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The Value of ERP Tracking Systems in Kitting

Kitting is the process of grouping individual products together to create a bundle of individual yet related items. Kitting and assembly are techniques to manage inventory and meet consumer demands. Kitting individual items with individual SKUs creates one bundled package with a new SKU for easier inventory and sales management.

Detailed material tracking software helps contract kitting and assembly providersto track multiple individual SKUs and ensure full accountability of all customer-supplied material.

Inventory Tracking Software Improves Kitting

Manual inventory tracking software systems are time-consuming and prone to error. Computerized, real-time tracking systems provide immediate access to current inventory data and drastically improve inventory management and sales order delivery times. Kitting and assembly providers that utilize Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software provided advantages to customers with accurate records and improved delivery.

When customers outsource kitting, kitting and assembly providers that utilize detailed tracking systems can scan in customer-supplied components when received and ensure that all components are accounted for in completed kits with detailed bills of material. A bill of material, commonly called a BOM, contains all aspects of materials, components, and labor required to create a final finished product. BOMs are the heart of Material Resource Planning (MRP) software and ensure that companies have all required components on hand to meet sales requirements.

Kitting and assembly providers establish required materials and schedules to meet production demands. ERP systems in kitting are necessary for efficient kitting and assembly operations with a multilevel bill of materials and specifications such as multi-step routing and packaging requirements.

Kitting and Assembly Provider with ERP

Peoria Production Solutions, PPS, is an experienced kitting and assembly provider with more than 80 years in business, helping companies to meet production requirements. We are a fully sustainable, not-for-profit organization committed to helping our customers with high-quality secondary production services such as kitting and assembly, secondary packaging, shrink wrapping, palletizing, and more. We offer a state-of-the-art facility and a trained, technical staff committed to meticulous attention to detail. PPS follows a strict quality policy as part of our ISO9001:2015 certification.

We follow lean production practices and conduct exercises such as Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to improve efficiency and reduce waste. Our ERP system ensures full accountability for all customer-supplied material and provides efficient and accurate record keeping. We utilize powerful automated equipment and follow detailed work instructions with dedicated workstations for customer kitting and assembly processes.

Leading Kitting and Assembly Provider

Peoria Production Solutions, PPS, is a leading kitting and assembly services provider with decades of experience in meeting unique customer packaging specifications. Our large facility allows for a controlled flow of goods with 17 shipping bays dedicated for receiving or shipping to ensure the safe and efficient handling of all incoming and outgoing products. Our ERP system tracks all items in components throughout the entire kitting process.

PPS adds value to the supply chain of many businesses with accurate and efficient kitting and assembly services delivered on time. Our automated equipment and dedicated, skilled staff work together to improve our customers’ product kitting processes and operating efficiencies. Contact us to learn how kitting, and assembly can improve your business operations and for more information on how ERP improves kitting and assembly.

Types of Flexible Packaging

Flexible packaging is increasing in use to replace rigid packaging materials such as corrugated boxes and plastic containers across many market segments for a wide variety of products. Flexible packaging is becoming more common for products being shipped to consumers, items stored in inventory, or packed in off-the-shelf packaging for direct retail sales. This is due to the many advantages that flexible packaging provides to companies and consumers.

Benefits of Flexible Packaging

According to the Flexible Packaging Association, the many advantages are driving product manufacturers to increase usage of flexible packaging, whether looking to increase brand awareness, protect products, or save money. Flexible packaging is lighter weight than other rigid material types, creating a smaller carbon footprint for flex pack manufacturers as well as end-user consumers.

Large rows of bags that can lay flat on a tractor-trailer can ship more product per truckload than boxes with wasted space, saving and transportation costs and fuel. Flex packaging provides benefits to all stakeholders and is also better for the environment. Flex packaging types and various film options provide the product protection necessary with durable yet sustainable options.

Types of Flexible Packaging

Flexible packaging is just as it sounds, flexible rather than rigid. This includes a variety of plastic bag types such as pouches that can stand up, or lay flat, or be designed to hang on a display.

