Setting up a packing station may sound straightforward. But here are actually a number of places to go wrong. Here’s what to watch for.
materialhandlingupdate

5 pitfalls to avoid when
setting up packing stations

IMAGE COURTESY OF AG INTEGRATORS, LLC

YOU MIGHT THINK THAT SETTING UP A PACKING station is no big deal. Just gather up the necessary equipment and supplies—a work table, a bunch of empty cartons, tape, and a pile of labels—and you’re good to go.

But that could be a costly mistake, say the experts. By failing to give sufficient thought to the packing process and the design of the station itself, you could set yourself up for a host of problems, including injuries, inflated transportation costs, and money spent on packing materials you don’t really need.

Where do companies go wrong when setting up packing stations? What follows is a rundown of some of the most common pitfalls and tips on how to avoid them.

Pitfall #1: Wasting packing materials. When selecting packing material for a given shipment, packers are often left to make their best guesses as to how much they’ll need. Yet “guesstimating” can prove costly. If packers don’t use enough material, the result could be product damage. But if they use too much, it means unnecessary expense for the company. Overdoing the dunnage can also put your company’s image at risk. “Consumers get really angry when they receive cartons that are mostly filled with packing peanuts, plastic pillows, or paper,” notes Steve Martyn, CEO of GRSI Inc., a packing system designer and systems integrator.