If you are sending a fragile item or something that is expensive via courier or any other form of transport, one of your first concerns should be its packaging.
Without packing your goods properly, you will not have that guarantee that your items will be delivered in the same manner as they left you from your point of delivery (Which is point A). This is because as with any type of delivery service, the risk of goods not being damaged is never zero, and if you package your goods properly, you will be able to reduce the probability of getting your fragile goods damaged while delivered by a significant amount.
Fragile goods can come in any size and shape which can make some items very tricky to package properly. With that said, let’s look at how you can transport and package your delivery items step by step.
First things first, you should always make sure you choose a good courier company. The reason we say this is because a good courier company can help you in packing your items. This does not mean that they will come to you and pack the items themselves, but will assist you in providing a set of practical guidelines on how you should package your items depending on the size and type of item which is always more helpful than figuring it all out yourself, especially in an emergency delivery.
Although we mentioned above that you will receive advice from your courier company on how you should package your fragile goods, we decided to give you a basic step-by-step process that you can follow to package your fragile goods as well.
A basic guide for packaging your fragile goods
The first ever thing that you must obviously do before you start packaging is to identify the true nature of the item you plan on delivering. Is it a medical sample that requires to be temperature controlled, is it an item that must be shockproofed or is it an item that should not be bent like a legal document or a certificate? Identifying the nature of the product will help you pick out the best material to package the item with so that you can prevent the items from being damaged by that potential damage causes.
Here are some guidelines for packing common fragile goods:
- For documentation such as certificates or any other documentation that you need not be bent or folded, make sure to put them in an envelope or a flat package that is made out of hard cardboard material. Also, for extra safety measures, make sure to paste a “do not bend or fold” sticker so that the people who handle the delivery know.
- For a bit larger items such as electronic equipment such as cameras, mobile phones, laptops, tablets, etc. Make sure to put the product’s original box wrapped in bubble wrap into another box that is filled with soft form to ensure maximum protection while being transported. Make sure to stick a “fragile” sticker on the box as well.
- If you have very large fragile items such as large ceramic items, you should get a box that is a bit hard material such as a box made out of wood. Make sure to fill that box with soft form layers while also wrapping the ceramic item with bubble wrap. Also, make sure to paste fragile stickers all around the box.
- Medical supplies are also another common delivery item that needs special care. While delivering medical suppliers such as samples, always make sure to put the samples in a box with layers of soft form and wrap the outer box with bubble wrap along with a sticker saying “This way up” so that it says the correct way up and another sticker saying the item being delivered is a medical sample so that it is handled with the utmost care.
Additional Resources
- When you are trying the deliver something, it can be a bit of a hassle to find the packaging material, especially in an emergency delivery. In such instances, you can find cardboard boxes from a local supermarket as they tend to have lots of them just getting ready to be thrown away.
- When you hire a courier company to deliver your fragile goods, make sure to get a confirmation from them saying that they take full responsibility if anything happens to that item being delivered. A well-reputed courier company will always take full responsibility for the goods they deliver but if you have to hire a courier service that you have never heard of before or are new to the business, make sure to get a written confirmation. This will help like a charm if something happens to your fragile items while being delivered.
- Before you hand over your packaged delivery to the courier company, make sure to properly weigh and measure the dimensions of the package and clearly mentioned them on the packaging. This is especially helpful if you are delivering internationally as there are some instances where the packages are ripped open to ensure nothing illegal is being delivered and there can be faults with the repackaging. Having all your details on the package itself will help in this situation, although there may be instances where the packages are opened even if you have mentioned all the details on the packaging as well.
- If you opt-in to the same-day courier, your package is most likely to be picked up within an hour and you might not have time to package the goods properly in such a short time frame. Therefore, make sure to package your goods before you confirm the delivery so that you have enough time for the packaging process and you also can get some advice from the courier company on how to pack your specific item as well.
- Also, print out the delivery label that contains details such as the delivery address, and all other information very clearly and paste it over the opening of the package like a seal if the courier company emails you one. If not, the courier company will print it out themselves and paste it on the packaging.
Wait for pickup
Once you have completed all the steps from choosing a good courier company to packaging your goods, the only step left is to wait for the courier company to pick up your delivery. Once the courier company arrives for pick up, make sure to mention to them what is being delivered and request their opinions on your packaging, and ask them if there is anything that you could do to increase the safety of the goods a bit more. This is a good way for you to get an expert’s on-hand opinion on the guarantee of safety of your items being delivered.
There you go, a complete guide to transporting and packaging fragile goods. If you found this resource valuable, please make sure to share this and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us or leave a comment here.