Are you looking for a trustworthy packaging vendor? If so, you are among many people looking for the same thing.
When entering a relationship with a packaging company, you have a lot to think about. You will want to choose wisely.
When choosing a packaging vendor, you want to choose a packaging company with great customer service, fair prices, excellent logistics, multiple materials, services, machinery options, and reasonable lead times.
And you will want to choose a trustworthy packaging partner. But how do you select a trustworthy packaging vendor?
What are the key elements you need to consider when searching for a packaging vendor you can trust? And, what makes a packaging company trustworthy?
This article will explain the essential items of consideration when looking for a trustworthy packaging vendor. After reading this article, you should have what you need to choose a packaging business that you can trust.
When you go to choose a packaging vendor for your business, there are many things that you need to consider during this process.
You will want to choose a packaging vendor with excellent customer service, knowledgeable sales representatives, certified packaging technicians, and a quality collection of packaging materials and machinery.
You will also want to choose a packaging company that has been in business for many years, with a proven track record of success and a large collection of happy customers.
But the most important dynamic of your chosen packaging vendor should be trust. Suppose you cannot trust your packaging vendor to provide the proper packaging solutions for your needs. In that case, you will have a lousy time doing business with them.
But how do you identify a trustworthy packaging vendor? In the section below, we will explore what you will want to look for when attempting to find a packaging vendor worthy of your trust.
The first step in this process is pretty simple. First, you will want to take a look at a few packaging vendors and read other customers' reviews.
These can be Google reviews or reviews on the company's social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Suppose most reviews are between 3.5 and 5.0 stars and are accompanied by positive customer comments. In that case, it is safe to assume they are a trustworthy packaging vendor.
But, if the majority of the reviews could be better and accompanied by negative comments, it is fair to assume that this is not a packaging vendor you can trust.
After all, if their current customer base does not trust them or has noted many problems, what are the chances they will be any better for your business?
Another way to identify if your packaging vendor is a trustworthy business is to read and review customer testimonials on their website.
Customer testimonials will often offer commentary on various aspects of the packaging vendor you are researching.
This may include details about the vendor's speed, customer service, quality of products, lead times, and other essential company dynamics.
If the packaging vendor you are researching does not have any customer testimonials, this should be regarded as a red flag.
If a packaging company has no current customers singing their praises, what would make you think that your company would?
Customer testimonials are powerful tools that will help you to choose a packaging vendor that is trusted by other businesses and similar companies to your own.
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Truckers are the lifeblood of many businesses. Without truckers, it would be near impossible to ship your products to your customers.
Therefore, it is imperative to choose a packaging vendor that is a preferred shipper and receiver. You may be wondering what a preferred shipper and receiver is.
A preferred shipper and receiver is a company that does an excellent job managing truckers' experiences with your company.
A company that is a preferred shipper and receiver is a business that provides all the necessities a trucker requires to have an easy and enjoyable experience dropping off their loads, picking up their loads, and the overall experience between these two events.
To be a preferred shipper and receiver, you will need to provide several things for the truckers who frequent your business.
These include a dedicated route for the trucker to follow from when they enter your parking lot to when they leave it.
Essential elements of a preferred shipper and receiver include clear and concise signage to help the truckers navigate your business.
You will want clear indications of where your shipping and receiving entrance is. You will also want to ensure your truckers have a nice place to grab a coffee or a donut, use the bathroom and relax for a few minutes.
Additionally, you will want to make sure that your signage features a phone number that goes directly to someone who can answer any questions they may have.
You want to choose a packaging vendor who is a preferred shipper and receiver because truckers will not like to frequent a company if they are not one.
You can quickly identify if a company is a preferred shipper and receiver by reviewing their Google reviews and social media pages as these are places where truckers will commonly rate the business and provide comments on their experiences while at the company.
If the packaging vendor you are considering does not have primarily positive ratings and reviews, they may not be a company you want to do business with.
On the other hand, suppose the packaging vendor has positive reviews from truckers. In that case, this is a good indication that you can trust them with your business.
One of the best ways to determine if a packaging vendor is trustworthy is to talk to that company's current customers.
You can do a few different things to identify current clients to speak with. First, you can review the reviews and testimonials and reach out to those people.
