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Tertiary packaging is the outermost layer of packaging that is used to safely store and ship products. It’s also known as transit packaging. The global tertiary packaging (transit packaging) market is valued at approximately USD 107 billion as of 2023, making up roughly 9.7% of the total global packaging market. There are different types of packaging used to package products, helping brands meet their packaging needs without compromising presentation and branding. Some products just require primary packaging, such as jars, bottles, and tubes. Most of them required secondary packaging to provide extra protection, presentation, and a personalized feel.
The primary purpose of this packaging is to provide required protection not only to the product but also to both the primary and secondary packaging. It’s not used in retail packaging, but also for the bulk storage and shipping of small to heavy-duty products.
To provide multiple benefits to brands, tertiary packaging comes in various types, including corrugated cardboard shipping boxes, pallets, shrink wrap, crates, and more.
8 Different Types of Tertiary Packaging
To meet brands’ packaging needs, tertiary packaging is available in various types. If you are curious to know about the different kinds of this packaging, stay tuned with us. In this section, I will discuss them in detail one by one.
1- Pallets
Pallets are flat form packaging sources that are highly important for the safe stacking, shipping, and storage of delicate products. They are highly durable, preventing box compression during stacking and ensuring the utmost protection for products. They are available in various types, including plastic, wooden, and metal pallets. Pallets have excellent structural durability and allow efficient storage. They can move easily and are commonly used for bulk shipping.
2 – Stretch Wraps
Stretch wraps are used to tightly bind the packaging boxes of product shipping and pallets to keep them in a bundle form for maximum protection and easy storage. They are shrunk tightly with the help of heat. Stretch wraps are available in various types to satisfy the various packaging needs of product storage and shipping, such as bundling stretch film, hand stretch film, extended core stretch film, machine stretch film, and static dissipative film.
3 – Shrink Wrap Packaging
It’s a polyester film, or shrink film, that shrinks tightly over the packaging to keep it safe from external damage and keep it organized. PVC is used to manufacture shrink wrap due to its lightweight and cost-effectiveness. It’s applied to the product packaging with the heat gun, or the applied items are passed through the heat tunnel.
4 – Corrugated Shipping Containers
Corrugated shipping containers are the most used tertiary packaging solutions, helping brands to pack their products to achieve various benefits. They are made of fluted corrugated cardboard materials to provide excellent durability. Apart from the protection of shipping items during transit and storage, they also provide facilities to brands to promote their business in a presentable way. Because of their thicker form, brands use this type of packaging for the shipping of bulk small items and heavy-duty products as well.
5 – Wooden, Plastic, and Metal Crates
If products are more fragile or chemical substances that need extra care, wooden, plastic, and metal crates are ideal tertiary packaging options. They provide superior durability during shipping and keep products safe while stacking. These crates are designed to bear the external pressure of other crates during stacking and storage. Brands and shipping companies choose the crates according to their needs, product, and the regulations of shipping in various states.
6 – Bulk Containers (IBCs & Drums)
Bulk containers, including Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) and drums, are commonly used to pack liquid items for long-term protection or storage. They are made of food-safe plastic and also verified for direct food contact. Apart from the beverage and water supply, they are also used to store and ship oil and other chemicals. They are popular in the shipping industry because of their durable structure and convenient storage facilities. IBCs and drums can easily transit from one place to another.
7 – Shipping Containers (Intermodal Containers)
Shipping containers are made of steel and are used to ship various goods from state to state and within the state via various transport modes. Shipping companies mostly use these ISO certified shipping containers for the bulk shipping of products, helping them to keep products safe from any external damage, even from harsh weather.
8 – Dunnage Packaging
All the materials that are used to keep the products safe during cargo, preventing the movement and damage of products, are called dunnage packaging. These are available in various types, such as foam, wood, bubble wraps, and paper. They are closely related to packaging fillers but not the same as them. They stabilize the delicate products during shipping, but the fillers are used to fill the blank space.
How to Optimize Tertiary Packaging?
If you want to get the desired benefits by using tertiary packaging, you must use the one that is highly optimized. In this way, you can not only ensure the protection of your products but also make the storage more convenient.
1. Right-Sizing & Structural Design
You should design your tertiary packaging according to your product’s dimensions or volume to provide them with safe and snug storage in all cases. The structural design of your packaging also meets the product standards and specific purpose to make the storage and shipping smooth.
2. Improve Palletization
When any shipping company or a warehouse improves the pelletization, it helps them to save on storage and provides safe and organized storage for their products. In this way, they can reduce the chances of product damage and improve the services.
