Smart packaging predictions, Amazon’s new ecommerce packaging program with wide-reaching effects, and significant innovations galore starred last month with packaging professionals around the globe. The articles posted on PackagingDigest.com in November 2018 that were the best read are presented here again, in reverse order based on the total number of views:
5. Amazon incentivizes brands to create frustration-free packaging
It’s nearly three months since the news broke that Amazon is asking its vendors to design packaging specifically for ecommerce distribution. We’re still getting the word out to the international packaging community, though, which explains how an article that was posted on Sept. 18 shows up in the top article list for November.
To help reduce packaging waste and improve efficiency of ecommerce shipping for its vendors, Amazon will require that select products being sold and fulfilled by Amazon arrive in its fulfillment centers in certified packaging under its Frustration-Free Packaging (FFP) program. This means that the product does not need to be prepped for shipping (such as being enclosed in a zipper baggie to contain possible leaks) or put into an overbox.
Companies complying before the deadlines (Aug. 1, 2019, for the U.S. and Canada; Oct. 1, 2019, for six European countries) will receive a one-time $1 credit for each product properly packaged. After those dates, companies will be charged a $1.99 fee for each product/package not certified.
Brent Nelson, Amazon’s senior manager, packaging – sustainability, answered about two dozen questions about the new Frustration-Free Packaging Vendor Incentive Program in a free Packaging Digest webinar, which you can view on-demand by clicking here.
We’ll continue to cover any new developments. In the meantime, we’d love to hear what you think about the program. Take our short survey now, which most people complete in about three minutes. Access the survey here.
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