Whether you have a well-established company or you’re just starting up, outsourcing to a contract packing company has many advantages.
As well as freeing up time and reducing your operational overheads, it allows your business to benefit from industry-specific expertise and experience. Plus, you’ll be able to utilise specialist cutting-edge equipment that will help take your packaging to the next level.
In this post, we’ll explain more about the benefits of outsourcing to a contract packer, as well as how to find the right company for your needs.
In this post:
What is outsourcing?
Outsourcing is when a business hires a third-party company to perform a particular task, service or operation on its behalf. The third party, or contractor, may either be located in the same country or overseas (a practice known as offshoring).
Many businesses, including large and well-established companies, choose to outsource one or more of their operations. Outsourcing services can cover a wide range of areas including product research and development, marketing, component manufacturing, complete product manufacturing, and, as we explore below, packing and distribution of many different types of products, including food, tech, chemicals, and many more.
Depending on the contract, an outsourcing service may be undertaken for a fixed period or as part of an ongoing or rolling agreement.
What are the benefits of outsourcing packaging?
While the packaging stage might seem relatively straightforward, it can actually be quite complex – particularly if your goods require a specialist solution like vacuum packing.
Hazardous chemicals, for example, must be stored in specialist containers, while some pharmaceutical goods and biological reagents need to be packed in sterile clean rooms to protect the product’s integrity.
Whatever industry you’re in, packing, storing, and transporting your products can be time-consuming and expensive. As well as hiring additional employees, you may need to buy specialist equipment and pay for extra warehouse storage – all of which can increase your overhead costs significantly.
Outsourcing your packing requirements can help to eliminate these expenses, increase your profit margins and improve the quality of your packaging.
Some of the specific advantages of hiring a contract packer are outlined below.
Allows more time for business
Outsourcing your packing can free up hours or even days, giving you more time to concentrate on other areas of the business. This might include focusing on research and development or allocating more resources and factory space to product manufacturing. Devoting extra time to activities like this can be a great way to grow your business and increase profitability in the long term.
Reduced cost
Saving money is often one of the main reasons why businesses choose to outsource their packing. Hiring a contract packer can reduce your operational overheads as you won’t have to hire additional employees to operate packing machinery. Plus, there’ll be no need to buy, operate and maintain expensive packing equipment. What’s more, using a contract packer typically means you’ll benefit from competitive bulk pricing.
Knowledge & expertise
If you’re a relatively new company, you might not be familiar with the best industrial practices when it comes to packing certain products. Without this knowledge, your packaging may not meet the required standard and you could end up wasting precious stock and materials. Outsourcing to an established contact packer allows you to utilise their wealth of specialist knowledge and experience, thus minimising the risks.
Equipment & facilities
Sourcing and buying the right packaging equipment requires a significant amount of capital investment (millions of pounds in some cases!). It can also take a long time to set up your packing facility, especially if your products need to go through a meticulous or specialist process.
If you don’t have the capital, time, or inclination to invest in your own packing equipment, hiring an external supplier is an ideal solution. As well as benefiting from specialist technology and machinery, you can expect faster turnaround times because contract packers are experts in their field.
Decreased need for storage
If you intend to package your products in-house, you’ll need plenty of storage or even a whole warehouse. The good news is you can reduce your storage requirements – and thus free up valuable floor space – by hiring a contract packer.
Many contract packing companies can distribute products directly to your customers, so you won’t have to store large volumes of goods on-site. Reducing your storage requirements also means you can dedicate more floor space to other business operations.
How to find the right contract packing company
Finding the right packing company for your needs will depend on what those specific needs are. Different factors you’ll need to consider are the type of product, the quantity of goods you need to have packed, and what your packaging specifications are. Certain pharmaceutical products, for example, may have to be packed in specialist clean rooms, while meat needs to be vacuum packed and kept at a certain temperature.
With this in mind, the first thing you’ll need to do when choosing a contract packer is to specify your products and packaging requirements. You should be as technically detailed as possible (even down to the smallest dimensions). Once you’ve solidified the spec, write down the details in a formal proposal – you can then submit this to prospective suppliers to determine whether they can meet your needs.
The second step is to start looking for potential contract companies. Research online, visit company websites, contact contractors’ past clients, and, if possible, get referrals from your contacts within the industry. After this, you may need to narrow down your search by shortlisting the top five prospective companies.
Once you’ve identified your preferred contractors, schedule face-to-face interviews and visit their facilities. This is a great way to get a feel for the company, its staff and the facilities and equipment. And don’t forget to request samples of packed products so you can examine the quality of their packaging.
You can read more about how to find a contract packing company here.
What contract packing solutions does ReAgent provide?
Here at ReAgent, we provide a high-quality contract packing and repacking service for a wide range of chemicals, hazardous substances, liquids, powders, gels, and creams. We can also work with you to develop new formulations or products if required.
Based in Cheshire, our state-of-the-art chemical manufacturing facilities are equipped with the latest packaging machinery and specialist class 7 cleanrooms. We also hold several ISO qualifications, so you can be confident that our service will be of the utmost quality and integrity. And of course, this is all backed up by our considerable wealth of expertise and experience.
Summary
Outsourcing your packaging requirements to a contract packer has several financial and logistical advantages. As well as reducing your operational costs, it allows you to benefit from specialist expertise and equipment. It also frees up time, which you can then devote to other areas of the business. To find the right contact packer for your needs, you’ll need to do plenty of research and be prepared to visit prospective companies to see their operations in person.
ReAgent offers contract packing and repacking services to businesses from a range of industries. Contact us today to find out more or read our contract packing guide here.