Pouches: Stand-Up, Lay Flat, Hanging – Pouches can be custom designed by the company to display pertinent nutritional information about food items, instructions, or brand marketing messages. The type of packaging material can be designed in various finish options such as a matte or gloss finish, metalized or soft-touch. Flexible bags and pouches can include clouded or transparent windows, allowing consumers to see what’s inside.

Flexible Pouch Features: Stand-up pouches are typically designed to stand out on the shelf, with various features such as tear notches or zip closures, and hanging pouches include holes ready for hanging. Child-resistant features are also available. Pouches designed to lay flat come in a variety of sizes to meet various product needs.

Flexible Packaging Films: There are a variety of flexible packaging films to choose from, such as polyolefin, high-density, and low-density polyethylene, and various other polymers are chosen to meet product requirements. Flexible packaging films can provide moisture resistance, blocking moisture, oxygen, and even odor from exiting or entering the bag. Durable, flexible films can protect a variety of products with tear and puncture-resistant materials to prevent damage in transit and in storage. Flexible bags can be printed on and customized to meet labeling requirements or to improve company brand awareness.

Custom Flexible Packaging Services

Working with an experienced, flexible re-packaging provider delivers even greater benefits to companies in addition to the flex packaging advantages. Peoria Production Solutions, PPS, is an experienced flex packaging provider delivering value-added production solutions for over 80 years. We offer our customers expertise with many secondary packaging solutions, including flex packaging and auto bagging.

PPS offers a large, state-of-the-art facility combined with a highly skilled and trained staff and the capacity to make custom packaging requirements. We utilize automated equipment, including:

• Auto bag filling
• Heat sealing
• Heat tunnels
• Shrink sleeves
• Vertical continuous band sealer
• Hot stamp imprinter

Peoria Production Solutions is a leading contract packaging company providing value-added services to businesses of all sizes, including some of the largest Fortune 100 companies in the country. We follow strict quality policies and lean production practices.

PPS is a leading Midwest contract packager providing a variety of secondary packaging solutions such as flexible packaging, kitting, assembly, wrapping, variety and gift set packaging, and other packaging solutions. Contact us with any questions and learn how to improve your product packaging requirements with an experienced, flexible packaging provider.

Club Store Packaging 101

Club stores like Costco and Sam’s Club enjoy a great customer base of people who love to shop there, with the great deals on so many different products being the main reason. Do you know one of the biggest reasons why club stores can offer such great deals? Specially designed, club store packaging provides many benefits to club stores and shoppers, and allows companies to offer discounted prices.

What Is Club Store Packaging?

Have you ever shopped in Sam’s Club or Costco and noticed the large skids of products scattered about with items ready to go? These club-store packaging displays give you all of the information that you need, with products packaged in ready-to-go packaging. Club store packaging is typically comprised of skids or pallets with point-of-purchase displays ready to unwrap and put on the floor.

Companies that design club store packaging displays need experienced contract packaging providers to package their products in appealing blister packs or clamshell packaging, contained in attractive displays with clear labeling and marketing messages.

Club Store Packaging Requirements

Club stores require packaging that is durable and designed to withstand a fast-paced shipping model. Skids that are easily transported and packaging that can be unwrapped and ready to display quickly are ideal and club stores like Costco and Sam’s Club. While club stores have certain requirements for product packaging for their displays, companies have a lot of leeway with design and getting their marketing message across.

Club stores allow for greater use of flexible packaging in display-ready containers. This is better for the environment with increased sustainability in packaging and display of products. Food packaging products should have all pertinent messages clearly displayed, such as ingredients and expiration dates. The best club store packaging designs provide clear visibility of all products on a pallet from all angles.

Companies that sell their products in club stores often outsource their packaging to a contract packaging company with experience in flexible packaging and point-of-purchase displays.

Contract Packaging Solutions with Cub Store And POP Display Experience

Contract packaging companies with experience in flexible packaging and point-of-purchase (POP) displays provide many benefits to companies such. Companies that distribute their products in club stores can ship all necessary materials to a contract packager with experience in secondary packaging procedures, allowing the company to focus on their niche manufacturing. Partnering with a contract packager allows for increased production and sales, while delivering high-quality products professionally packaged to retail and club-store specifications.

