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Reduce shipping damage
Why the Right Packaging Is More Than Just Product Protection
Shipping damage is one of those problems that people in logistics are reluctant to discuss. It costs time, money, and patience. It leads to complaints, replacement shipments, additional coordination efforts, and, in the worst case, dissatisfied customers. What’s particularly frustrating is that much of this damage isn’t caused by a single major oversight, but rather by small vulnerabilities in the interplay between the product, packaging, packing process, and transport stresses.
Here at PRODINGER Verpackung AG, we, too, are familiar with this issue from our own experience. Although packaging is our day-to-day business, we are not entirely immune to shipping damage when we ship goods to our customers. A typical example is crushed cardboard boxes on pallets.
Particularly when dealing with low-margin products, high shipping volumes, and fully automated packaging processes, there is a constant conflict of objectives: Transport packaging must provide reliable protection, remain cost-effective, be processed efficiently, and at the same time use as little material as possible.
That is exactly why we know that damage reduction in shipping is not just a theoretical packaging issue. It is a practical task that depends on experience, knowledge of materials, and proper application.
Shipping damage is more expensive than it seems at first glance
A damaged product rarely results in damages limited to the product’s value alone. Added to this are the costs of handling customer complaints, replacement shipments, re-picking, additional shipping, internal investigations, credit memos, and—often—a strain on the customer relationship. In industrial supply chains, a damaged component can also delay subsequent processes: assembly, production, commissioning, or maintenance.
The situation becomes particularly critical when high-quality metal or electrical components. These products are often robust in their function but vulnerable in certain areas: corners, edges, surfaces, connectors, housings, displays, or pre-assembled modules. Even a single impact, pressure point, or inadequate securing within the packaging can cause visible damage or pose functional risks.
That is why it is not enough to view packaging merely as cardboard, padding, or plastic film. Good shipping packaging is a protective system. It must absorb stress, limit movement, distribute pressure, and protect the product where it is actually at risk.
The Most Common Causes of Damage During Shipping
In our consulting practice, we see time and again that shipping damage often does not occur simply because there is no protective packaging at all. It occurs because, because certain components are not suitable for the specific application.
Common causes include:
- Corrugated cardboard of insufficient strength, particularly in the lower layers on pallets
- inappropriate or incorrectly used padding material
- Insufficient protection on corners and edges
- Voids inside the packaging where the product can shift around
- Excessive point load due to stacking or palletizing
- missing load-distributing spacers
- Inadequate load securing
- Packaging solutions that, while theoretically suitable, do not fit the packing process
Straight crushed cardboard boxes in the lower layers of the pallet are a good example. At first glance, it looks like a cardboard problem. In reality, several factors can come into play: corrugated cardboard quality, stack height, pallet configuration, moisture, stretch wrapping, interlayers, product weight, and handling during transport.
The situation is similar with Upholstery Materials. A material may be suitable in principle, but it can lose its protective effect if used in the wrong quantity, in the wrong place, or with the wrong level of compaction. Conversely, a small adjustment can have a big impact: a different cushioning thickness, a change in positioning, additional edge protection, or better securing of the product inside the box.
Why Corners and Edges Need Special Attention
For many industrial products, corners and edges are the most vulnerable points. This is especially true for metal parts, electrical components, housings, pre-assembled modules, and sensitive surfaces. While distributed loads can often be absorbed well, localized impacts on edges quickly lead to dents, chipping, scratches, or deformation.
Here come Edge Protection Bracket into play. Not only do they protect the product itself, but they can also improve the stability of the entire shipping unit. For palletized goods, corner protectors also help distribute the forces from strapping or stretch film more evenly. This stabilizes the packaging without placing excessive stress on individual corners.
Edge protection is therefore not just a detail, but a a key element of damage prevention. This is especially true when transporting heavy, angular, or high-quality products.
Cardboard dividers: a small measure, a big impact
Cardboard dividers are often underestimated. Yet they can play a crucial role in distributing pressure more evenly, stabilizing layers, and protecting cardboard boxes on pallets from being crushed.
Especially when palletizing in multiple layers, interlayers can help distribute the load more effectively and increase the stability of the entire pallet. They separate products or packaging units, reduce friction, improve stackability, and can prevent individual cartons from pressing into the layers below.
For many applications, using a cardboard divider is a cost-effective and simple solution. It often requires only minimal changes to the packing process, but can significantly reduce the damage rate.
Upholstery material: It’s not just the material that matters, but also how it’s used
Upholstery material It is intended to cushion impacts, fill empty spaces, and secure the product inside the packaging. In practice, however, people often underestimate the fact that cushioning materials can vary greatly in their effectiveness.
Some materials are well-suited for filling voids, while others are better for shock absorption or surface protection. Some padding only works if it is positioned correctly and is of sufficient size. Others lose their effectiveness if they are compressed too much or are not used consistently during the packing process.
That is why, at PRODINGER Verpackung AG, we not only examine what cushioning material is used, but also how it is applied.
- Is the product really safe?
- Are sensitive areas protected?
- Can the product move around inside the box?
