5.3.1 The role of packaging
Packaging of goods serves the following purposes:
- It provides information about the product the package contains. This is a marketing function which provides information and makes it more appealing to the customer. It also provides information to logistics people, for example use of colour codes, symbols and numbers which are used to store goods in a particular fashion.
- It improves efficiency in handling and distribution. Packaging should be designed to maximise ease of handling in the warehouse and during transportation.
- It meets the needs of the integrated logistics activities. Particular attention must be paid to the package being compatible with the customer's materials handling equipment.
- It protects the goods in the package so that they are not damaged during handling, storage and transportation.
- It provides unitisation; that is, it allows packages to be consolidated into larger packages and finally palletised or unitised into a single unit such as a container.
- It facilitates the use of bar code scanners during the handling, storage and distribution of the goods.