Packaging

Synopsis Introduction Objectives Of Packaging Importance Of Packaging Logistics Functions Of Packaging Functions Of Packaging Benefits Of Good Packaging Value Addition Unitization Inland Container Depots Factors Influencing Good Packaging Design.

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5 marks questions Q1. Determine the factors influencing good packaging design? While designing the packaging, the following considerations need to be looked into: 1. The type of product that is to be packaged. If the product is delicate, it may require

more packaging in order to protect the product from damage. 2. The cost of the product. If the product is costly then it makes economical sense to

protect the product with a higher amount of packaging so that the goods are not damaged. 3. The amount of handling the product has to go through. If there is a lot of handling is

to be done then the product should be packaged properly for protection. 4. 5. Packaging should be such that it should be facilitate handling. Its ability to be reused. Sometimes packaging could be costly. In order to reduce

cost per unit the package designed such that it can be reused.
For Example - soft drinks served in bottles, where bottle are reused many times over so that the cost of packaging (bottle) per unit of soft drink is low. Another example is that of containers which are reused.

6.

Its ability to be disposed. Once the use of packaging is over it should be disposed.

There should be no problems while disposing the package. Therefore a lot of consumer durables are packaged in cardboard containers, which could be easily be disposed after its use. 7. Its effect on environment. Care should be taken that packaging material should not

harm the environment. The environmental impact of using plastics and wood as packaging material should be looked into.

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Q2. What are the types of packaging? Packaging can generally be categorized into two types consumer packaging which has a marketing emphasis and industrial packaging which has a more of logistics emphasis. 1. Consumer packaging: The marketing manager is more concerned with the consumer packaging because it provides information important in selling the product, in motivating the customer to buy the product or in giving the product maximum visibility when it competes with others on retail shelf. 2. Industrial packaging: It focuses on the handling convenience and protection during transportation material handling and storage. This packaging protects the goods that a company will move and store in the warehouse and also permits the company the effective use of transportation vehicle space. It also has to provide information and handling ease.

Industrial packaging is performed at various stages: The first stage is packaging for the product itself. For example, soft drinks are packaged in cans. The next stage involves packaging these products into larger cartons for enabling quantity handling. The next stage of packaging involves unitization.

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The next stage of packaging is containerization. Here the unit loads are placed in rigid contains for protection and handling facilitation. This enables efficiency in transportation.

Q3. Explain the Logistical functions of packaging?

contain

protect

apportion

packages should
unitize communicate

be convenient

1. Containment: products must be contained before they can be moved from one place to another. 2. Protection: to protect the contents of the package from damage or loss from outside environmental effects. 3. Appointment: to reduce the output from industrial production to a manageable desirable consumer size that is translating the large output of manufacturing into smaller quantities of greater use to customers. 4. Unitization: to permit primary packages to be unitized into secondary packages, the secondary packages are unitized into a stretch wrapped pallet and ultimately into a container that is loaded with several pallets. 5. Convenience: to allow products to be used conveniently that is with little wasted efforts by customer. 6. Communication: the use of unambiguous readily understood symbols such as a UPC (Universal Product Code.)

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Q4. State and explain different levels of packaging? (also can be asked for 3 marks) 1. Primary Package: It refers to the products immediate container. In some cases, the primary package is kept till the consumer is ready to use the product (e.g., plastic packet for socks); whereas in other cases, it is kept throughout the entire life of the product (e.g., a toothpaste tube, a match box, etc.). 2. Secondary Packaging: It refers to additional layers of protection that are kept till the product is ready for use, e.g., a tube of shaving cream usually comes in a card board box. When consumers start using the shaving cream, they will dispose of the box but retain the primary tube. 3. Transportation Packaging: It refers to further packaging components necessary for storage, identification or transportation. For example - A toothpaste manufacturer may send the goods to retailers in corrugated boxes containing 10, 20, or 100 units

Q4. Explain the benefits of good packaging with suitable examples? 1. Packaging Enhances Customer Service Level 2. Product Identification / Tracking / Tracing 3. Lighter Packaging Saves Transportation Costs 4. Careful Package Planning Helps Optimum Transportation Space 5. Reduce Damages & Losses Of The Products & Hence reduces Insurance Costs 6. Reduces Requirement Of Special Handling 7. Environment Friendly Packs Saves Disposal Costs & Improves Company Image 8. Re-Usability Of Packs Saves Procurement Costs. 9. Disposability Of The Package 10. Satisfying Provisions Of Government / Statutory Laws Utilization of Warehousing /

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E.g.-

Display-

Attraction,

easy

identification, communication, recipe, hazard, special care.