Peoria Production Solutions, PPS, is a leading Midwest contract packaging company, with more than 80 years of experience in a variety of secondary packaging solutions. We offer a large state-of-the-art, modern facility combined with a highly trained, skilled staff committed to total customer satisfaction. PPS provides secondary packaging solutions including:

• • Point-of-purchase (POP) displays
  • Kitting
  • Assembly
  • Club store packaging
  • Blister packs
  • Clamshell packaging
  • Bag and pouch filling
  • Cello wrapping

PPS offers these secondary packaging solutions and many others with experience in a variety of flexible packaging materials and processes. We follow strict quality procedures and lean production practices with training, cross-training, and exercises like value stream mapping to improve productivity and reduce waste. Our >enterprise resource planning (ERP) system provides complete lot code traceability of all customer-supplied material for full accountability.

PPS offers solutions where other contract packagers fail with a fully sustainable, not-for-profit organization committed to our customer success. We provide contract packaging solutions that meet your quality specifications and budgetary goals. Contact us to learn more about improving your club store packaging and display process with an experienced contract packaging company.

What Is the Best Flexible Packaging for My Products?

Flexible films are used to wrap and protect a wide variety of products in industrial and consumer market applications. Flexible packaging films protect product freshness, ensure food safety, and extend shelf life with lightweight protective barriers.

The Benefits of Flexible Packaging Films

There are a wide array of benefits of the use of flexible packaging, such as lighter weight than other packaging media, which allows for shipping more products with less fuel costs. Flexible packaging is a more environmentally friendly type of packaging to produce and use, requiring less energy to manufacture and transport. Flexible packaging generates less greenhouse gases throughout the entire product lifecycle resulting in less consumer waste in landfills.

Considerations When Choosing Flexible Films

An experienced, flexible packaging provider will have the most information to help you evaluate the many considerations when choosing the right flexible film to meet your packaging needs. You will want to consider:

• The type of product you are packaging, including the shape, weight, and dimensions
• The type of packaging required, whether manual or with automated machinery
• The product’s function and packaging requirements such as freshness, barriers to moisture and/or oxygen, or tamper-resistant
• The product’s lifecycle including future handling, storage, environmental exposure, and shelf-ready display requirements

Which Flexible Film Type Is Best for My Product?

When a flexible film is determined to be the desired flexible packaging choice, there are a variety of options to choose from. Some of the most common flexible films include:

• Polyolefin (POF)
• High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
• Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
• Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE)
• Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE)

Polyolefin (POF)

Polyolefin is a versatile, durable material and is FDA approved for food safety. POF provides incredible strength and resistance to punctures, making POF ideal for odd-shaped products. POF shrink film is 100% recyclable and is used to protect many common products such as food items, candy, books, games, toys, retail items and consumer products.

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

HDPE is a polyethylene type of thermoplastic produced from petroleum. HDPE provides a high strength-to-density ratio and is used to produce things like plastic bottles, milk jugs, construction materials and corrosion-resistant piping. HDPE is quite versatile and recyclable in both flexible bag form and rigid container form. Examples include plastic bags used as cereal box liners, and thin plastic bags found in the produce section or used as bread wrappers. HDPE is also used as a stretch wrapping packaging for bundling and provides breathability to products with convenience on a large roll.

Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)

LDPE is similar to HDPE, although with a lower density, which means it has less mass when comparing volume. LDPE is resistant to chemicals, moisture, and impact and is also recyclable. LDPE is ideal in products such as container lids, caps, bottles, flexible cable and wire applications, and in processes where heat sealing is required.

Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE)

LLDPE is one of the most commonly used flexible films used in flexible packaging, providing the greatest flexibility of all polyethylene films. LLDPE is a mixed form of LDPE with greater conformability ideal for stretching and greater strength. LLDPE does not shrink like other flexible films and can protect heavy loads in transit, providing greater protection than typical shrink wrapping films. LLDPE is commonly used in palletizing applications.

