It’s tricky to protect signs and retail store fixtures in shipping, so they are often packed in heavy wood crates or wood boxes on pallets. Heavy-duty corrugated boxes with foam or bubble inside for cushioning are frequently unreliable and take too long to pack. An option, but not a usable solution. Wouldn’t it be ideal if there were a reliable, light-weight, easy-to-use, and more sustainable solution that would withstand the stresses of shipping? Let’s peel back the challenging layers of shipping signs and store fixtures as well as showcase how Ecorrcrate corrugated crate solutions are a better fit in this challenging environment.
Why has Wood Been the Go-To?
If you ask a sign or store fixture manufacturer why they ship in wood crates and boxes, they will often say that it is what they have always done. Wood-based shippers are proven to be reliable; and some may believe they are foolproof. If you find a shipping manager that has been working in the industry for many years, they may share a story about how they tried another idea 20 years ago and it didn’t work. What they mean to say is that the alternate methods available 20 years ago did not protect the products from damage and until recently there has not been anything available as an effective alternative to wood shippers.
The Goal: Perfect Condition
The first and most important goal is to get the product to the destination in perfect condition. Rework is unacceptable. If a sign or fixture is damaged in shipping, it’s trashed and has to be remade, causing delays in time-sensitive installations. Imagine a store grand-opening with no sign on the building, cabinets missing, and a darkened entry because of missing light fixtures.
Perfect arrival also means taking extreme care in unpacking. When using tools on hard and unforgiving packaging materials, damage can easily occur.
Time is Money
The second consideration is critical as well. Speed of packing. Being able to quickly and reliably pack is essential. It is common for multiple items to be packed in the same container where the products must be separated, stabilized, and immobilized to avoid damage in transit. Multi-packing into the final wood shipper is fairly simple, but it often requires a fair amount of extra packing of the individual items. This requires more time and more money. Also, if high levels of moisture resistance are required, it takes even more time and materials to provide adequate protection. The contents inside Ecorrcrates are protected by Ecorrshield, a proprietary water-resistant layer, eliminating the need for additional packing time and materials.
Loading these wood shippers into a truck with a forklift is also reasonably quick. However, wood shippers are heavy and not easily maneuvered via pallet jack. This poses some particular challenges on the receiving end that will become more evident later in this blog.
Money is Money
The third factor is cubing the load which directly impacts shipping costs. Being able to efficiently load a truck is in direct proportion to shipping costs. If the shipping unit is odd-shaped or is not structurally sound, it cannot be stacked and will cost more to ship. Freight rates are at an all-time high, so costs can quickly spiral out of control. Experienced shipping managers know that stacking wood crates in a truck is not ideal, so they will opt for the higher do-not-stack rates to avoid potential damage from catastrophic failure of the wood shipper.
Receiving Department – Where is it?
The fourth concern is the one no one wants to talk about. New Signs and Store Fixtures are most often shipped into grocery and retail stores, office buildings, and other limited-access areas. Located on busy streets and in strip centers with busy parking lots and limited or hard to find access, the containers are delivered to the sidewalk and need to be moved quickly so as not to create a hazard. Then they need to be unpacked quickly. And finally, the packaging must be removed quickly from the premises. Add roof-down installation to the equation and it gets even more complicated. The entire process is nerve-wracking:
– Moving heavy objects through narrow doorways, often with glass doors, must be done with a pallet jack. Use of a forklift is rarely an option unless it’s a roof-down installation.
– Unpacking the items from wood crates and boxes requires the use of metal pull bars, screw drivers, and hammers. This is not ideal in sensitive environments with breakable products.
– When the signs and fixtures are unpacked, the packaging must be removed and is often thrown in a dumpster. The dumpster fills quickly with large and heavy pieces of splintered wood and secondary packaging materials. Getting these materials down from a rooftop is dangerous even for the most experienced material handler.
Ecorrcrate Eliminates All Concerns
So why are Ecorrcrate corrugated crate solutions a better fit in this challenging environment?
Ecorrcrates are:
- Durable. You can rely on Ecorrcrates to increase the likelihood that your items will arrive safely and intact. The triple protection of stability, cushioning, and water resistance will help ensure your product arrives ready to install.
- Fast. A few well-placed dividers made from Ecorrboard will reduce or eliminate the need for non-sustainable secondary packaging. It will also increase your packaging speed and lower your material and process costs.
- Easy to move with a pallet jack. Ecorrcrate corrugated crates are up to 75% lighter than comparable wood crates, making them much easier to move around. In addition, it allows you to cut handling time and incidental damage risk, all while increasing productivity.
- Easy to load and stack in a truck. Ecorrcrates are easily stackable. Better load density through stacking and the lighter weight will lower your freight costs.
- Cut & Done. Cut the straps with scissors and you are done with tools! No hammers, screw drivers, or metal pull bars needed. Ecorrcrates are modular. Each piece – the top, sides, and ends, are quickly and easily removed one piece at a time, saving you time and money.
- Simple Recycling. Ecorrcrates with Ecorrboard inserts are easily recycled in your standard corrugated recycle system. No need to fill the dumpster and add to landfill overuse. This also greatly minimizes the dangers of rooftop disposal.
What We Know
Ecorrcrates are a better solution for shipping signs and store fixtures. They are reliable, easy-to-use, light weight, and sustainable. Ecorrcrates are unlikely to cause incidental damage to products, people, or surrounding structures. You will reduce the amount of material needed to effectively pack and ship. How does it sound to have less stress by using Ecorrcrate in cramped work spaces? Ultimately, you will feel relieved through taking control of your environment when you can put your shipper into the recycle stream rather than in the landfill. And best of all, you will save money using Ecorrcrate. Learn more on our Industries page.
Now, all you need to do is give us a call or click on contact at the top right to find out more about using Ecorrcrate for your next sign or store fixture shipment.