A warehouse can feel full even when there’s space between every product on the shelves. Oversized boxes, half-filled pallets and stacks of packaging waiting to be used all take up room you’re paying for.
Before you look for more racking or a bigger building, it’s worth asking: is your packaging making the most of the space you already have?
Bespoke packaging can help you store more efficiently by fitting the product, the pallet and the way your warehouse works. Here’s where the difference is often felt.
Make every box earn its space
An off-the-shelf box may be convenient, but if it’s much larger than the product inside, you’re storing and moving empty space. Multiply that by hundreds of packed units or cartons of unused boxes, and the effect becomes hard to ignore.
With bespoke packaging, we can design dimensions around your product and its protection needs. A better fit may reduce the space each packed item occupies and the amount of void fill your team needs to keep on hand.
The goal isn’t simply to make every box smaller. It’s to find the right size and construction for the job. A fragile product, for example, still needs appropriate protection; a heavy one needs a box that can withstand handling and stacking.
Get more from each pallet
Box dimensions affect what happens beyond the packing bench. If cartons don’t sit neatly on a pallet, you can end up with gaps, overhang or unstable loads. That can mean using more pallet positions than necessary.
Designing around your product and your pallet configuration can help you use that space more effectively. It’s one of the practical details we consider when developing a pack: how many units fit on a layer, how the layers stack and whether the finished load remains suitable for storage and transport.
For bulk goods, our pallet boxes are supplied flat, helping you save room before they’re assembled. If you’d like to explore the transport side of box design too, read our blog on reducing freight costs with better box styles.
Give your picking area room to work
Warehouse space optimisation isn’t only about fitting more stock into a bay. Your team also needs to see, reach and pick the right items without working around unsuitable containers.
A bin that’s too large for its contents can waste shelf space. One that doesn’t suit the racking, or product range can make every day picking awkward. Our pick bins can be made in bespoke dimensions, with options such as dividers and SKU labelling to suit the way your team works.
We saw this in a project for a logistics provider whose initial pick bin design was larger than needed. By refining it around the products and warehouse workflow, we developed a bespoke Easy Pick bin better suited to their available space. You can read the Easy Pick case study for the full story.
Think about where unused packaging lives
Finished goods aren’t the only things taking up warehouse space. Flat boxes, bins and other packaging materials need somewhere to go until your team needs them.
If large quantities arrive at once, packaging stock can occupy space you’d rather use for products or picking. Our warehousing and storage service lets customers call off pre-agreed volumes of packaging as required, instead of receiving the full quantity in one delivery.
That won’t be the right arrangement for every business, but it can be useful when on-site storage is tight or packaging demand changes throughout the year.
Where do the savings come from?
Reducing warehouse storage costs is rarely down to one dramatic change.
A better packaging design can create several smaller gains across the operation:
- Less space used per packed product when boxes fit their contents more closely.
- Better use of pallet positions when cartons are designed with the load in mind.
- Less room taken up by packaging stock when products are supplied flat or stock is called off as needed.
- Smoother picking and packing when containers suit the products and the people using them.
The best starting point is to look at a packaging format your team uses often. How much empty space does it leave? How does it fit on a pallet or shelf? Where do you store it before use? Those answers can reveal opportunities that a box price alone won’t show. For more on the effect packaging has on daily operations, read Is Your Fulfilment Packaging Slowing Down Your Warehouse? blog.
Get more out of your warehouse space
If your warehouse is running short of space, we can look at the products, packaging and storage process together. From custom-sized boxes and pick bins to pallet-friendly designs and packaging stock storage, we’ll help you find a solution that fits the way your business operates.
Get in touch with our team to discuss where your current packaging is taking up space and what we could improve.