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE)

PET is recognized as a lightweight, flexible and strong material that is also recyclable. PET has common uses in plastic bottles for beverages such as water, juice, sports drinks and more. PET is often used in injection molded products, including jars and microwavable food trays.

To help determine the best type of flexible film for your flexible packaging requirements, contact a contract packager like Peoria Production Solutions, PPS.

PPS offers more than 80 years of experience in providing high-quality contract packaging services to some of the largest companies in the country. We meet the requirements of businesses large and small with a large modern facility and a dedicated, highly skilled and trained staff. Contact us to learn more when choosing your flexible film and for high-quality, cost-efficient flexible packaging solutions.

Shrink Wrapping Retail Products

Shrink wrapping is one of the best types of secondary packaging that provides many benefits to a wide variety of products. Shrink wrapping protects items with a tight seal while still providing clear visibility for brand awareness and marketing messages. Shrink wrapping provides an upscale, polished look to many products and is a cost-effective way to maintain the integrity and appearance of items on the shelves.

What Is Shrink Wrapping?

Shrink wrapping is enclosing items in a plastic film which is then exposed to heat and shrinks to form around the item. PVC and polyolefin are two common materials used in the shrink-wrapping process, although other materials exist as well. The material that best suits your shrink-wrapping project is mainly determined by the level of protection your items need.

When choosing the best shrink-wrapped material for your process, companies should consider the following factors:

• The conditions your items are exposed to during transportation and storage
• The shape and weight of products and if any sharp edges will puncture the shrink wrap
• The amount of time products are on the shelf or in storage
• The desired final appearance of shrink-wrapped products

Options for Shrink Wrapping Retail Products

Two popular options for shrink wrapping products include cello wrap and multipacks. Cello wrap encloses items in a clear cellophane wrapping which is efficient for high-volume production runs. Clear cello wrap is available in different thicknesses with varying levels of protection to meet industry and shelf life requirements. Cello wrap is also easy to print on, allowing for customization with marketing, product warnings or usage instructions.

Shrink Wrapping for Multi-Packs

Shrink wrapping is common when creating multipacks for bundled items, 28 items typically sold together are easier to purchase. Multipacks are often used for gift items or to increase the perceived value of products. Shrink-wrapped bundled products can be placed directly on shelves already in attractive packaging.

Common Shrink-Wrapped Products

Shrink wrapping provides packaging solutions to a variety of industries and products with protective, attractive packaging that is easily customizable. Some of the most common types of shrink-wrapped products include:

• DVDs and CDs
• Cosmetics
• Boardgames
• Books
• Posters
• Software
• Candy
• Calendars
• Picture frames
• Office supplies
• Consumer electronics
• Twin packs of items including aerosols

These are all examples of some of the numerous items that are shrink-wrapped for product protection and added consumer appeal.

Vendor Considerations for Shrink Wrapping Projects

When evaluating your outsourcing shrink wrapping needs, you will want to consider some important factors:

• The overall package size to be shrink-wrapped
• The volume of your production run
• Final packing specifications
• Lead times
• Shrink wrapping experience and equipment

Contract packaging providers offering shrink wrapping services should have experience in shrink wrapping with the automated equipment and staff to meet your volume and lead time requirements.

PPS Offers Contract Packaging and Shrink Wrapping

Peoria Production Solutions, PPS, is a leading contract packaging company with more than 80 years of experience, offering various flexible packaging solutions including shrink wrapping. PPS provides high-quality packaging and wrapping services with the capacity and staff to meet your lead time and production volume requirements. As a not-for-profit packaging company, PPS offers high-quality packaging services that meet your production and budgetary goals.

PPS is an experienced contract packager providing high-quality packaging services following strict quality procedures as part of our ISO9001:2015 registration. We provide production solutions with quick turnaround time allowing customers to focus on their niche manufacturing with worry-free packaging they can rely on. Contact us to learn more about our secondary and flexible packaging solutions, including shrink wrapping.