated in the same vein as those regular customers within the country. With that in mind, you should always consider international hipping if it can fit into the budget, and also consider these three factors when shipping out something and be mindful of the changes as well too.