https://www.bin-store.com/blog

Are you an online retailer? If so, there is nothing better than watching orders rolling in—and nothing more challenging than packing and shipping them out in a timely fashion. If you are inefficient at packing, you can add hours to your work day, which may very well eat into the time you usually spend manufacturing your products. So what can you do to organize your shipping station layout and expedite the process? Here are some packing station design tips:

• Work with the space you have. If you only have a small area to organize your packing station layout, then make sure you stock up only on the materials you can actually keep organized. If you overdo it, you will end up with a lot of clutter, which can be hard to sort through to find what you need.

• Use a system of plastic containers for organizing and labels to keep everything neatly sorted. Have several different types of envelopes you use for shipping? Divide them into different containers. Have another container set aside for tissue paper and bubble wrap. Use another for business cards, notes, and other items you typically enclose in your packages. Have another small plastic bin for scissors, tape, and assorted supplies.

• Print labels and other materials instead of handwriting them where possible. This will vastly speed up the process of packaging your products. You will also worry less about mistakes.

• Keep extra customs forms on hand. That way you can fill them out while you are at home and have all of the customer’s information in front of you instead of having to step out of line at the post office. Ultimately this can save you a lot of time.

• Have a list which tells you the steps to pack something and the order to do them in. This is a biggie if you have a hard time with executive function skills. If you struggle with staying focused, even with all your supplies right in front of you, it is easy to blank on what you need to do. With a checklist, you just go through one step at a time until the package is complete. It requires a lot less thinking, and you are far less likely to screw up.

• Keep reference materials on hand, i.e. weight restrictions and costs for certain package types, or costs to mail to certain countries. That way you do not have to waste precious time continuously look this information up.

Setting up a working shipping station isn’t easy, and it may test your patience. Then again, so does packing products and mailing them. So take the time to optimize your process, and remember that it needs to be personalized to your space and needs. Once you do have a setup that works for you, it could save you hours a week or even hours a day packaging your products. That means you can get back to being productive with other aspects of your business!