Last year we wrote a post about beating the holiday packaging busy-season rush and ordering in advance for a multitude of reasons and benefits. Many of those same reasons apply again in 2022, although each year is unique in terms of industry and economic challenges, so it’s always beneficial to have a fresh approach at what makes this year different from the last, and the year before, and so on.
This year we have experienced yet another corrugated industry increase, and the effects are still being seen. We’ve also seen a macro economic downturn as inflation continues to soar. Elevated gas prices have led to higher freight costs as well. And staff shortages remain a concern as well.
However, with all of that said, this may be the best time of the year to buy custom holiday packaging. Consider all of the following factors.
Get Ahead of Any (potential) Further Price Increases
We’ve already seen an unprecedented amount of corrugated industry increases in a very short time period, and although nothing is rumored to be on the immediate horizon, it’s certainly a possibility that another increase may be looming. If another increase does happen towards the end of 2022, or is announced for the start of 2023, this will create an enormous challenge for board suppliers, manufacturers and everyone involved during an already busy holiday season, as everyone jockeys to beat the increase. Ordering now does more than lock you in to today’s prices, it also ensures avoiding this potential backlog.
Get Ahead of Higher Gas/Freight Costs
Although we have seen a mild reprieve at the gas pumps the last few weeks, there is no telling if this will last, and it is a near certainty that freight costs will only trend higher as we move towards the holiday season. If you have the storage space and capacity, ordering now and paying to ship pallets of boxes in August or September will likely result in savings by comparison to shipping towards the end of the year.
Avoid Last Minute Design Change Delays
Over just the last few weeks, we have seen a number of customers decide they want to change their artwork just ahead of sending a PO, and in some cases after sending one. This is rather common, and not at all a problem in July when lead times are short and these graphic design decisions can be made stress-free without worry of drastically delaying a project. However, changing artwork before an order in October/November may mean the difference of several weeks of production timeline, as each day on the production calendar is so important, and machine time is limited. Machine time is often reserved months in advance during the busy season. What could be nothing more than a minor speed bump in July, may be a roadblock in November.
Want to know more about custom holiday packaging? Please contact us via the link or phone number below.
Please Contact Us Today
As always, if you have any questions on any of our products or services, one of our branded packaging advisors is standing by to assist, with decades of experience behind them. Please call us at 630-551-1700 or contact us via email at www.SalazarPackaging.com.
Related Posts:
https://www.globeguardproducts.com/industry-experts/dtc-holiday-packaging-head-start/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/2021-holiday-e-commerce-packaging-ho-ho-ho-or-no-no-no/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/faq-for-last-minute-holiday-dtc-packaging-shopping/