If the customer is willing to give a public testimonial or review, they will likely be open to talking to you about their packaging company.
You can also speak with a representative from the packaging vendor you are considering and ask them for a few contacts from some of their current customers.
If they please their current customers, it should be easy for them to identify a person at one of the companies they do business with that would be willing to talk to you about their experiences.
Once you have identified a few current clients, contact them and ask them if they feel the packaging vendor they use is trustworthy.
Also, remember to ask questions about the quality of that packaging vendor's customer service, packaging services, packaging materials, packaging machinery, technical service, lead times, and any other element of their company that is important to you and the success of your business.
Once you have identified a packaging vendor with primarily positive reviews and comments, it is time to chat with them.
You will want to call their phone number to see if you can talk with a human being. Suppose a packaging vendor has a fully automated phone system that does not allow you to speak with a human being quickly. In that case, this should be seen as a red flag.
How often have you called a business only to be given a long run-around by a fully automated phone system? It's not fun, is it?
Frequently, when one finds themselves in this situation, a robotic voice will ask you to answer questions, yes or no. And, if you are like me and have played this game with an automated phone system, chances are, you have said one thing, and the system identified your response as the opposite.
This only worsens when you are asked to say a person's name or answer a more complicated question. Suppose you are looking for a trustworthy packaging vendor and run into this situation. In that case, you have to ask yourself one question.
Can you trust a robot to assist you with your packaging needs? Do you want to trust a robot? Or would you prefer to speak with a real human being about your needs?
If a packaging company won't allow you to speak with someone, how easy do you think it will be to do business when you have a more complicated project to implement?
In this respect, it is best practice to work with a packaging vendor with a dedicated customer service department headed by an actual human being.
This will allow you to expedite the process and provide you with a real-life contact that can help you choose the proper packaging solution for your business.
And, with such a contact available, you will be able to speak with them as needed. This will allow you to get answers to questions and problems resolved as you work with your packaging vendor to complete your project on time.
If you cannot even speak with a human being to explain what you are looking for, how do you think things will go if you have an urgent need?
When looking for a trustworthy packaging company, you will want to ensure you have a human being working with you to accomplish your goals.
When you are looking for a packaging vendor to partner with for your packaging projects, there are a few different options to choose from.
Below, we will review some of these options to help you identify which type of packaging company best suits your needs.
Many companies trust a packaging distributor as their chosen packaging company. This is because most distributors are brand agnostic.
This means that they sell many different brands of packaging materials and machinery. This allows them to help you choose the best brand of packaging materials and machinery for your specific needs.
Packaging distributors often have knowledgeable sales representatives trained in various brands of packaging materials and machinery.
As such, they can help you choose the packaging items that are best suited for your business. That said, a packaging distributor's pricing may or may not be higher than the pricing you will find with a packaging manufacturer.
But, while you may pay a little more for the products you buy, you will likely receive many value-added elements such as special deals, rebates, and other cost-saving opportunities that will justify the investment and save you money in the long run.
And, as packaging distributors sell multiple brands of packaging materials and machinery, they will be able to help you choose a brand of packaging supplies that are best suited to your budget and additional requirements.
Another popular option for many companies is to buy directly from a packaging manufacturer. Packaging manufacturers are usually the most knowledgeable about the products they sell, as they are also the company producing those same products.
In this respect, you can be sure that you will be getting a packaging representative who is a thought leader on the products they sell.
And, as you are not using a mediator and going directly to the source, you may get better pricing for the packaging materials and machinery you are looking to purchase.
That said, it is crucial to understand that some manufacturers will not sell directly to the customer.
Suppose this is the case with the brand of packaging machinery or materials that you buy. In that case, you will have to purchase these items from one of the packaging companies in the distribution network used by the manufacturer to sell their goods.
If you are trying to find a trustworthy packaging vendor to buy from, you may want to consider Industrial Packaging as your packaging partner.
But you don't have to take our word for it! By perusing our website, you will be able to find customer testimonials from some of our clients who can speak to the quality of our products and services and our trustworthiness.
You can also speak directly with one of our packaging experts and ask them for the names of clients who use us as their packaging company and would be willing to talk about how well we serve them.