Grifal is among the selected group of companies in the Amazon Packaging Support and Supplier Network (APASS), certified by Amazon’s Customer Packaging Experience Lab (CPEX) in Seattle, Washington.

The rapid development of the e-commerce market has generated a huge demand for special packaging solutions that are flexible, adaptable, simple to use and able to protect packages from the stresses and strains of the transport system.

Packaging is an essential element in the e-commerce market.

The very nature of e-commerce creates the necessity to pack products so that they can travel great distances as rapidly as possible. This combination of factors makes product packaging a key ingredient of any successful e-commerce business.

Companies that want to enter this market and expand their footprint must reinvent their logistic strategies starting from their packaging solutions. Packages may have to travel around the world, quite literally, to reach their final destination. Making sure that a product arrives in perfect condition serves two important purposes. The brand image of the company is enhanced by its attention to detail, right down to the quality of the packaging. The other advantage is cost savings. A product that must be returned can be very costly. It represents a lost sale, damaged inventory, additional transport costs and an unhappy customer that will not recommend the brand.

What factors can slow the growth of an e-commerce business?

As previously stated, products that are damaged during transport will have a negative impact on any e-commerce business.

Grifal understands this critical link in the e-commerce supply chain and creates innovative and cost-savings solutions for its customers. E-commerce solutions must possess a series of properties that are specific to this market.

What are the primary characteristics of e-commerce packaging solutions?

The winning characteristics of packaging solutions for e-commerce are the following:

• High performance protection of the product
• Smallest volume and lightest weight to reduce shipping costs
• Least amount of waste and material that must be discarded, both in the production phase and by the end-user to be as eco-friendly as possible
• Communications: Aesthetically pleasing solution with colours, logos and materials that accurately reflect the brand identity
• Frustration-Free Packaging (FFP): This style of packaging can be easily opened by the end-user without the use of tools such as a box cutter or scissors
• Ships in Own Container (SIOC) Packaging: This kind of packaging does not require any preparation or overbox for shipping. It is the preferred standard for Amazon worldwide

Above and beyond the obvious importance of the protective aspects of packaging, B2C companies are very concerned with the customer experience. They often specify packaging solutions that combine aesthetic appeal, sustainable materials and, when possible, a way to recycle the packaging with a secondary use, a kind of creative, non-destructive recycling sometimes call “upcycling”.