When packaging is judged on how it ships
Indiana carries a large share of national distribution activity, and brands operating there tend to think about packaging in terms of cases and pallets rather than only units.
That is a useful discipline, because case efficiency is a real cost that most packaging conversations ignore. A carton an eighth of an inch wider can drop the number that fit a case, which changes the number of cases on a pallet, which changes freight cost on every shipment for the life of the product.
It is also one of the few packaging decisions that is genuinely free to get right, provided it is raised before the guide to packaging die lines rather than after.
Planning the case and the pallet
Seven questions that determine how efficiently your product ships.
- What case dimensions your operation or your accounts standardise on
- How many units fit that case with your carton dimensions, and whether a small change improves it
- Whether an inner pack is needed so cases can be split without opening cartons
- How many cases fit a pallet layer, and how many layers to the maximum height
- Whether pallets are stretch wrapped, strapped or slip sheeted
- What case labelling is required, including any barcode format
- Whether the same case works for both retail accounts and direct fulfilment
The second question is the one worth actually running the numbers on. Occasionally a two millimetre reduction in carton width adds a whole column to the case.
What case efficiency is worth
Freight on packaging and on finished goods is charged on whichever is greater, weight or volume. For lip products, which are light, volume almost always governs.
That means the number of units per pallet is the number that determines your shipping cost per unit, not the weight of the product. A configuration that fits ten percent more units per pallet reduces freight per unit by roughly ten percent on every shipment, permanently.
It is worth an hour of arithmetic at specification stage. Send us your standard case dimensions and pallet constraints with the enquiry and the carton can be proportioned with them in mind, rather than the case being worked out around a carton already committed to. Delivery detail is on our pallet and freight information.
Indiana: common questions
Can carton dimensions affect my freight cost?
Substantially. Lip products are light, so freight is charged on volume rather than weight. The number of units per pallet determines shipping cost per unit, and a small carton dimension change can add a whole column to a case.
Should I send you my case dimensions?
Yes, with the enquiry. The carton can then be proportioned to fit your standard case efficiently, rather than the case being worked out around a carton already committed to. It costs nothing at that stage.
What is an inner pack and do I need one?
A smaller counted bundle inside the shipping case. It lets a distributor split a case without opening individual cartons, which matters when accounts order in quantities smaller than a full case.
Can you pack to a specific pallet pattern?
Yes. Send the pattern, maximum height and whether pallets are stretch wrapped, strapped or slip sheeted. Building it into the production plan costs nothing; repacking finished stock afterwards costs labour and risks damage.
Do you supply case labelling?
Yes, to your specification, including barcode format where an account requires one on the outer case. Send the requirement with the order, since a case barcode discovered at goods-in becomes a repacking job.
Can one case configuration serve retail and direct fulfilment?
Sometimes, but they often want different things: retail accounts want a case count matched to their replenishment, fulfilment centres want efficient pallets. Where they conflict, an inner pack usually resolves it.
Is it worth changing a carton size to improve case fit?
Occasionally, yes. If a two millimetre reduction adds a column to the case, that is a permanent freight saving on every shipment. It is only worth doing before the die line is cut, which is why it should be raised early.
Should I treat this as a local Indiana supplier?
Only in the sense that Indiana deliveries are routine. There is no local address, no local phone number and no local stock, and this page does not claim otherwise.
Lip Boxes has no office, plant, warehouse or held stock in Indiana. Packaging is made to order and shipped to Indiana addresses through a nationwide carrier service. Delivery cost and lead time are quoted per order.
