30. Packaging

The product definition must consider the requirements for packaging from two diametrically opposed positions. First from the position of the consumer and secondly from the position of warehousing and transportation functions. To develop a complete packaging strategy for a product it is necessary to fully understand how the product is to be handled at all points in the supply chain.

Typically a packaging strategy will begin at the individual product level and work out layer by layer until the complete package to be shipped from a finished goods warehouse is defined. Some products comprise a series of assemblies whilst systems will typically comprise a series of products. Some products require to be bulked, others packaged as single items. The following layered approach to packaging is relatively general.

Environment Protection

The objective of the first layer of packaging is to achieve isolation of the product from the environment for the purposes of environmental protection. Where there is a possible hazard to the environment in the event of the product being damaged during transportation, storage or during unpacking appropriate barriers need to be erected to ensure that the hazard is contained in the immediate vicinity of the product. For many products this is only assessable once the product has been fully designed. However consideration should be given to this problem at the earliest stages and hazard forecasts prepared.