- Is the material suitable for the weight, geometry, and transport route?
- And can the solution be reliably implemented in the existing packaging process?
Often, it is precisely these details that make all the difference. A different cushioning material, more precise positioning, or a minor design adjustment to the inner packaging can be enough to significantly reduce damage.
ShockWatch and TiltWatch: Visible Monitoring for Sensitive Shipments
For particularly delicate or high-value products, standard product protection is sometimes not enough. In such cases, it may be helpful to also indicate whether a shipment was exposed to critical stresses during transport.
ShockWatch Shock indicators and TiltWatch Tilt indicators are particularly useful solutions for this purpose. They indicate, whether a package was subjected to a strong impact or was tipped over. This does not automatically prevent the damage itself, but it does create transparency in the supply chain.
The advantage is twofold:
First, such indicators raise awareness among all parties involved about the need for careful handling. Second, they help better pinpoint transport damage and analyze its causes. Third, for high-value shipments, they can serve as an important signal to customers, carriers, and internal quality control departments: This merchandise is fragile and must be handled accordingly.
ShockWatch and TiltWatch are particularly well-suited for sensitive machine parts, electronic components, measuring instruments, medical or technical equipment, and any products where tilting or severe shocks could cause malfunctions.
Packaging optimization begins with root cause analysis
If you want to reduce shipping damage in the long term, you shouldn't just focus on the damaged product. The key question is: Why did the damage occur?
At PRODINGER Verpackung AG, we work with our customers to get to the root of the problem. We analyze the product, packaging, packing process, palletizing, transport route, and handling. This often reveals that it is not a single packaging component that is responsible, but rather the interplay of several factors.
Corrugated cardboard of insufficient quality can become problematic under high stacking loads. A cushioning material that is generally suitable can lose its effectiveness if used incorrectly. A pallet can become unstable if separator sheets are missing or if the load-securing measures are not compatible with the packaging. A more sustainable material alternative may be a good option, but it must still ensure the necessary product protection.
Our goal is not to increase the thickness of packaging across the board or to use more material. Our goal is the right solution: as much protection as necessary, as little material as possible, and as cost-effective as feasible.
For us, acting sustainably also means: preventing damage
In packaging optimization, sustainable practices are often equated with reducing material use or switching to alternative materials. This is understandable, but it is not always sufficient. After all, packaging that saves material but leads to more damage during transport is neither economically viable nor sensible from a sustainability perspective.
A damaged product usually consumes significantly more resources than the protective packaging that could have prevented the damage. Replacement production, replacement shipping, return shipping, disposal, and additional administrative work place a burden on costs and resources.
That is why we take a holistic approach to the issue of «sustainability» in the packaging sector. It's not just about using less material, but about finding better packaging solutions. "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle" are important guiding principles: reduce material use wherever possible; consider reusable solutions where they make sense; and use recyclable materials where they reliably protect the product.
Regulatory requirements such as the EU Packaging Regulation (PPWR) are incorporated into our consulting services. It is becoming increasingly important for companies to evaluate packaging not only in terms of functionality and cost-effectiveness, but also with regard to recyclability, resource use, and circularity.
The best protection comes from working together
Effective shipping packaging is rarely the result of a single product. What matters most is the interplay between outer packaging, internal cushioning, edge protection, separators, load securing, and process reliability.
For B2B industrial customers, it is also important that a solution works in day-to-day operations. It must be compatible with the product, but also with production cycle times, automation, warehousing, handling, and cost structure. Especially for low-margin products, a packaging solution can only be successful if it strikes the right balance between protection and cost-effectiveness.
This is precisely where the strength of a expert packaging advice. It's not about choosing the most expensive packaging. It's about finding the right packaging.
Conclusion: Fewer shipping damages thanks to better decisions
It is never possible to completely rule out damage during transport. That would not be honest, either. However, such damage can often be significantly reduced if packaging is not viewed in isolation, but rather as part of the overall shipping and logistics process.
Our experience shows that it’s often not major changes, but rather Targeted improvements, which make a difference. Appropriate edge protection. A stronger or more suitable type of cardboard. An additional layer. Properly placed cushioning material. A ShockWatch or TiltWatch indicator for particularly sensitive shipments. Or a small adjustment to the packing process that secures the product more reliably.
At PRODINGER Verpackung AG, we help industrial companies identify exactly these areas for improvement. We analyze existing packaging solutions, identify weaknesses, and work with our customers to develop solutions that effectively balance product protection, cost-effectiveness, and specific environmental considerations.
After all, good packaging doesn't just protect a product. It protects processes, customer relationships, profit margins, and resources.
Have the packaging inspected?
If you regularly deal with shipping damage, customer complaints, or unstable shipping units, it’s worth taking a closer look at your packaging solution. The experts at PRODINGER Verpackung AG can assist you with analyzing, optimizing, and selecting suitable packaging materials—from corner protectors and cardboard dividers to cushioning materials, ShockWatch impact indicators, and TiltWatch tilt indicators.
Together, we'll figure out where the damage occurs and what measures really help.
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