Original design manufacturers (ODMs) design and manufacture products for a variety of customers. If you're an ODM, working with several brands is great for business but it also comes with a great amount of pressure to consistently deliver for your clients. You’re expected to be reliable and produce products under any circumstance. Selecting the right packaging supplier is crucial to getting more products out the door on time and without damage. Here are the most important questions to ask when searching for a packaging supplier.

What Products Do They Offer?

You might think that working with a variety of suppliers is a benefit to source different packaging materials but it’s a huge risk to your operation. Not only does it complicate your internal supply chain, but it also makes it harder to control costs and consistently source quality packaging materials that meet your design and quality standards.

Simplify your operation by working with one supplier who offers a full range of packaging solutions and who will work with you to find the best mix of solutions for each SKU you need to ship. A vertically integrated supplier who also manufactures its own materials can help ensure quality products every time. And as your business changes and grows to work with new brands or products, it’s important to work with a supplier who can serve your evolving needs with different packaging. 

Do They Have Proven Expertise?

You work hard to create designs that meet your customers’ goals and your standards. And once your customer signs off on the design, it’s your reputation on the line.  Any damage, no matter how small, can reflect negatively on the brand owner and jeopardize your relationship.

Every SKU and shipping journey is unique and your packaging should reflect that. Present package designs that are proven to prevent damage and keep your customers loyal to you. Validating your designs by a packaging expert will ensure a package survives the rigors of the supply chain. But if it fails, it’s back to the drawing board for a redesign. To avoid that risk, collaborate with an industry expert at the beginning of the design process who can help you create a pack with damage protection in mind.

What Are Your Target Costs?

You’re under strict requirements to design solutions that meet all your customers’ needs — and within a tight budget. An experienced supplier should be able to solve your packaging challenges with your target costs in mind. Assuming your supplier has more than one type of solution it offers, ask for a packaging value analysis to assess whether switching to a different application or material would hit your goals.

The right partner should also evaluate your manufacturing process and discuss ways to reduce the total cost to deliver your products. Operational cost savings can come from things like optimizing labor resources to increase productivity or reducing the package dimensions to save on shipping costs.

What’s Their Reach and Availability?

Working with multiple suppliers to accommodate broad geographic locations will slow you down and complicate your supply chain. You need packaging solutions quickly and a supplier that meets you wherever you are. The best solution is to work with a global supplier that can serve all your manufacturing locations. This not only makes it more convenient to manage fewer relationships, but it also lowers your shipping costs and creates more supply chain predictability.

Finding the right packaging partner who offers a variety of products, can test and validate designs, meet your target costs, and supply packaging globally will set your ODM business apart from the rest.