Many of our customers have Amazon do their shipping and fulfillment. It’s a great way to go to market especially in the early stages of a new business when doing your own stocking and order filling is cost prohibitive. Amazon does an amazing job so there is no question or problem with what they do. In fact, thanks to a recent tour of one of their facilities, we have a better understanding of how they work internally to serve you as a customer, so you can better serve your customers.
E-commerce with great customer service
When was the last time you received an incorrect order from Amazon? Most people can’t remember one single messed up order when asked. To me, this is astonishing when you consider the volume of products and orders they process daily, especially this time of the year. To watch robots swiftly gliding on the warehouse floor getting the right product to the right packer is truly fascinating and impressive.
There are two key questions you should ask yourself when deciding whether to provide your own shippable packaging or utilize Amazon provided packaging:
Do you want to promote your brand or Amazon’s brand?
With all due respect, Amazon does not need their brand promoted anymore than it already is. Everyone knows who they are and most people utilize their terrific selection and service.
On the other hand, most new businesses can use all the help they can get promoting their brand and creating that all important unboxing experience so customers will see your logo, your message, and your company colors. There are few “Instagram moments” of Amazon brand packaging.
A brief visit to our gallery will show the varieties of packaging we offer and how easily and with low minimums, most can be branded.
Are you using the best and greenest possible packaging for your DTC orders?
We recently received from Amazon the mailer envelope shown in the photo below. It is supposed to be a padded envelope solution for shipping relatively flat products such as DVDs and CDs. There are only two problems with this new envelope – they are messy, and they provide little cushioning. As they used to say, “they can’t all be pearls” and I would be surprised if Amazon was not already working on a new and improved version.
The other issue I have with using Amazon Packaging is that often use packaging that is much larger than necessary. I have documented this problem in many blog posts with links below if you want to check them out. I asked about this on our tour and they said the system is designed to be absolutely sure the product being shipped fits within the container their system directs the packers to use. In other words, oversized packaging saves time by not asking the packer to make any changes or judgement calls. Doing what the system tells you, even if it’s wrong, wastes corrugated board and is not “right sized”.
Custom printed, branded packaging is easier and lower cost than you think. I did not get into the economics of whether Amazon charges to use their packaging or if they discount your cost if you provide SIOC (ship in original carton) packaging and all they need to do is slap a label on it. That is between you and Amazon and their cost structure.
What I do know is that when you are ready to make the plunge into custom printed or custom sized packaging, there are few companies as experienced and able to deliver maximum visual impact at the lowest possible cost. Call us at 630-551-1700 or contact us at www.SalazarPackaging.com We are looking forward to helping you, no matter which direction you decide to go.
Related Posts:
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/sealable-easy-open-features-on-d2c-e-commerce-shipping-boxes/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/seriously-amazon-right-sizing-your-boxes-is-the-right-thing-to-do/
