Why your packaging supplier should be a partner in your supply chain
Custom industrial packaging is a service industry, because the packaging is customized to meet a specific application (a set of needs to ship a product to its point of use, and has unique requirements beyond the actual packaging material.) In fact, packaging is only part of "your problem": getting your product to it's point of use, which will require logistics, management, coordination, and other services. Most companies outsource their packaging, either to a supplier or a distributor, because it is not considered a strategic part of a company's value proposition. It is, however, an operational imperative. Ideally, packaging should be part of the new product introduction (NPI) planning process for a company's supply chain, with a goal of reducing complexity, and waste as well as streamlining communications.