Your Best Guide to a Contract Packing Service: What it is and What to Expect

There are indeed many things a contract packer can do for you. If you are seriously thinking about expanding your business and your production outfit, the services of a contract packer may very well come in handy. But what exactly can they do, and what is involved in this kind of service? Knowing these things can help you choose the ideal one for sure. Here, then, is your best guide to a contract packing service: what it is and what to expect.

What is it?

The contract packing sector has been around for a while, but this may be your first time to think of utilising such a service. Contract packing involves outsourcing your requirements in packaging to a third party firm, and your contract packer, as they are known, will deal with the packing and redistribution of your product. In broader terms, it’s a service provided by one business to another whereby that company takes on the responsibility of packing your products on your behalf.

When and how is it useful?

The service is beneficial if your enterprise needs specialised packaging, like sterilised packaging or vacuum sealing. But even if you only need packing in standard plastic bottles or boxes, you can still use the services of a contract packer. The main reason why many businesses go for contract packing is to take advantage of a contract packing firm’s expertise and skill and make sure their products are ready for redistribution in as quick and effective a manner as possible.

With the service, you can easily specify what you require, whether it’s your preferred packaging material or container, the product amount for each pack, and so on. Your contract packer will then handle the rest, and this includes quality control. They can even handle the design of your labels if you request it. As you may well know, quality control is especially critical, so there is no spillage or leakage, and your products are protected from damage and spoilage.

The kinds of services you can expect

When you deal with an expert contract packer, you can expect a bevvy of services, from the most basic to the most advanced. The kind of service you select will depend on the containers and packaging material you need, and it can also depend on the other services you may require, such as warehousing or label design.

Some typical examples include bottle filling, where your contract packer fills bottles with your product, whether it’s a beverage item, food, medication, cosmetics, and more. Another common type of service provided by a contract packer is custom design and labelling, and this allows you to come up with a unique design and identity for your product/s. You can, for instance, choose all the specifications you prefer, be it the shape, size, colour of your packaging, the labels’ graphic design, the information on the labels and so on.

Other services offered by contract packers include hand packing, flow wrapping, shrink wrapping, vacuum packing, sachet and pouch packing, and batch coding. You can even ask your contract packer to store your products, a service called warehousing, where they can manage your inventory and ensure your products are adequately stored and protected.