Is your supply chain stifling sales? How logistics and storage drive success

When businesses look for ways to improve profitability, the conversation often centres around increasing sales, reducing production costs or improving productivity. However, one of the biggest opportunities for improving efficiency can be your supply chain.

Packaging may seem like a small part of your operation, but if it isn't managed effectively, it can have a big impact on warehouse capacity, cash flow, production planning and even customer satisfaction. And ultimately, an inefficient supply chain can mean your product may not end up on the shelf! 

By working with a supplier that offers manufacturing, storage and logistics as one seamless service, businesses can unlock more efficiencies and business benefits.

Why? 

• Customer demand fluctuates and businesses need suppliers who can respond quickly.
• A logistics operation that can hold stock and deliver precisely when required removes unnecessary pressure. 
• Rather than managing multiple deliveries from different suppliers, you have one trusted packaging partner managing inventory and coordinating deliveries around your business.

It's a simpler, more efficient way of working. 

Supply chain efficiency matters

Do customers expect carton packaging suppliers to be able to manage the whole process? Generally, yes!

At Kingston Carton, our end-to-end service is designed to help customers streamline their supply chains by combining expert carton manufacturing with secure warehousing, inventory management and scheduled deliveries tailored to production requirements.

This can help businesses:

• Reduce the amount of packaging stock they need to store in their own business (if at all)
• Respond more quickly to changes in demand
• Reduce the risk of packaging becoming damaged 
• Simplify purchasing and administration

“More and more, we are seeing customers come to us asking for the full process from design through to delivery being managed,” says Rob Fish, part of the Kingston Carton team responsible for costing; pricing every stage of getting a carton made, including construction, materials, ink, packaging requirements, logistics and more.

That demand reflects a wider shift in the packaging industry. Businesses increasingly want suppliers that can take responsibility for more of the process.

“Customers just don’t have time to think about it all and they want to partner with a business which can do it all, and do it well,” Rob adds. 

“We go through periods where we get a lot of urgent jobs coming in which mean quick turnaround, including quick delivery. Our end to end process allows this to happen; there’s no third party involved so the process is smoother and simple.”

As part of this offer, Kingston Carton manages the stock for customers, another area which is seeing a growth of demand in the carton packaging industry and something which if done right, has huge benefits to successfully managing a supply chain. 

“For many of our customers, we are able to manage their stock levels, planning ahead three to four months at a time,” Rob adds. “This takes away the stress of the customer having to sort this out themselves and we are finding customers are really appreciating this.”

The result?

• Lower unit costs

• Reduced warehouse congestion

• Improved cash flow planning

• Greater production flexibility

• Less risk of damaged or obsolete stock

Do you have the space to store your carton packaging product? 

Kingston Carton has a 4-acre site in Hull, with the capacity to hold 4,000 pallets of finished cartons for customers. Unlike other carton converters, this bespoke on-site storage facility allows customers to hold their goods with us on a call-off basis.  This provision is a cost-effective solution to organisations wanting to reduce material stock; the business offers comprehensive rates well below those of third-party storage and logistics companies.  In addition, Kingston Carton only stores the cartons manufactured there, so there’s no possibility of cross-contamination from any external goods.the cartons we manufacture, so there’s no possibility of cross-contamination from any external goods.

What will you do with your product once the carton packaging is complete? Space is a customer challenge to be aware of.

“One of the biggest issues for our customers is space,” Rob says. “Of course customers understand that they will need to store their products somewhere, but it isn’t always a simple thing to sort.” 

“For some, there are multiple lines of product throughout the year. The customer might just want one line and it is often seasonal. A product which sells more in the summer; for example, we create carton packaging for a customer who makes breadcakes. These are obviously really popular in the summer as it is BBQ season! Therefore, the customer may decide to increase the order quantity of these for a set period of time so we manufacture large volumes and then hold the stock. This saves the customer having to reorder stock.

“In some cases, companies even delay orders because they simply don't have the capacity to accommodate more stock. It’s important to remember that the supply chain takes into account flexibility, too.”

Simplify Your Supply Chain

Managing multiple suppliers often creates unnecessary complexity. Working with a single supplier that manages every stage of the process simplifies operations.

“We have our own fleet, so total control. Our own drivers and our own vehicles,” Rob says. “This means customers can rely on us as we are managing it all in-house with our own teams.”

Separate companies for design, printing, manufacturing, warehousing and logistics can result in fragmented communication, duplicated administration and slower response times.

Rob adds: “Instead of chasing multiple suppliers, businesses have one point of contact responsible for ensuring packaging is available whenever it's needed.”

Understanding customer challenges

There are some general storage and logistics challenges seen in the carton packaging industry. 

“Some firms simply aren't great at managing their storage and logistics,” says Rob. “You need a specific team to manage this side of the business and not all companies have that. We work with businesses of all different sizes so we see a mix of ways of approaching the carton packaging process.”

Carton packaging expertise is fundamental to customer success. 

“We monitor stock levels, we ensure products go out at the right time; it’s an end to end process with a dedicated, organised and comprehensive approach to getting the job done,” Rob says. 

“Our storage and logistics expertise and capability means we can save customers money; we are more efficient,” says Rob. “For example, we can tell a customer they are running low on a certain product and then recommend running that one and another on the same profile. This makes sense for the customer. Timely and cost efficient.”

Supporting sustainable business

An efficient logistics and supply chain can also support sustainability goals.

Carefully planned production runs reduce unnecessary machine set-ups and material waste, while consolidated deliveries can reduce transport emissions compared with multiple small shipments.

Professional stock management also helps minimise the risk of packaging becoming damaged or obsolete while in storage, reducing avoidable waste.

Combined with responsibly sourced carton board and recyclable materials, an integrated logistics service contributes towards a more efficient and environmentally responsible supply chain.

Give your customer the time and space to focus on their business 

The team at Kingston Carton are confident that an efficient packaging supply chain should make life easier for the customer. It’s important for the customer to have the space and time to focus on their own business, rather than worrying about where their next pallet of cartons is going to be stored or wondering how their cartons will arrive with their own customers on time. 

“We take away unnecessary stress for customers by managing the full supply chain,” says Rob. “It is a huge benefit and we are really proud to be able to offer this.”

Contact us here: 

📧 Sales@kingstoncarton.co.uk
📞 01482 329886