September 2018

Incognito® eCommerce (E-commerce) Packaging

24/09

Incognito® is one of the most influential brands of bespoke printed eCommerce Packaging. Our fantastic design ideas coupled with inside printing makes the Incognito® brand an innovative eCommerce packaging concept for online shops and e-commerce stores.

Here at Datec Packaging we’ve been helping our customers with boxes for e-commerce for over 15 years! So we know what it’s all about. Our experience in many different areas of packaging for different products has allowed us to bring together a comprehensive range of eCommerce Packaging. Our range creates that WOW unboxing experience for not just the premium brands but at a pricing level which includes even the low-cost budget brands.

ecommerce packaging

What is E-Commerce Packaging?

E-commerce packaging is packaging which has been optimised for use by e-commerce stores and online shops. In recent years online shoppers have started to expect more than just a brown box with a bit of packing material. They now expect an unboxing experience.

The perfect e-commerce packaging starts with a brown box, yes seriously! Keeping the outside plain brown and understated increases security through the courier network and keeps your customer in suspense. Next up is a nice easy tear open strip. This is so they don’t have to run through to the kitchen and get a kitchen knife or pair of scissors to open your parcel. Then they open your e-commerce box and WOW…the inside is a nice clean white or a blaze of colour showing off your brand pattern or logo. And there’s a message saying thanks and prompting them to share their purchase on social media.

But it doesn’t stop there…inside the box they find a few sheets of bespoke printed tissue paper hiding their new purchase from view. This further increases that suspense that has been building up all this time. Under the tissue are a selection of cards and booklets saying thank you and suggesting other products that they could buy. It’s no wonder most e-commerce stores are looking to e-commerce packaging to make the difference to their whole brand perception and make that special link in an otherwise intangible transaction.

How Tufpac® eCommerce Packaging is Helping Many Online Stores Succeed

If you are an e-commerce operations manager and have been given the task of packaging and shipping online orders for an eCommerce operation we are very sympathetic. We have learnt the hard way that developing a great eCommerce packaging solution is not easy. That’s why we developed the Tufpac® brand. It’s a brand name that is making those difficult e-commerce packaging situations a lot more manageable.

Tufpac® began its life in a simple range of book mailers. From there it has grown to umbrella a further 4 brand names each focusing on their specific areas of eCommerce Packaging.

Tufpac® Book Wraps

15 years ago we started a selection of twistwrap book wraps that we sold to online book shops throughout the UK. We had 3 sizes which had a variable length and depth design and as a result fitted most book sizes snugly. From there the range developed into 7 different sizes and we added a peel & seal closure strip so our customers could conveniently seal their parcels.

It wasn’t long before our versatile Tufpac® book wraps became recognised as a great solution for ecommerce stores where packaging needed to be fast to boost throughput. Since then book wraps have been used by many online stores up and down the country for sending a whole selection of different items.

The Tufpac® book wrap range has grown to include 3 different styles and quality grades to cover a wide range of applications whether you need a cost effective mailing solution or a high performance mailer for high value goods.

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Tuftwist® eCommerce Mailers

It was particularly our twist style mailer range that grew in popularity with the ecommerce market. The extra security provided by sealing the internal flaps meant that these mailers could be used to send higher value items, opening the doors particularly to the electronics markets. The multi-length and multi-depth properties of a twist style mailer means that the products being packed are hugged tightly so they can’t move around in transit. This in turn completely removes the need to use extra voidfill packaging, making them more cost-effective and much faster to pack.

Now we’ve rebranded our popular twistwrap style book wraps as Tuftwist® and we stock thousands of these mailers ready for next day despatch to a wide range of online stores and book shops up and down the UK.

Incognito® eCommerce Packaging

With boutiques and premium retail brands going online we needed a special solution that would impress their customers. We put our heads together and developed the Incognito® range of ecommerce packaging. Incognito® ecommerce packaging has a plain brown outside with custom print and colours on the inside making an impressive box opening experience.

The Incognito® range very quickly gained popularity with retail brands and boutiques as it set them apart from their competitors and gave them the ability to entwine their brand with the delivery of their products and complete the premium buying experience. Recently Incognito® ecommerce packaging has developed and is now available in a range of different styles and quality levels to provide WOW packaging for both premium and budget brands alike.

Create Your Own Branded eCommerce Boxes >>

SpeedBuild™ E-commerce Packaging

SpeedBuild™ e-commerce packaging was born through the need for high speed packaging for e-commerce. As established brands moved towards multi-channel sales they needed more flexible packaging methods to keep pace with their online sales. The peaks and troughs that are accentuated by online shopping and the introduction of Black Friday and Cyber Monday were causing significant problems in the despatch operations of many ecommerce stores.

