Paper Example on Packaging & Handling: Securing a Competitive Advantage

Introduction

Most businesses face different issues when packing and handling products. Importantly, packing and handling is not only an essential factor of consideration for manufacturing firms but also critical in service-providing organizations. Proper packaging and handling could create a competitive advantage and increase the overall revenues accrued within an organization. Therefore, this paper seeks to identify the importance of packing and handling in firms and how it can create a competitive advantage and the results show that packaging could attract customers, protect products, and relay vital information of a product to the target consumers.

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Review of Subject

Packing and handling, which are processes that fall under packaging, do not entail only protecting the face of a product. The design of a package could affect everything from breakages in the shipping rates to whether stores and target consumers will be willing to purchase it (Bowersox, Closs & Cooper, 2013). Packing, importantly, involves activities such as labeling, opening, size, and durability of a commodity. Handling, on the other hand, includes all activities related to the processes through which manufacturers and other staff working in a factory deal and handle the products and entails different aspects of storage and transportation.

Discussion

Packing and handling are vital for a business since it helps to ensure that products remain safe during shipping and transportation processes. Also, it protects products during storage activities. Mainly, this is helpful to a business since when a product is mishandled and poorly packed; it is likely to get damaged. As a result, stores may not want to sell the commodity. With this in mind, it is clear that poor packing and handling of manufactured commodities could lead to losses. Ford, Moodie, and Hastings (2012) asserted that it is essential for clients to receive their products when in undamaged containers since it will foster feelings of care and consideration with the consumers. In addition to that, poorly packaged goods could generate issues of public relations and customer service within a business, which shows the importance of packing and handling in companies.

Further, packing and handling could be a useful tool for a business to gain a competitive advantage. First, manufacturing corporations could utilize packing and handling processes to attract customers. As Moore et al. (2015) indicated the visual representation of a product through packing and handling could attract clients and persuade them to pick a particular product as opposed to that of a competitor. The design used in packaging ought to be dependent on the target market of a business. Some of the factors of consideration during packaging include color and artwork that companies should tailor to make it ideal for targeted consumers. If a firm utilizes this effectively, the products offered could sell, leading to the significant generation of profits and revenues.

Secondly, packing and handling are critical in communicating the particular information to clients. A good packing and handling technique in a company should consider the provision of the vital information, instructions for use, benefits and features of a product (Parikh & Behnke, 2015). Mainly, firms could use packaging processes as a form of advertisement by communicating the benefits of the commodity to a consumer and providing clear instructions that allow customers to use the products effectively. Asides from that, information related to customer service ought to be present in the packaging as a way that gives the consumer the means and channels of contacting the firms and providing the required feedback that could improve the products desirably (Parikh & Behnke, 2015). With this in mind, it is articulate that proper packing and handling of products is critical in providing consumers with information on a product and could act as a competitive advantage if utilized correctly.

Lastly, packing and handling could help reinforce branding and the logo of a manufacturing plant. According to Liu et al. (2016), product packaging features the various elements of branding that most firms work hard to maintain their consistency. They include logos, characters of products, and the tag lines. Branding, as indicated by Liu et al. (2016), is crucial since it enables the consumers to recognize the products while on the shelves and in advertisements. Branding affects the marketing process of a commodity. Unique branding is a competitive advantage in itself, which shows the link between packaging and creative innovation. Also, poor handling of a product could affect the branding and logos, which are essential features in the packaging process. Therefore, one can see a clear link between proper packing and handling of products to ensure that firms gain a competitive advantage.

Conclusion

To sum this up, packing and handling are critical factors for businesses and have a significant role to play in creating a competitive advantage. Packing and handling entail a variety of features that include branding, the logo of the company, ingredients present in the products, and instructions for use. Also, the attractiveness of a product could help in increasing sales since it attracts customers, which is another strategy that could generate a competitive advantage for a business. Lastly, the best processes of packing and handling could help in protecting products from damage that could otherwise result in unattractiveness and reduced sales.

References

Bowersox, D., Closs, D., & Cooper, M. (2013). Supply Chain Logistics Management (4th ed.). New York, United States: McGraw-Hill Education.

Ford, A., Moodie, C., & Hastings, G. (2012). The role of packaging for consumer products: Understanding the move towards "plain" tobacco packaging. Addiction Research & Theory, 20(4), 339-347. https://doi.org/10.3109/16066359.2011.632700

Liu, S.-F., Cheng, J.-H., Lee, Y.-L., & Gau, F.-R. (2016). A case study on FMEA-based quality improvement of packaging designs in the TFT-LCD industry. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 27(3/4), 413-431. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2015.1004308

Moore, V., Sumrall, W., Mott, M., Mitchell, E., & Theobald, B. (2015). Exploring Consumer Literacy. Social Studies, 106(5), 193-203. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2015.1045579

Parikh, A. A., & Behnke, C. (2015). Nutrition Label Formatting: Customer Perceptions and Behaviors. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 18(1), 48-57. https://doi.org/10.1080/15378020.2015.995751