As you are seeking packaging for your product you are undoubtedly going to be contacting many vendors. In order to expedite this process and find the most suitable vendor for your packaging needs, you need to know what quantity you are intending to purchase, in other words, your packaging volume. Most packaging companies will be very interested in this number. This is really an “economies of scale” issue. The more you order, the cheaper the cost per unit will be. But every packaging vendor has a different definition of a “low quantity” order.
For example, a packaging company with global distribution that supplies to Fortune 500 companies, their idea of low quantity may be anything upwards of 10,000 units. For others who cater to local small or start-up businesses, a low quantity can mean as little as 250 units. And for vendors that primarily make comps (a comp is a packaging sample used primarily as a prototype), they will be working with quantities of 20 units or less and may have a hard time with higher outputs.
If your company is a small start-up and you are having trouble finding an appropriate packaging company, don’t give up. Just call as many companies as you can and ask what their minimums are. If their minimums are too large, they may be able to refer you to a smaller company better suited to you.
Likewise if your company is large and you require a large output of units, a packaging vendor whose minimum is +10,000 units may be just the ticket for you, whereas a vendor whose minimum order amount is only 500 units may very well be too small.
Your packaging volume may also be confusing depending on how many SKUs you have. Here is an article where I discuss just that.
So knowing your packaging volume and then asking each packaging vendor what their minimum order amounts are (either in units or price) will save you a lot of time by weeding out companies that aren’t a good fit for your needs.
This has been a part of my tutorial series called How to Buy Packaging 101. So click the link below to head back if you haven’t finished reading it yet. 🙂