Black Friday brings opportunity, but increased order volumes can also amplify problems within your fulfilment operation.
A packaging solution that performs adequately during normal trading conditions can quickly become a bottleneck when hundreds or thousands of additional orders need to be picked, packed and dispatched.
Damaged products, slow packing processes, excessive material and unreliable packaging supply all have a cost.
And during Black Friday, those costs can quickly multiply.
One Damaged Delivery Costs More Than One Product
When a product is damaged in transit, the cost doesn’t stop with the product itself.
There could also be:
- Replacement packaging
- Additional delivery costs
- Warehouse and administration time
- Customer service queries
- Refunds or replacement products
- Additional material and waste
- Lost customer confidence
Multiply that across increased Black Friday order volumes and even a relatively small damage rate can have a significant impact.
Effective protective packaging helps minimise product movement and provides the protection products need throughout storage, handling and delivery.
Black Friday Makes Small Inefficiencies Bigger
Peak season doesn’t necessarily create problems within a packaging operation. Often, it exposes problems that were already there.
Take packing time.
An additional few seconds spent assembling a pack might seem insignificant during quieter periods.
Across thousands of Black Friday orders, it isn’t.
Complex pack formats, unnecessary packaging components or inconsistent packing processes can all affect how quickly orders move through fulfilment.
Simplifying packaging can help businesses improve packing speed and consistency while reducing unnecessary material.
Are You Using More Packaging Than You Need?
Adding more material doesn’t always mean adding more protection.
Overpackaging can increase material costs, storage requirements, packing time and the amount of packaging reaching the customer.
The challenge is finding the right balance.
Packaging should use the material required to protect the product effectively without unnecessary components or complexity.
Reviewing packaging performance can identify opportunities to reduce material while maintaining or even improving protection.
What Happens When Packaging Supply Becomes Unreliable?
Black Friday isn’t the time to discover that your packaging supplier can’t meet your requirements.
Stock shortages and extended lead times can leave businesses searching for alternatives during one of the busiest periods of the year.
Planning ahead allows you to understand your packaging requirements, forecast volumes and secure supply before demand peaks.
Cullen manufactures moulded fibre and corrugated packaging at our Glasgow site, helping businesses access reliable UK-manufactured packaging without relying on lengthy international supply chains.
Your Packaging Is Part of the Customer Experience
For ecommerce businesses, packaging is one of the few physical interactions a customer has with your brand.
This becomes particularly important during Black Friday.
Seasonal promotions can attract customers purchasing from a business for the first time. If their first order arrives damaged, excessively packaged or difficult to dispose of, that experience can influence whether they buy again.
Packaging that protects the product while providing a simple, recyclable solution can help create a better experience from dispatch to delivery.
Could a Packaging Performance Review Uncover Opportunities?
If you’re preparing for Black Friday, now is an ideal time to look at how your current packaging is performing.
Cullen’s complimentary Packaging Performance Review looks beyond the individual pack to identify practical opportunities across your packaging operation.
This could include opportunities to:
- Reduce material usage
- Improve product protection
- Reduce transit damage
- Simplify packing processes
- Improve packing efficiency
- Reduce packaging and transport costs
- Improve recyclability
- Consolidate packaging formats
The aim is simple: identify where your packaging could work harder for your business.
Prepare Now. Perform Better During Peak.
Black Friday 2026 takes place on 27 November, but the work required to prepare for it starts long before then.
Waiting until order volumes increase to address packaging problems leaves little time to test alternatives, secure stock or introduce improvements.
Reviewing your packaging now gives you time to make practical changes before peak season begins.
Whether you’re experiencing product damage, looking to improve packing efficiency or simply want to know whether your current packaging could be performing better, our team can help.
Don’t wait until Black Friday to discover what your packaging is costing you.
Book your complimentary Packaging Performance Review today.
Black Friday brings opportunity, but increased order volumes can also amplify problems within your fulfilment operation.
A packaging solution that performs adequately during normal trading conditions can quickly become a bottleneck when hundreds or thousands of additional orders need to be picked, packed and dispatched.
Damaged products, slow packing processes, excessive material and unreliable packaging supply all have a cost.
And during Black Friday, those costs can quickly multiply.
One Damaged Delivery Costs More Than One Product
When a product is damaged in transit, the cost doesn’t stop with the product itself.
There could also be:
- Replacement packaging
- Additional delivery costs
- Warehouse and administration time
- Customer service queries
- Refunds or replacement products
- Additional material and waste
- Lost customer confidence
Multiply that across increased Black Friday order volumes and even a relatively small damage rate can have a significant impact.
Effective protective packaging helps minimise product movement and provides the protection products need throughout storage, handling and delivery.
Black Friday Makes Small Inefficiencies Bigger
Peak season doesn’t necessarily create problems within a packaging operation. Often, it exposes problems that were already there.
Take packing time.
An additional few seconds spent assembling a pack might seem insignificant during quieter periods.
Across thousands of Black Friday orders, it isn’t.
Complex pack formats, unnecessary packaging components or inconsistent packing processes can all affect how quickly orders move through fulfilment.
Simplifying packaging can help businesses improve packing speed and consistency while reducing unnecessary material.
Are You Using More Packaging Than You Need?
Adding more material doesn’t always mean adding more protection.
Overpackaging can increase material costs, storage requirements, packing time and the amount of packaging reaching the customer.
The challenge is finding the right balance.
Packaging should use the material required to protect the product effectively without unnecessary components or complexity.
Reviewing packaging performance can identify opportunities to reduce material while maintaining or even improving protection.
What Happens When Packaging Supply Becomes Unreliable?
Black Friday isn’t the time to discover that your packaging supplier can’t meet your requirements.
Stock shortages and extended lead times can leave businesses searching for alternatives during one of the busiest periods of the year.
Planning ahead allows you to understand your packaging requirements, forecast volumes and secure supply before demand peaks.
Cullen manufactures moulded fibre and corrugated packaging at our Glasgow site, helping businesses access reliable UK-manufactured packaging without relying on lengthy international supply chains.
Your Packaging Is Part of the Customer Experience
For ecommerce businesses, packaging is one of the few physical interactions a customer has with your brand.
This becomes particularly important during Black Friday.
Seasonal promotions can attract customers purchasing from a business for the first time. If their first order arrives damaged, excessively packaged or difficult to dispose of, that experience can influence whether they buy again.
Packaging that protects the product while providing a simple, recyclable solution can help create a better experience from dispatch to delivery.
Could a Packaging Performance Review Uncover Opportunities?
If you’re preparing for Black Friday, now is an ideal time to look at how your current packaging is performing.
Cullen’s complimentary Packaging Performance Review looks beyond the individual pack to identify practical opportunities across your packaging operation.
This could include opportunities to:
- Reduce material usage
- Improve product protection
- Reduce transit damage
- Simplify packing processes
- Improve packing efficiency
- Reduce packaging and transport costs
- Improve recyclability
- Consolidate packaging formats
The aim is simple: identify where your packaging could work harder for your business.
Prepare Now. Perform Better During Peak.
Black Friday 2026 takes place on 27 November, but the work required to prepare for it starts long before then.
Waiting until order volumes increase to address packaging problems leaves little time to test alternatives, secure stock or introduce improvements.
Reviewing your packaging now gives you time to make practical changes before peak season begins.
Whether you’re experiencing product damage, looking to improve packing efficiency or simply want to know whether your current packaging could be performing better, our team can help.
Don’t wait until Black Friday to discover what your packaging is costing you.
Book your complimentary Packaging Performance Review today.
