How you prepare your shipment for transportation has as much to do with its safe arrival as your choice of shipping transportation service. When you properly package your products or materials, you ensure their safety.
To Palletize or Not to Palletize? That Is the Question.
When you have a large shipment or you need to ship many small boxes, it makes sense to bundle them together. You can also ensure the safe transport of fragile items by properly packing them, then placing them on a pallet. Shrink Wrap them onto the pallet for the best results. The pallet provides a sturdy foundation that makes it easier for a forklift driver to pick up all of the shipments at once. By keeping all of the boxes together, you avoid lost items.
What packing materials work best?
When you prepare your shipment, the packing materials you use depend on your items. You should wrap glass, ceramic, or crystal items in bubble wrap, then pack them inside Styrofoam chips. This protects them from banging against one another and breaking, as well as protecting them from jostling and the weight of other boxes.
Solid materials that can’t break, but could scratch, you can wrap in newsprint or butcher paper. Cushioning them within crumpled paper of the same type or Styrofoam chips protects them from damaging each other.
Labeling for Accuracy
Whether or not you put everything on pallets, you need to label each box in the shipment. Even when bundled together, each box should carry a legible, typewritten label that specifies the contents, the number of pieces within the box, the name and address of the shipper, and the name and address of the intended recipient. When you bundle on a pallet, you then also label the exterior of the shrink wrap with the number of boxes and the number of pieces in each box, plus the total number of pieces. This label also contains the company name and address that shipped the items and the intended recipients’ name and address.
Reusing Boxes
When you reuse boxes to reduce waste, kudos to you for reducing what goes to the landfill. You must remove all existing labels on the boxes before reusing them though. If you cannot remove a label, you need to completely cover the label with a new one that ensures that only the updated information shows. This helps your package move through the shipping process quickly since it will be accurately and efficiently read through any scanners.
Contact Us Today
STC Logistics can safely and smoothly transport your packages and freight. Contact us today for more information or to request a quote.
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