Best Packaging Vendor: How Working With One Helps You

It can be difficult finding the best packaging vendor considering the number of packaging vendors available these days. To get the best from a custom packaging order, you must find the best hands on the market.

How do you find the best custom packaging vendor for your business? This is the challenge this post intends to help you solve.

Getting the Best from Your Packaging Vendor

In reality, we can hardly label a packaging (know more) vendor as the best packaging vendor on the market. This is because every custom packaging vendor has the ability to become the best. It actually depends on how you place your custom packaging order. 

There are a few useful tricks to help you improve your experience with packaging vendors. If you follow these tips, you should have a renewed productive relationship with your packaging vendor.

Tip 1: Never be scared of asking the best questions from your packaging vendor

Over and over, we have been told that stupid questions don’t really exist when it comes to business. Of course, this is not so realistic because there are a lot of stupid questions out there. However, when it comes to making your orders, a lot of seemingly stupid questions will come to mind.

Even if you feel they are stupid, it is wise to gather these questions together and ask at the first opportunity. After all, you’re spending your own money and you are trying to build your business. Because of this, it is important that gather all the information that you can.

So instead of saying there are no stupid questions, say, there may be stupid questions but those asking aren’t stupid. Here’s our simple advice, ask as many questions as possible. 

Tip 2: Be meticulous with your notes

The organization is very important when you are planning to make a custom packaging order. Taking notes meticulously will keep you very organized. 

To this end, you have to record each phone or email conversation with your custom packaging vendor. Ensure that you write down everything you discuss as much as you can remember. Science tells us that when you write a thing down, you will hardly forget it.

Doing this can make any packaging vendor the best packaging vendor for you. This is because you have clear records of your discussions, including answers to your funniest questions.

You should go beyond recording what you said to the recording when you said it. Specific times and dates should be recorded along with each conversation. 

Finally, on taking meticulous notes, write down the description of the different versions of your artwork. Write down the name of each of these artwork variants along with the descriptions. State the dates when each description was given. Don’t leave out any details as they will be important in the nearest future.

Tip 3: Understand the best practice conventions for vendor packaging 

Each industry is not void of its own set of phrases and specialty terms, the packaging industry isn’t different. If you have no idea about these jargons and specialty terms, it becomes difficult to communicate efficiently in the industry.

So whether you are discussing with a designer, pressman, broker, or the prepress department, this is very important. It is not necessary to become a specialist in the industry so you don’t have to learn their job. 

What you need to know is what an informed buyer should know. Examples of what you should know to include the processes of printing used for packaging, coating types, box measurements, etc. It will even help you to know the process of making a box, you will have a huge advantage with this. 

You can most of this on the internet. We all know that power is embedded in knowledge and this power will save you money, time, and effort.

Tip 4: Compromise and negotiation

Here’s a simple fact that you would agree with. Everyone wants only our preferences at the exact time when we need them, and at the exact amount, we can pay. One way to get this is a negotiation which is a very important aspect of conducting business transactions.

Both buyer and seller must be able to come to a compromise across the table of negotiation. If one part is obstinate, it is very possible the sale would not take place. For you as the buyer making a custom packaging order, you must be ready to make a compromise.

The seller may not have exactly what you want, instead, he may present you with a close substitute. It is also possible that this close substitute would be slightly higher than your original budget. Rather than walk away, it would be wise to consider your options and see if you can compromise or negotiate.

A lot of experience is needed when dealing with a custom packaging vendor. This way you can state the specifics of your order and be able to discuss the prices. Part of your responsibility at this point is to be able to negotiate prices reasonably to satisfy both parties.

This point will you get the best packaging vendor for your order.

Tip 5: Be responsive

Most times, we blame the vendors for not responding promptly to inquiries or concerns. Even though this might be true in some cases, there is also a part you should play.

You should also be able to respond to emails and calls from vendors. There are times that the vendor wants to make a few clarifications about the order and they need much from you. Most clients end up taking days to weeks to respond to such inquiries.

Naturally, you should respond to inquiries from the vendor within hours or at least the next day. If it is longer than this, you may experience challenges with the production process. This could even lead to termination of the contract and delays in delivery.

It wouldn’t go down well with both vendors and buyers if there is a lack of responsiveness on any sides.

Conclusion

Now you know that it is easy to make your vendor the best packaging vendor for your business. We have shown you how to make your custom packaging order and deal with your custom packaging vendor. If you have any other tips, share them with Zigpac in the comments section.