Yippee Ki Yay!!! More Increases On The Way!!!

To all Packaging Designers & Consumers!!

No one I know of, has ever experienced the times that we find ourselves in today.?This past year, we've all been subjected to significant cost increases due to: Raw material shortages & allocations, transportation & fuel, extended lead times, labor shortages…But wait, there's more!!

Just when I thought things were starting to settle down, we get yet another increase notice from our corrugated partners just-this-week! On top of the prior 20% we've already had to suck up, they are proposing another 12% increase for orders placed after July 31, 2021, which also, must be delivered by August 27, 2021.

Please note that this particular notice came with a special apology for the short notice and further, assured us that when market conditions stabilize, they will notify us of any "price decreases" and pass them back along to "us" immediately!!

Honestly, I don’t even know how to respond to this…But, I suspect we will see decrease notices 'bout the same time we see Big Foot & Elvis riding Nessie along the lakeshore! Just hope the camera don’t jam this time!!

Based on personal experience, we've seen increase notices "floated-out" there like this every summer like clockwork since 1985.?Sometimes, the cost increases have held, while most get waived off at the last-minute due to lack of justification.?

Personally, I'm becoming more cynical as I grow...uh, shall I say, more mature...so now, I view these increases more as threats, sent out for the purposes of pushing packaging consumers to panic buy in the last half of the year. I've convinced myself that they are used to help bolster the corrugated industries EOY profits. (somehow, they report strong profits every year;)?

Regardless of this proposed increase, that fact remains that everyone from every industry is fighting some kind of battle. And, we all know that these cost increases, fabricated or not... are not going away anytime soon.

So what do we do?...What can we do??

Throughout Eden's 35 year history, we always done our best work when we've looked to find new ways of doing things.?When you ask a question, and you get the ol' "well, we've always done it that way"...kinda answer, you know your on the right path!!

When it comes to custom packaging, there are no hard rules and tons of options. It becomes important to know what options are available and then ask, what exactly do we need from our packaging, and what can we do to trim cost and make it work better? While this is a good start, you need to understand that true tangible savings are seldom found in the cost of the packaging itself.

First, we recommend that you consult a packaging professional who possess direct experience with a variety of packaging materials. After all, if you ask a corrugated manufacturer a question, you will always get a corrugated answer...and that may, or may not be what you need.

Packaging should be viewed as a tool and designed in such a way that it can bring cost savings to numerous departments within your operations. This could mean using different materials or, making the pack more eco- friendly or, less labor intensive to load. One important area that is often overlooked is how packaging impacts your freight and handling charges.??

In our years, we've worked in the cargo business and worked with almost every packaging material available. We've helped many companies to streamline their operations through efficient packaging designs. As a result, we've saved many of our customers, hundreds of thousands in operational cost.

With endless increases continuing to plague our businesses…working towards a better packaging design is one way you can fight back and help protect some of your hard earned margins.

To explore this important area for your company, just send an email to us at [email protected], or call us at 949-455-0005 PST. Just tell'em...Elvis Sent You...