E.g.- Ease in opening cans

E.g.- Flexi sprays

tubes,

E.g.- Dispensing- spouts, taps, tube, sprays

Q5. Explain the value addition concept in detail? Value addition in marketing Value added is a relatively new term in direct marketing jargon. It means processing or modifying the product. Some ways to add value to a product include: Growing something in a way that is acknowledged as safer, or Adding a component of information, education or entertainment.

The customer is spared the additional work and the producer charges extra for adding value. Adding value holds the promise of additional income, but it is certainly more labor intensive and requires more management, more investment in equipment, and an awareness of legal and regulatory issues pertaining to processing. Value added products do not have the same
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economies of scale as mass produced goods and their success hinges heavily on the producers retail strategy, especially advertising and promotion. There are additional value added marketing opportunities available too suppliers. Suppliers event include the trade show with open floor hours as well as the popular roundtables, value added products offer more exposure to any company. Value addition in Logistics In the age of networking, the traditional ideas about value chain and activities comprised thereof have undergone a change. The activities such as procurement, manufacturing operations, marketing etc., were traditionally considered as primary activities and were deemed to before crucial significance for the business operations. So, corporate preferred to perform these activities themselves. Logical process adds value across procurement with the inventory flow providing the right material, at the right time and at the right place for manufacturing. Further, manufacturing adds value to the raw materials and components procured to convert these, through work in progress into the right products required by the customer. The logistical process also adds value to the product during the physical distribution. Q6. Explain the inland container depots briefly? Inland container depots [ICD's] It is a common facility made available by the government for temporary stage of import and export of cargos and empty containers. They are under customs control and require custom formalities for home use, warehousing, report etc. can be completed at such depots. It acts as a DRY PORT. 1) Container Freight Station (CFS) A CFS is an extension of a port/airport/ICS custom station, set up with the main objective of decongesting the ports, where only parts of customs process mainly the examination of goods is normally carried out by customs.

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FUNCTIONS OF ICD's and CFS

Receipt and dispatch or delivery of cargo Stuffing and stripping of containers Transit operations Customs clearance Temporary storage Reworking of containers Maintenance and repairs of container units

BENEFITS OF ICD's and CFS

Concentration points for long distance cargos and its unitization Service as a transit facility Customs clearance facility available Reduced level of demurrage and pilferage Reduced overall level of empty container movement Competitive transport cost Reduced inventory cost Increased trade flows

10 marks question Q1. Explain Packaging and state its objectives and importance (10 marks) OR What is packaging (3marks) OR Importance/Objectives of Packaging (5 marks each) OR Role of Packaging (5 marks) Definition: Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale and use.

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Packaging is a coordinated system of preparing goods for transport, warehousing, logistics, sale and use. Packaging helps the consumer quickly understand what the product is all about. Packaging is a silent sales man. Packaging is the matter need of any product. It is a non-value added matter, meaning a customer is not wanting to pay for it. Packaging helps to sell products. Packaging helps to protect and preserve-but equally important, it also projects and enhances brand image and values, it creates interest and impact for products on shelf, it helps to encourage purchase.

Importance of packaging: It not only maintenance in the right condition until delivery. It also enables communicating regarding the contained materials or products. It also helps in improving the appeal of the product to the customer. Provides protection to goods but also ensures At times packaging is so important that it cost more than the product itself in order to lure the customer to buy it. Most consumers judge the packaging of the product before buying it so its important for the product to have attractive packaging. Objectives of packaging: 1. Physical Protection: The objects enclosed in the package may require protection from amongst other things, shock, vibration, compression, temperature, etc. 2. Barrier Protection: A barrier from oxygen, water vapor, dust, etc., is often required. Package permeability is a critical factor in design. Some packages contain desiccants or Oxygen absorbers to help extend shelf life. Modified atmospheres or controlled atmospheres are also maintained in some food packages. Keeping the contents clean, fresh, and safe for the intended shelf life is a primary function. 3. Containment or Agglomeration: Small objects are typically grouped together in one package for reasons of efficiency. For example, a single box of 1000 pencils requires less
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physical handling than 1000 single pencils. Liquids, powders, and flowables need containment. (Powder cannot be kept in loose packaging. It needs a closed container) 4. Information Transmission: Packages and labels communicate how to use, transport, recycle, or dispose of the package or product. With pharmaceutical, food, medical, and chemical products, some types of information are required by governments. (Expiry date we read behind every consumable product)

5. Marketing: The packaging and labels can be used by marketers to encourage potential buyers to purchase the product. Package design has been an important and constantly evolving phenomenon for dozens of years. Marketing communications and graphic design is applied to the surface of the package and (in many cases) the point of sale display. (Attractive coloured packaging of biscuits)

6. Security: Packaging can play an important role in reducing the security risks of shipment. Packages can be made with improved tamper resistance to deter tampering and also can have tamper-evident features to help indicate tampering. Packages can be engineered to help reduce the risks of package pilferage: Some package constructions are more resistant to pilferage and some have pilfered indicating seals. Packages may include authentication seals to help indicate that the package and contents are not counterfeit.