3. Enhance Material Selection
You should select the packaging materials according to the weight of your products, which provides them with safe stacking during storage and also keeps the products safe. But make sure that the materials are lightweight for the production of your tertiary packaging. It can help you to reduce the shipping cost. Before shipping any product, you should use materials that meet the shipping standards of any state, such as in the USA, plastic pallets and corrugated cardboard containers are a verified source of product shipping.
4. Implement Sustainable Materials
Sustainability is vital for the positive impression of any brand. Apart from this, there are also regulations for the packaging of shipping items in various countries regarding eco-friendly packaging. Thus, during manufacturing, you must use the materials to manufacture the tertiary packaging that helps you reduce pollution and packaging waste.
5. Improve Coding and Labeling
With the help of proper coding and labeling, you cannot only secure your product shipping but also guide the users about how to hold the shipping boxes or containers. The printed taglines, such as “Fragile Items” on packaging, can help users to handle the products carefully during stacking, storage, and shipping. Recycling tags on your boxes or tracking ID printing is also vital for tertiary packaging.
Features of Sustainable Tertiary Packaging
- Sustainable tertiary packaging is made of non-hazardous materials and also considers food-safe packaging.
- It does not contaminate the food items during direct contact, helping brands to deliver the promised quality to potential customers.
- Their primary source materials are made of renewable materials that can be recycled or biodegraded after complete use.
- By using such a type of packaging, brands can protect both the product and the environment at the same time.
Corrugated Cardboard Is Ideal for Tertiary Packaging
When it comes to tertiary packaging, the brand focuses on durability along with other features. As this packaging is specially designed for the shipping and transportation of products and responsible for protecting the product inside. Therefore, corrugated cardboard materials are commonly used to manufacture corrugated cardboard containers for the shipping of bulky and fragile items.
Cardboard materials provide excellent durability and cushioning to products and keep items safe from breakage, compression, and other physical damage. If any shipping company wants to optimize its transportation or cargo services at affordable prices, it must manufacture its shipping packaging with corrugated cardboard materials from a reliable packaging supplier, like Silver Edge Packaging. These materials are also lightweight as compared to plastic, wood, and metal, helping brands to reduce their shipping cost. Apart from this, they require less energy consumption during customization and can be easily customized into any shape and style of tertiary packaging.
Key Benefits of Quality Tertiary Packaging
This type of packaging is popular because of its multiple perks for e-commerce brands and shipping companies. Let’s learn its benefits one by one.
- Better Product Presentation: Because of its durable structure, it keeps valuable and fragile products during transit from physical damage. They are also designed to help brands deliver their product in one piece to their potential customers.
- Easy Recycling: These shipping containers and other packaging are made from recyclable materials that can be easily recycled multiple times to manufacture other necessary products.
- Logistics Efficiency & Automation: With the help of these packaging solutions, you can enhance your logistics efficiency by delivering and storing products in a professional way.
- Cost Savings (Volume): They are cost-effective when you purchase them in bulk, helping brands to reduce their product packaging costs.
- Space Optimization: Due to their precise, standard sizes, they are easy to manage during storage and shipping, helping shipping companies save space and reduce shipping costs.
- Enhanced Security & Information: With the printed tags, QR codes, and tracking IDs, they help users to enhance their product security and provide the right information to customers.
Key Drawbacks of Tertiary Packaging
There are some cons of tertiary packaging that you should consider before moving forward.
- Environmental Impact: Some tertiary packaging can cause environmental pollution due to waste and chemical materials.
- High Costs: Metal tertiary packaging can cost more. Thus, you should use packaging that never creates any financial instability.
- Storage Requirements: Some tertiary packaging does not meet the storage requirements of certain products and can result in product damage and disruptions to storage and shipping.
- Handling Challenges: You can also face handling challenges depending on the type of packaging, such as crates and pallets, which require specific tools and machinery to prevent product damage.
- Potential for High Waste: As this packaging is available in large sizes. So, it can cause high waste not only during product use but also after use.
Final Words
Tertiary packaging, like the first two levels of packaging, is also vital to meet the products’ storage and shipping needs conveniently. With its wide availability, it’s used for various purposes to help shipping companies achieve their desired benefits.
We hope this blog post helps you to understand the tertiary packaging in detail and choose the right one for your products for safe storage and transit. If you need any assistance or want to purchase high-quality custom packaging, contact Silver Edge Packaging.
