Contract Packaging or Co-Packing tends to be the overall process involved in assembling a product and good. This is into its final completed packaging. When looking at contract packaging, this may be a simple or complicated procedure because it gets customized according to the particular scope of one’s product packaging — this varies much across the retail, commercial, and trade industries. Companies involved in contract packaging or co-packing give contract packaging services to the product manufacturers moreover usually behave like an extension of the specific company.
It depends upon the product, but the final packaging can come in different forms. This encompasses a thermoformed or plastic clamshell or even blister packaging, a transport tray, and standing corrugated retail point-of-sale type of box, including others. The contract packagers may be tasked with doing something as simple as adding some barcode sticker to the product. It can be something as complicated, like planning, designing, producing as well as completing the entire package.
Benefits of using a contract packager
Due to the short-term along with medium to high-volume type of nature of the product packaging fulfillment, as well as the demand for specialty equipment plus staffing hours, these contract packaging services tend to be often outsourced to the contract packaging companies.
The experts are specialized and professional at handling different levels of contract packaging sequence. They even have a lot of in-house resources and outhouse partners that respond to certain product packaging requirements within a timely manner. This then provides the product manufacturers as well as product managers with much flexibility in properly defining the packaging procedure based upon the requirements of the product.
The stages and services of contract packaging
There are different levels of contract packaging services, that can be used independently or bundled; this is according to the particular product’s overall scope as well as product development. The contract packaging manufacturers work together with the product managers along with product manufacturers to consult, plan, customize as well as execute the procedure so that it is according to the timeline, need-to-be produced and pre-produced packaging components as well as industry requirements.
Overall, contract packaging services encompass:
- Design– The contract packaging manufacturers usually possess an in-house design team present to aid in designing the end product packaging.
- Inventory Management or Control– This is receiving as well as auditing inventory of a product and also pre-produced packaging components, like packaging, manuals, card stock, and promo stickers, etc.
- The Printing Plus Component Production– Sometimes the packaging may include some card having artwork or also a manual, that requires to be printed prior to being inserted into the final package.
- Plastic or Thermoform Packaging Production– The manufacturing of packaging, that can encompass the formation of plastic or also thermoformed packaging, i.e., clam shells, blisters, trays, etc.
- Package Assembly Plus Fulfillment– This is to execute product fulfillment particularly into the packaging carefully. This usually needs a defined sequence having careful handling of one’s product, the accuracy of placement present into the packaging, and including any other needed items, like manuals, coupons, plus product finishing.
- Warehousing Plus Distribution– This is the organizing as well as storing or housing of the packaged product.