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7. Convenience: Packages can have features, which add convenience in distribution, handling, display, sale, opening, reclosing, use, and reuse. (We can reuse haldiram snacks packet with zip lock feature) 8. Portion Control: Single serving or single dosage packaging has a precise amount of contents to control usage. Bulk commodities (such as salt) can be divided into packages that are a more suitable size for individual households. It is also aids the control of inventory: selling sealed one-liter-bottles of milk, rather than having people bring their own bottles to fill themselves. The Role of Packaging: A very important packaging function is to provide information about the product the package contains. The package should provide information that would make the product more appealing to the customer. The package must also provide handling information. For example, if the package is easily damaged or if it should be set in only one position the package should say so. Technique for providing information includes colour coding universal product codes heat transfers computer readable tables symbols and number code. A firms technique or combination of techniques will depend on the organizations particular circumstances. A major packaging concern is the ease of handling in conjunction with materials handling and transportation. Large packages for example, may be desirable from a production perspective but the contents size and weight might cause problems for materials handling equipment or for transfer into and out of transportation equipment so any packaging design should try to maximize handling ease in the warehouse and during transportation. The important considerations of package design fall into three areas. The first is the packages physical dimensions. The design must consider space utilization in terms of the warehouse transport vehicle and pallets. The package designer must analyze the packages height handling and the type of equipment that will handle the package. The final consideration is package shape. A logistics managers major concern is protecting the goods in the package. In the warehouse for example where moving goods could drop from a conveyor or be hit with a
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forklift truck, the package must provide the product adequate protection. Protection is also important when a transportation agency handles the product. Protection can also mean protecting products from contamination resulting from contact with other goods water damage temperature changes pilferage and shocks in handling transport. Q2. Explain all functions of packaging in detail? The following are the functions of packaging which help in reducing overall costs and value addition. 1. Physical protection: The objects enclosed in the package may require protection from among other things, shock, vibration, compression, temperature, etc. Protection from environment, pilferage, shocks of handling and moving.

2. Environment protection: A barrier from oxygen, water vapor, dust etc is often required. Sometimes package perishability is a critical factor in design. Some packages contain oxygen absorbers to help extend shelf life. Modified or controlled atmospheric conditions are also maintained in some food packages. Keeping the contents clean, fresh, and safe for the expected shelf life is a primary function.

3. Cube minimization: The truck is cubed out, that means the truck is full space wise, not fully utilized weight wise. Cube minimization is reducing the space occupied by the product to cut the freight charge. Square shaped bottles and oval shaped containers

4. Weight wise minimization

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The truck is full, but not fully utilized space wise. Liquids in glass bottles. Weight minimization is reducing the weight of the consignment to fully utilize the capacity of the truck. Liquids are packed in plastic bottles reducing the weight

5. Facilitating handling and using: Fruit juices tetra packs, handling and consumption by users. 6. Facilitating storage and reuse :Ink cartridges for printers, floppies, CDs, reusable corrugated boxes, bottles and refill packs. 7. Grouping goods into convenient unit for distribution Small objects are typically grouped together in one package for reasons for efficiency. For example - a single box of 1000 pencils requires less physical handling than 1000 single pencils

8. Reducing pilfering opportunities Package constructions are more resistant to pilferage and some have pilfered indicating seals. Packages may include authentication seals to help indicate that the package and contents are not counterfeit. Pilfer proof caps, pilfer proof seals.