To help ease the bottleneck caused by order packing we developed innovative solutions that slashed packing speed down to just a few seconds. By utilising crashlock base styles and multi-corner gluing systems coupled with the renowned Tufpac® peel & seal closure strips we have produced a range of cardboard packaging that significantly decreases order packing for many different types of online orders. With focus on shaving the last few seconds off a packing process, we are proud to produce some of the fastest packaging designs on the market.

Create Your Own Branded eCommerce Boxes >>

RinoHide™ E-commerce Boxes

Super tough and strong E-commerce boxes manufactured to take on the toughest jobs. If you need heavy items transporting in safety and security you need RinoHide™. With cardboard grades matching plywood strengths we have one of the strongest ranges of cardboard boxes on the UK market.

eCommerce Packaging Solutions

As you can see we’ve been developing a lot of different solutions for the eCommerce packaging market. All our designs are customer driven and designed to solve a particular problem that has evolved with the increase in popularity for online buying. Many ecommerce packing operations are over-spending or spending in the wrong places. We’ve recognised this and used our knowledge and skill to help operation managers throughout the UK pack smarter and more cost-effectively with a range of innovative eCommerce Packaging Solutions.

Create Your Own Branded eCommerce Boxes >>

Custom Branded Packaging for Online Retailers

As an online retailer you want to build brand loyalty, so that once a customer has found you they return to buy from you again and again. As well keeping your customers coming back to you, wouldn’t it be great if they were to tell their friends what a great shopping experience and customer service you provide. These recommendations and referrals are an important source of new business.

So how do we encourage repeat online orders and referrals?

The skill to encouraging repeat orders and getting your customers to spread the word about your brand is to give them a fantastic buying experience with your store. With brick and mortar stores we can create an atmosphere and give them a great instore experience but when it comes to online retail you need to turn to custom branded packaging.

The Importance of Brand Packaging

Packaging that reflects your brand creates a tangible link with the online buying experience that your customer had with your store when they placed their order. Up until the point your customer receives their parcel the buying experience has been virtual. There’s the website that they placed their order on, the confirmation emails, and the delivery tracking emails, they are all virtual. But as humans we need tangible confirmation. That’s why the physical delivery of the order itself can make or break your customers’ perception of your store.

Branded packaging bridges the gap and links the virtual buying experience with the physical delivery of the order. By creating a seamless transition between the virtual and tangible experiences you will strengthen and endorse your online brand. In contrast, if the physical delivery of the product comes in plain packaging that doesn’t link at all with the online brand the experience becomes disjointed. This could even sow doubt in your customers mind about the genuineness of your online store and increase the perception of risk. By dislocating the tangible experience and the virtual online experience the two become almost two separate companies with very little brand connection. In this instance your new customer is a lot less likely to recommend or refer your brand to their friends, and worst of all they may choose another store next time.

Custom Printed Boxes – Wow Your Customer

Innovative new products for the online retail market such as Incognito® packaging are creating custom printed boxes that not only look good but really WOW your customer. Let your imagination go beyond just printing your logo, there are other opportunities like adding in your catchy strapline, or asking them to share their new purchase with their friends on social media, and plenty of space to add in your social media links and brand pattern too. Adding custom print to your boxes creates so many opportunities for engaging your customer and increasing the perception of your brand it is a very cost-effective marketing tool.

What are Incognito® eCommerce Boxes? – Incognito® printed eCommerce boxes are an innovative brand of boxes that create that special WOW feeling when your customers open their parcel. Incognito® true to its name keeps your boxes plain on the outside but when your customer opens the box they are greeted with a blaze of colour. By printing the inside of the box you can create a much more exciting and unique unboxing experience, and it will be much easier for your customer to share a photo of your products and the box on social media. With just one snap your brand, your products, and your social media and website address can be shared.

In this modern world of automation, the courier systems are mostly automated which means that print on the outside only actually gets seen by 2 or maybe 3 people on its trip to your customer. With print on the inside however, although you can’t see it until the box is opened, your customer is quite likely to share a photo of their new delivery on social media with the lid open and all the contents neatly arranged, and so reaching far more people than the courier system. In short, with print on the outside the courier men will see it but will probably be too busy to notice, but with print on the inside when a photo gets shared on social media your branding will reach your customers friends, relatives and connections.

