Co-packing innovation, sustainability and outsourcing in 2023

It’s exhibition season again and it’s been very satisfying to deep-dive into our industry’s hot topics with like-minded people. Packaging Innovations & Empack in Birmingham (February 2023) was a lively, friendly event. It had so much opportunity for networking that a few deep conversations meant we missed seminars we’d earmarked!

One we did catch was a panel discussion on the benefits of outsourcing to a third party logistics (3PL) partner, which featured Emma Verkaik, Membership & Marketing Director at the BCMPA. As a 3PL company that offers contract packing services, we thought it was an excellent discussion that highlighted the true value of outsourcing this kind of expertise. More about this further down!

Other invigorating conversations around the event centred on innovation and sustainability, sometimes as linked entities – which is perfect, because they clearly walk hand in hand.

Other invigorating conversations around the event centred on innovation and sustainability, sometimes as linked entities – which is perfect, because they clearly walk hand in hand.

First up, let’s look at what working with an experienced 3PL partner brings to the table. If you’ve never outsourced your contract packing, handling & fulfilment, warehousing etc before – buckle up!

(Similarly, if you do outsource your contract packing, but it’s falling short of your expectations – buckle up. You deserve better.)

The value of outsourcing contract packing to a 3PL company

Businesses are under pressure from many directions – the economy, a labour shortage, red tape around exports, fuel surcharges, increased energy costs…

• Running a logistics or fulfilment operation becomes prohibitive in-house under these conditions.
• Even without current economic pressures, sourcing the expertise to run a fulfilment operation in-house is costly, time consuming and potentially prohibitive anyway.

An outsourced 3PL /4PL packing partner will always find better efficiencies and opportunities for added value than an in-house team. Here’s why.

1. We’ve already made the necessary investment

Our investment, and the processes around it, are significant and always-on. The businesses we provide with co-packing services don’t have to make these investments.

• Technology – 3PL packing services have a lot of moving parts. It needs a fulfilment platform that can do the heavy lifting as well as refining the smallest details. This technology is critically important and requires ongoing investment and development. Granby’s fulfilment system is called SCOPe.
• Warehousing – hand-in-hand with tech investment is our evolving warehousing facility and the technology that supports it. One of the enhancements to SCOPe last year (2022) was to supercharge the built-in warehouse management system. The facilities themselves are well organised and secure.
• People – we’re a people-focused business – employee-owned – and we use our own bank of experienced production staff, who are vetted and trained. This ensures we have the right staff for the job, as well as making sure we can scale or flex the resources and schedules when required.

Our investment, and the processes around it, are significant and always-on. The businesses we provide with co-packing services don’t have to make these investments.

2. We’ve got the processes and paperwork in place

Granby holds many accreditations, including:

• ISO 27001 Data Security
• ISO 14001 Environment Management Systems
• ISO 22301 Business Continuity
• ISO 9001 Quality Management
• ISO 13485 Medical Devices
• Cyber Essentials Plus
• BRCGS Storage and Distribution

We also undertake various audits from organisations like EcoVadis (2021, 2022, 2023) and Intertek (2022).

3 ‘Added value’ lives within the natural flow of experience

Just when we think we’ve seen it all, we get something we haven’t. When this happens, decades of what we’ve learned clicks into action and helps us find a (usually unique) solution.

Our business partners benefit from our failures as well as our successes, our experiments, learnings from the long shots we’ve pulled to save a client’s campaign, all of it. Across every industry, we’re able to share our knowledge, create solutions, with agility and flexibility.

This is added value – our ability to use our experience to secure cost efficiencies, keep a project on track, and deliver what we said we would – or better.

It goes without saying that added value is also present in the quality of the relationships we’ve built over the years and our buying power.

This is added value – our ability to use our experience to secure cost efficiencies, keep a project on track, and deliver what we said we would – or better.

Outsourcing & sustainability innovation in contract packing

At Packaging Innovations & Empack, one exhibitor said: “If one more person mentions sustainability to me, I’m going to scream’. It was a hot topic as we were walking around the exhibition.

In the last 5 years, truth be told, it’s all everyone everywhere has been talking about. It’s possible nobody has actually screamed yet – and here’s why.

The Net Zero challenge

In April 2022, the Plastic Packaging Tax put financial pressure onto businesses across the supply chain. Around the same time, Google Trends shows a peak in interest; over time, this heightened interest has been maintained.

We’ve also had COP26, XR and Insulate Britain creating noise around climate change. More people now know about the Paris Agreement. More brands are acting – creating environmental or carbon policies and, crucially, seeking ways to fulfil them.

In the same year (2022), we published the news of how we’d done extensive R&D into how, as a business in a sector known to be at high risk of impacting the environment – we can:

• Become a carbon zero business
• Help our clients and partners to Net Zero

We banned single use plastics. We shared best practice with the supply chain. We policed supply chain partners to ensure client’s sustainability expectations were met.

We banned single use plastics. We shared best practice with the supply chain. We policed supply chain partners to ensure client’s sustainability expectations were met.

Sustainability needs feed innovation

As documented in our Net Zero update, it took time and money to find the right environmental packaging materials – paper parcel tape, to buy the cardboard shredder that replaced bubble wrap, to source supplies of FSC certified cardboard, and the rest.

What we discovered by networking at Packaging Innovations & Empack was that many other co-packing supply chain businesses are doing (or planning to do) similar things. This isn’t greenwashing or a cynical marketing me-too; they are genuinely upping their game.

• Labels, water based labels are now more widely available, cutting down on plastics and potentially harmful chemicals.
• Branded paper tape, which has always been challenging to find, is now readily available.
• Security tape, which by its nature must be rigid, has also been challenging to source and yet it’s now more readily available.
• Sustainable print management services – partners who have themselves invested in inks, papers and processes that minimise the impact of printed materials.

Emma Verkaik, Membership & Marketing Director at the BCMPA

We touched base with Emma Verkaik after the conference. Emma is Membership & Marketing Director of the BCMPA, which is the Association for Contract Manufacturing, Packing, Fulfilment & Logistics.

“The BCMPA is always pleased to raise the profile of our 200 plus membership and to highlight the value of 3rd party outsourcing to a wider audience,” she said.

“The two BCMPA sponsored panel sessions at the Contract Pack & Fulfilment Exhibition at Packaging Innovations were a great example of how the BCMPA can help to raise awareness to brands, retailers, and startups, of the ways in which contract manufacturers, packers, and fulfilment and logistics companies help them to take their products to market.

“It is always exciting to be able to speak face-to-face to a live audience and discuss innovation, trends, challenges, and the inherent value offered by BCMPA members.”

“The two BCMPA sponsored panel sessions… were a great example … of the ways in which contract manufacturers, packers, and fulfilment and logistics companies help [retailers and brand owners] to take their products to market.”

Emma Verkaik, Membership & Marketing Director at the BCMPA

Do you have a project?

Granby, a UK packaging company with around 70 years of experience, provides end-to-end co-packing services to retail, private business and the public sector.

Check out our case studies for more examples of how we add value and demonstrate innovation and sustainability. Get in touch and talk to us about your project.