9. Communication: a) Packages and labels communicate hoe to use, transport, recycle, or dispose of the package or product. With pharmaceuticals, food, medical and chemical products, some types of information are required by governments.
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b) Content identification what does this contain> product, manufacturer, universal code etc. with high visibility c) Tracking: Bar codes and scanners d) Handling instructions: fragile, which side up? Temperature restrictions, environment concerns, potential dangers etc. Q3. Explain unitization in detail? (Each concept can be asked as a 5/3 marks question) Unitization is a method of combining packages into unit. This leads itself to mechanical handling and reduces the no. of handlings. In unitization products are grouped together in cartons, bags and barrels for handling efficiency. It is moved and handled entirely by mechanical equipment such lifts and cranes. The unit load concept means that small items first enclosed in wooden boxes or triple wall containers to avoid pilferage and damage. Unitization leads to: 1. Unitizing leads economy due to movement of large units instead f small units 2. It leads to safety because the goods are protected by two or three layers of packaging. 3. It increases the speed of material handling because the mechanized material handling system can be used 4. Less chance of pilferage. 5. Unitizing decreases damage to the material 6. It protects against environmental variable 7. Efficient utilization of space.

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1. Palletization A pallet is flat transport structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, pallet jack or jacking device. Its essential feature in context of freight transport is that it should be rigid and strong enough to support its load and should be constructed as to allow mechanized handling. Metal strapping or binder twine, nets plastic films are used to secure the articles to the pallet. Pallets can be in the form of: Wooden or non-timber pallet Four way entry pallet or box type pallet

Benefits of palletization 1. Reduction in time needed to load and unload the product from the vehicle. 2. Reduces the warehouse space required for storage. 3. The use of fork trucks and pallets in sea transport has led to saving of time in various loading activities. This reduces the waiting time for ships. 4. Individual packages can be assembled in the plant onto a pallet according to a single customer order. 5. Palletization helps to reduce not only the damage in transit but also cuts delivery time.

Disadvantages 1. Drawback in palletization is that it lacks uniformity in pallets. More than 1500 types of pallets exist in the industry.

2. Containerization It a modification in freight moving standards, gradually forcing removal truck body or swap bodies into the same sizes and shapes. It is meant to support a variety of goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by any forklift device.
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The goods are placed on pallets, which fit into ISO containers or into commercial vehicles.

Advantages 1. Reduction in loss or pilferage of goods 2. Reduction in paper work. 3. Expedites door to door pick up and delivery 4. Eliminates multiple handling of contents as it is shipped like a single unit into the ships deck 5. Consolidation of movement of small lots 6. Standardization of handling methods and equipments since the container of standard size 7. Reduction in packaging cost as container itself acts a package. 8. Optimizes the services of various modes. Containers can easily transship.

Infrastructure of containerization: 1. Deepwater ports 2. Mechanised handling equipment equipment used to load and unload are container cranes which are very expensive 3. Inland container depots container ships are built for optimum utilization of space, easy stowing in the holds, to facilitate fast and easy loading and unloading of container.

DISADVANTAGES:
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1. Need for special cranes and equipments 2. Dimensions are restricted 3. 3. Not usable for some trades like live stocks. 4. Container owning company has to ensure full utilization. Shipping back empty container is very expensive. 5. There can be road restrictions particularly in the case of 40 containers. 6. A huge investment is required for containers.

3. ROLL-ON/ ROLL-OFF (RORO)

Concept of RORO is driving the trucks loaded with container directly on to the deck of ship and driving of the ship on reaching the destination. Trucks loaded with the container uses the ship as a mobile bridge. Ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo that are driven on and off the ship. RORO vessels have built in ramps which allow the cargo to be efficiently rolled on and rolled off the vessel when in port.

Advantages for trucks are: -No wear and tear of trucks -No fatigue on drivers -No hassles of bribing the cops at all check posts -Short travel time

4. LASH (lighter abroad a ship): All the ports are not accessible to the deep water vessels. The ports are loaded barges are towed to the ship. The huge crane of the ships lifts the entire barges and places it on the deck. After reaching the destination on the shallow water ships to reach the port.

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5. Kitting: its a process in which individually separate but related items are grouped, packaged and supplied together as one unit. Ex: in ordering a PC online, a customer may select memory, drives, peripherals and software from several alternatives. The supplier then creates a customized kit that is assembled and shipped as one unit.

FILL IN THE BLANKS

1. Reducing the output from the Bulk of the product to small size required by the consumer. 2. 3. 4. 5.

This logistical function is known as utilization. Purpose of unitizing is that the big boxes are entirely handled mechanically and this eliminates use of labour or any other damage. Palletization is a flat transport structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while lifted by a forklift or any other jacking device. Primary packaging it refers to the products immediate container. Logistics adds value by creating utility.

University Question:

Q1. Briefly comment on the objectives of logistics packaging. (5mrks)-mar11 Q2. What is the role of packaging in modern logistics? (3 marks) Nov 2011

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