Custom printed boxes may not be as expensive as you think. With new short run printing options being developed for printing on to stock boxes and reducing setup costs bespoke box printing is coming well within the reach of most online retail stores.

Custom Packaging for Online Shops

It’s not just boxes that can be printed, we do a whole range of custom packaging for online shops. Custom packaging like tissue paper can be coupled with printed boxes to really give your online shop brand extra punch.
Custom Tissue Paper: Great for wrapping your products individually into their own special parcels, custom printed tissue paper boosts your brand to a professional level and puts you on a par with the most established online stores.

- Custom Printed Ribbon: Tie each bundle of products with printed ribbon to make your customer feel like they are receiving a present.
- Custom Printed Paper Tape: Seal your boxes with custom printed paper tape for that ultimate environmentally friendly look coupled with professional branding.
- Custom Stickers & Tags: You can use custom stickers on the outside for sealing your boxes as well as securing wrapping paper inside your boxes

Bespoke Packaging Boxes

You can do much more than just print your packaging boxes! Tufpac® bespoke packaging boxes can be specially designed to make your online deliveries extra special and unique. Designs that make up into different shapes like triangular or octagonal boxes, adding cut-out shapes and windows, and using special opening and closing techniques, can make your boxes really stand out from the crowd.

Bespoke packaging boxes can also help you solve problems like breakages and increasing the environmentally friendly aspect of your packaging. Designing your box so it can be made into something else like a model or game keeps your customers engaged with your brand for longer and gives them more reasons to share your brand on social media.

The Official Home of Tufpac® Postal Packaging & Tufpac® Book Wraps

Welcome to the official home of Tufpac® a leading Uk brand in Book Wraps and Tufpac® Postal Packaging. Here at Datec Packaging we manufacture and distribute the Tufpac® range to distributors, fulfilment stores, and high volume users throughout the UK and Ireland.

How Tufpac® Packaging Was Born

Hand in hand with the boom of online stores and ecommerce has come a new shift in types of packaging, 20 years ago a standard brown box was enough, we didn’t have to use the courier service that much, our customers walked into our brick and mortar stores and bought our stuff, it was easy. Then ecommerce came along and we had to start sending our products out to customers, the standard box was fine to start with but then we started to realise our customers couldn’t open our boxes easily, the standard box was time consuming to pack and often needed extra voidfill to pack it out…

…That’s when Tufpac® stepped in…

Right from our humble roots back in 1997 we’ve been forging a new standard of quality and customer service that sets us apart as one of the most preferred suppliers of Corrugated Postal Packaging and Book Wrap Mailers in the Uk. It’s not just our next day delivery service or quality level, but it’s the energy and enthusiasm with which we deliver, the inbuilt passion for postal packaging that drives us to create something new and special, the integrity with which we hold to our promises, and our humility and sincerity in accepting and righting our mistakes if ever we make one.

THE TUFPAC® RANGE

Within the Tufpac® range are a selection of Book Wraps, Postal Wraps, and Postal Boxes aimed at reducing your packing speed down to the absolute minimum. We are constantly updating our flagship products and inventing new ideas that improve packing flow and reduce the number of ‘touch points’ needed for packing a parcel.

Interested in Becoming a TUFPAC® Distributor?

TUFPAC® for Packaging Distributors

Our core customer base is a range of packaging distributors and office supplies distributors who stock and supply our Tufpac® product range. We hold large stocks and offer fast next day delivery to you or direct to your customer helping you to maintain optimum efficiency and offer a great service to your customers. Become a distributor today – Call one of our Packaging Specialists: 02476 611234.

TUFPAC® for Fulfilment Stores and Mailing Houses

We understand the importance of reliable delivery times, that’s why we are preferred postal packaging suppliers to many fulfilment stores and mailing houses. When you need one off volume for a mailing job or regular month on month supplies you can trust the Tufpac® brand to deliver on time and in full on a fast next day delivery turnaround. Find out more by speaking to one of our Packaging Specialists: 02476 611234.

TUFPAC® for High Volume eCommerce Stores

As the high speed and good protection levels of our Tufpac® range are being realised amongst the ecommerce market we are helping to support large online stores with new and innovative products. Bespoke requirements are becoming the norm and we are establishing our name as a flexible and innovative ecommerce packaging supplier. Need us to help? Talk to a Packaging Specialist today: 02476 611234.

Why Ignoring Ultra-Fast Packaging Can Break Your eCommerce Venture

Maximising throughput in an eCommerce venture is absolutely critical to long-term profitability, here we’ll talk you through an example to show this in real figures and explain where and how ultra-fast packaging plays it’s part in getting you there.

