When searching for plastic packaging materials, companies want to get the best value for money, just as with any other products. However, in the attempt to find really low prices, some logistic managers may sacrifice quality or a strong relationship with a professional supplier who adds specialized know-how to the products they deliver and projects they implement.
With nearly everything being made in China these days, do local manufacturers and their authorized distributors still stand a chance? Yes, they do and they offer a series of advantages which you will not find if you buy your plastic packaging from a huge, no-name warehouse in South-East Asia.
These companies were incorporated starting with a business vision by dedicated and talented entrepreneurs. Their approach to doing business and addressing their clients’ problems is the true added value which every logistic manger should be looking for. Besides this argument, here are 5 more to understand why it makes more business sense to source your plastic packaging locally:
1. Overall Shipping Fees are Smaller
When you buy a product from a local or regional supplier, chances are they have a strategic warehouse close to your premises, or within an average driving distance. Thus, the shipping fees for your plastic packaging will be smaller. Add to this the fact that if you buy packaging materials from overseas, you will also pay custom duties and harbor fees. Basically, unless you order a huge quantity of cheap packaging materials, you are not saving money at all.
2. You Benefit from Assistance for Implementation
Replacing your older packaging materials with modern models can be quite problematic, until every employee learns how to handle the new crates and containers, how to fold and erect them correctly, how to pick them up with a forklift, or which one can be used on a conveyor belt. A local supplier or distributor will send a packaging expert to your headquarters to oversee the implementation of their products and offer quick and effective training to all your employees who will be handling those products.
3. You Can Benefit from Latest Innovations Faster
Local manufacturers of plastic packaging materials are always trying to stay competitive – and not by dirt cheap prices, but by valuable innovations straight from their own research and development departments. Innovative packaging materials are more reliable, offer a longer useful life and a lower total cost of ownership. Being an early adopter of the latest technologies will reflect back on you and create the image of a dynamic company which always strives to offer its clients the best quality.
4. You Are More Environmentally Responsible
Sourcing locally means reducing your impact on the environment, for the simple fact that the entire manufacturing, storage and shipment cycle involves smaller distances, less phases, and less consumption of fuel. Thus, the overall level of pollution is greatly reduced compared to the long distance your cheap packages must travel from their country of origin.
5. You Empower Your Local Community
When you do business with a local manufacturer and supplier, you help your entire community. If more businesses open and are successful in an area, more stable jobs are created and the community becomes more prosperous. In turn, it means that you will have more customers for your products and the potential to increase your sales and expand your reach.
These are the most valid reasons which you should always consider when looking for a new supplier of plastic packaging materials and start by searching in your local area.