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The business world is full of “best practices”. A company adopts a best practice because that particular method has proven to lead to a superior result. And the goal in business is to be superior to your competitors, right? An area that has been lacking in best practices is packaging- specifically the creation and management of packaging specifications.
If your company produces a physical product, then your company utilizes packaging. Packaging is what protects your product and communicates key messages to your customers. Whether your company provides the raw packaging material, converts that material, or simply packs the material with your product, the quality of your packaging is solely your responsibility. So what is the best practice for managing packaging specifications? What makes a good quality packaging specification? That is where Specright steps in.
A quality packaging spec should be both comprehensive and accurate. The Specright Platform provides a robust specification template for a variety of packaging commodities. Let’s take a look at the main aspects of how Specright handles packaging specs and how this benefits your company by helping you to improve the quality of your specs:
Specification Detail
Packaging specifications start with the basics. If you are looking for high-level information about your spec, this is the place to look. Each spec has a unique ID number, along with a description, status, owner and more.
This section gives a concise overview of the physical and performance requirements of your package. Designate the dimensions of your package as well layer materials, coatings, material grade, adhesives and perforations. This is the essential information you will be communicating to your current or potential suppliers. The structure detail of our spec is complete with units of measure and tolerances.
Print and Graphics
In most cases, with a package comes artwork. It is important to keep the package and artwork information linked to create efficiency and reduce errors. In this section of your specification all of the essential print information is covered. Does your package have unique printing instructions? We have a section for that too.
Purchasing
When we say we want to make your packaging specs as comprehensive as possible, we mean it. This section highlights who you are getting your material from, how often, and how much the material is costing you. You can also track your inventory levels and average usage. If you need a notification of when you’re running low on a certain box, Specright can help you with an Inventory Level Notification.
While all of the essential details about your packaging are housed in the spec, it is important to include supporting documentation. Typical file attachments include CAD files, technical drawings, artwork and images. However, there is no limit to what and how much you can attach to a spec. The files you attach to your spec can also be shared with current or potential suppliers with our Exchange Tool.
This section gives you the opportunity to designate how your packaging should be protected and secured during shipment. You can input this information for the inbounding of packaging materials as well as the outbounding of your finished product. Say goodbye to loss of money and customer loyalty due to product or package damage during shipment.
A robust specification is great, but it becomes more powerful when it’s linked to a Bill of Materials. The ability to link specifications together or to a product allows you to see the big picture behind your packaging.
At Specright we say out with the old and in with the new. Instead of having multiple revision versions of your specification, we house the “live” version of it that is always accurate and up to date. Any changes to the spec are logged under Specification History. Each log includes who made the change, when the change occurred, and notes or comments related to the change.
With quality packaging specs comes the power to identify and correct errors before they occur. While in the past it may have taken significant time and effort to create and manage accurate packaging specs, it can now be one of your easiest business processes. At Specright we pride ourselves on making your day-to-day operations easier, saving you money, and providing the best practice for managing specifications.