As eCommerce has developed we’ve all noticed that it has predominantly led to smaller and more frequent orders. Particularly in the situation where a previously wholesale dominated sales field has migrated to eCommerce and increased it’s end-user customer base. This scenario has presented a crisis for operations managers who were used to running a high order value / lower volume distribution setup, and are now faced with an ever increasing volume of lower value orders that need to be delivered fast.

The eCommerce Order Processing Dilemma

An eCommerce operation in a wholesale dominated company is often shoehorned into a small corner and assigned a small team of pickers and packers. As volume picks up on the eCommerce site this small team and small corner becomes ever more cramped and inadequate. The peaks and troughs common to eCommerce sales are hampered by inflexibility and unscalability.

However, increasing space is rarely an option as the wholesale operation needs as much space as possible to maintain efficient service to a long-standing customer base. This leaves just a few alternatives:

- Relocation of the eCommerce operation: Although an attractive long term solution it takes with it many extra expenses that need to be carefully considered:
  - The initial cost of warehouse purchase or ongoing cost of lease/rent.
  - Cost of additional storage racking and installation/safety inspection etc.
  - The expense and complexities of moving replenishment stock from the wholesale site to the eCommerce site and maintaining a stock buffer.
- Integrating the eCommerce & Wholesale Operation: Integrating the two operations into one single operation helps to relieve the space pressure but becomes impractical in terms of order picking and packing. Consider the following points:
  - You will need a flexible picking operation integrating both forklift and manual picking for small and large orders.
  - Health & Safety issues will increase as forklift and manual picking are combined.
  - Smaller eCommerce orders need manual packing so space will still need to be given to the packing operation.
  - The eCommerce packing operation will need to be scalable to cope with peaks such as the run up to Christmas.

Analysing the True Cost of your Packing Operation

In almost any eCommerce operation the bottleneck is the actual packing of the order. Whereas a large order can take many minutes to pick yet the wrapping of the pallet is automated with a wrapping machine, in eCommerce it is often the packing of the order which is the most time consuming task. This leads to a much larger packing operation.

As a result there is one area that has a significant impact on smaller eCommerce order processing. The packing speed. It is now that the full packing cost needs to be seriously considered because there are many hidden costs that may not be immediately apparent. Take a few moments to consider the following points:

1. When in a peak season do you scale your packing operation as order volume rises? If you do, what is the true extra cost of increasing this? Consider disruption, manager input time, extra man-hours, as well as the fixed costs of extra packing benches & machinery. If you don’t scale your packing operation think about the following points. Are you letting customers down through late delivery times or reduced packing quality at peak season? At low season are you wasting warehouse space and limiting return on investment with inactive packing stations?
2. Have you considered the true return on investment? Many warehouses are over 9 meters high, some over 20 meters. However most packing operations are only 2-3 meters high. As the eCommerce packing operation extends so the amount of inactive and wasted space increases. Yes this can be remedied by a mezzanine but consider the capital investment and disruption costs of installing a mezzanine.
3. What is the true cost of employment? As the packing operation increases so does the number of employees needed to run the packing stations. However the true cost of employment is a lot more than just wages. There are many extra costs such as initial recruitment costs, new employee uniform, manager oversight, sick & holiday pay, as well as indirect costs such as increased health and safety considerations, larger canteen and rest space facilities, more parking & travel considerations.

The Need for eCommerce Packaging Speed

With all the above points in mind it brings us to the question, is there a way of increasing throughput without having to scale up the packing operation?

The answer? Yes.

By using ultra-fast packaging specially designed for an eCommerce packing operation it is not difficult to double your packing bench throughput. Depending on your current packaging design it is possible to increase throughput by 4 times. That means that you can get 4 times the amount of profit through your current packing operation. Here are a few options to consider:

1. SpeedBuild™ Dispatch Carton with Peel & Seal Closure Vs Standard 0201 Carton: Making up & taping a standard 0201 carton ready for filling takes between 15-25 seconds. A SpeedBuild™ design takes just 2 seconds. Packing both cartons takes the same amount of time. Sealing a standard carton takes between 13-23 seconds. A Peel & Seal Closure takes just 5 seconds.
2. SpeedBuild™ Postal Carton with Peel & Seal Closure Vs Standard 0427 Diecut Carton: Making up a standard 0427 diecut ready for filling takes between 20-40 seconds. A SpeedBuild™ design takes just 4 seconds. Packing both cartons takes the same amount of time. Sealing a standard 0427 diecut takes between 13-23 seconds. A Peel & Seal Closure takes just 5 seconds.

