Materials
Count the boxes, tape, cushioning, labels and other consumables used per shipment. A cheaper material may require more preparation time or more units per carton. Compare cost per completed package, not just cost per roll or box.
Home / Shipping Department Costs
Packaging operations guide
Is Your Shipping Department Costing More Than It Should?
A lower price on boxes, tape or equipment doesn't always mean a lower cost per shipment. The better question is what it costs to pack, seal and send each carton reliably.
Estimate Labor SavingsLook Beyond the Purchase Price
A shipping department is usually treated as a cost center: it uses labor, supplies, floor space and equipment to get orders out the door. But the way those resources are managed can materially affect the company's profitability.
Consider two packing stations. One uses inexpensive supplies but requires workers to hunt for tools, assemble used cartons and apply several strips of tape. The other uses a standardized process and properly selected equipment. The second station may have higher upfront costs yet a lower cost per completed shipment.
The goal isn't to spend more. It's to measure the full cost of the process and spend where the return justifies it.
Five areas to evaluate
Where Shipping Costs Accumulate
Labor
Track the time employees spend locating tools, preparing cartons, dispensing tape, sealing boxes and correcting mistakes. Small delays add up when repeated across hundreds of daily orders.
Opportunity
Storage for salvaged boxes and used void fill consumes valuable space. Bottlenecks before carrier pickup can limit daily output, create overtime or delay orders. The cost depends on what the operation could otherwise accomplish.
Equipment
Evaluate the full ownership cost of dispensers and other equipment: purchase price, maintenance, reliability, consumables and productivity. An inexpensive tool isn't economical if it regularly slows the line, but automation isn't justified at every volume.
Loss and Damage in Transit
Failed seals and inadequate packaging can cause product loss, rework, replacements and customer-service costs. Measure claims and incidents, then investigate whether carton choice, tape selection or application is contributing.
Interactive planning tool
What Is Packing Time Worth?
Estimate the annual labor capacity freed up if a process change saves a few seconds on every carton. Adjust the assumptions to reflect your own shipping operation.
Annual labor hours potentially freed139
Potential annual labor value$3,056
Daily minutes potentially freed33.3
Illustrative estimates only. Results assume the stated time saving is achieved on every carton. The labor value is productive capacity, not guaranteed payroll savings, profit or equipment ROI. Actual financial benefits depend on staffing, throughput and other costs.
Choosing equipment
Match the Investment to the Workload
A business shipping a handful of packages a day may be well served by a manual dispenser. A busy shipping station may benefit from electric measured-length dispensing, more consistent application and less repetitive handling.
Before buying equipment, measure current packing time and materials used, run a small trial where possible, and calculate the payback against purchase and maintenance costs. Improvements should be based on observed results rather than assumed machine speed.
Where Phoenix Tape Dispensers Fit
Phoenix manual and electric water-activated tape dispensers are options for operations sealing corrugated cartons with gummed tape. They feed, moisten and cut tape to a selected length, helping make carton sealing a repeatable task.
The appropriate model depends on packing volume, operator workflow and required features. Read more about why businesses use water-activated tape, or compare the machines below.
Improve Your Carton-Sealing Process
Contact Pro Pack Solutions to discuss Phoenix dispensers for your packing operation.