As you can see from the examples above there are significant time savings that can be made by using ultra-fast packaging specially designed for eCommerce packing operations. Find out more about our high speed eCommerce packaging.

Why Book Wrap Mailers make the Perfect Packaging for your eCommerce Orders

Book wrap mailers are pretty simple stuff to be fair, they aren’t much to look at, and anyway who gets enthused with a rectangle of cardboard? That is until you realise that these little guys are a great solution to so many eCommerce packaging problems.

Let’s face it, most of us have been a bit caught out by the speed that eCommerce has taken over the retail market. Many operations managers have had to sit down and re-evaluate their approach to packing and sending orders. Here are a few of those questions that they’ve had to ask themselves, and a quick look at how book wraps fit so well as a solution to many of them.

Why Ultra-fast Packaging Matters & How Book Wrap Mailers Help

Many operations managers have come to the realisation that high volume small orders are the order of the day with internet orders. But what many are struggling with is the true cost of packing those orders.

Time is a very important aspect in the packing and dispatching of small orders, it is well know that a figure of at least £15.00 per hour is the true cost of employment. Adding to this the exponential growth in return on investment by increasing throughput (and therefore turnover) without any extra capital expenditure, means the final saving per minute of every 60 seconds is quite considerable.

Book wrap mailers take as little as an amazing 20 seconds to pack, comparing this to a standard carton, which you have to tape the bottom to make it up and again tape the top after filling, makes a book wrap style mailer up to 2-3 minutes faster.

What Makes Book Wrap Mailers so Fast for eCommerce Packaging

There are several points about a book wrap that makes it so fast to pack with, here we explore a few of the best reasons that book wraps are so popular with internet shops packing their online orders.

A Flowing Wrap Cycle: The wrap cycle of a book wrap mailer is a lot simpler than with a carton. Opening the internal flaps can be done in one movement with both hands and opened ready for the item being packed to be placed inside. From there the wrap is simply ‘rolled’ over until the final peel & seal tab is reached ready for the backing to be removed and the pack sealed.

Multi-depth So No Need for Voidfill: The design of a book wrap mailer is super flexible and multi-depth adjustable so all your products are hugged tightly by cardboard leaving no gaps and voids that need to be filled to prevent product migration during transit.

Great Protection so No Need for Extra Padding: Book wrap mailers have a built in crumple zone helping to provide a buffer between your products and the knocks and bashes that the parcel receives on its journey. This buffer means that you don’t need to pre-wrap your products in protective packaging like bubble wrap, saving a lot of time.

Different Types of Book Wrap Mailers

There are many different types of book wrap mailers that each do a different job and pack different products better. Some offer higher protection while some are faster to pack and offer more value for money. Here’s a few of the most popular ones and a short explanation on what situations it is best to use them.

Twistwrap Twist Style Book Wrap Mailers

Twistwrap twist style mailers are great for larger depth mailings because you can secure the internal flaps together. This gives a lot higher security than a standard packaging wrap style. The twist design also turns one set of fluting through 90 degrees giving the added strength and rigidity through cross dimensional fluting. Twistwrap style mailers like the Tuftwist® mailers are a great product for sending out books, toys, games, and a whole range of other online orders.

Amazon Style Wrap Around Book Wrap Mailers

These well design amazon style book wrap mailers are used not only by the giant amazon but many other high volume e-commerce stores for packing and sending online orders at high speed. Amazon style wraps use less packaging than conventional packaging methods so are a great environmentally friendly solution. Use these cardboard mailers as a universal internet order mailer.

Reinforced Wrap Around Style Book Wrap Mailers

Similar to the Amazon style mailer these wrap around style book wrap mailers have reinforced edges to create a much stronger book wrap. Reinforcing the edges gives a sturdier crumple zone and also makes the book wrap mailer more crush resistant. These reinforced wrap around book wrap mailers are the perfect choice for heavier items.

Centre Loading Style Book Wrap Mailers

Centre loading style book wrap mailers are the ultimate for speed and protection. Double layer faces makes these book wraps extra strong and puncture resistant and the centre loading technique is even faster to pack than the amazon book wrap style. This design uses a bit more cardboard so is generally a little more expensive but if performance is what you are looking for then these book wrap mailers are your perfect solution.

So that’s it, a quick summary of book wrap mailers and what makes them a great eCommerce order packaging option.