Global Packaging Sourcing
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Find the Right Packaging Source Based on More Than Price
Empire EMCO helps manufacturers identify domestic and global rigid packaging sources based on manufacturing capability, quality, cost, tooling, lead time, logistics, and supply requirements.
The Best Packaging Supplier Is Not Always the Closest or the Cheapest
Packaging sourcing decisions can affect cost, quality, lead time, inventory, production continuity, tooling, and long-term supply.
A supplier with the lowest quoted unit price may not provide the lowest total landed cost. A local supplier may offer shorter lead times but lack the manufacturing capability required for a specific bottle, jar, closure, material, or tooling program.
Empire EMCO helps manufacturers evaluate packaging suppliers based on the complete requirements of the program so that sourcing decisions balance capability, cost, quality, logistics, and risk.
What Should Manufacturers Evaluate When Sourcing Packaging?
The right packaging source depends on much more than where the supplier is located. Manufacturing capability, quality, tooling, logistics, lead time, and supply reliability can all affect the final decision.
Manufacturing Capability
Determine whether the supplier can produce the required bottle, jar, closure, material, decoration, geometry, tolerance, and volume.
Quality Requirements
Evaluate quality systems, consistency, dimensional control, specifications, testing, and manufacturing repeatability.
Tooling & Mold Capability
Review existing stock tooling, custom mold requirements, family mold opportunities, tooling ownership, and development cost.
Unit & Landed Cost
Compare component price together with freight, duties, tooling, minimum quantities, warehousing, inventory, and other delivered costs.
Lead Time
Evaluate manufacturing lead time, transit time, order cycles, production scheduling, and the impact on inventory requirements.
Logistics
Consider freight mode, distance, port access, packaging density, pallet configuration, warehousing, and final delivery.
Minimum Order Quantities
Determine whether order quantities align with production demand, storage capacity, cash flow, and inventory objectives.
Supply Continuity
Evaluate the risks created by supplier concentration, geographic dependence, long lead times, or limited alternative sources.
Long-Term Fit
Consider whether the supplier can support future growth, new SKUs, custom development, technical changes, and ongoing production needs.
Where Should Your Packaging Be Manufactured?
There is no single sourcing model that is right for every packaging program. Some applications benefit from domestic production, while others may justify offshore manufacturing based on tooling, cost, capabilities, or volume.
When Should You Review Your Packaging Sourcing Strategy?
A sourcing review may be useful when costs increase, supplier performance changes, lead times become unpredictable, new capabilities are needed, or the business has become too dependent on a single source.
How We Approach Global Packaging Sourcing
We start with the packaging and manufacturing requirements, then evaluate potential sources based on capability, quality, economics, logistics, and supply risk.
Different Packaging Programs May Require Different Sourcing Models
The right strategy may involve domestic manufacturing, global sourcing, or a combination of both.
Domestic Packaging Sourcing
Domestic sourcing may provide shorter transit times, lower inventory requirements, easier communication, and faster response when qualified manufacturing capabilities are available.
Global Packaging Sourcing
Global sourcing may provide access to specialized manufacturing, competitive tooling, high-volume production, or capabilities that are not readily available domestically.
Domestic + Global Supply Strategy
Some packaging programs benefit from combining global economics with domestic or alternate-source flexibility to improve continuity and reduce supply-chain dependence.
Global Sourcing Should Be Evaluated on Total Landed Cost
A lower overseas unit price does not automatically mean a lower total packaging cost.
Freight, duties, transportation, lead time, minimum order quantities, safety stock, warehousing, inventory carrying cost, tooling, quality, and supply risk can change the economics of a sourcing decision.
Empire EMCO helps evaluate these factors together so that sourcing decisions are based on the complete packaging program rather than the component quote alone.
Explore Packaging Cost Reduction →A New Supplier Still Has to Produce the Right Package Consistently
Finding a manufacturer is only part of the sourcing process. The supplier must also be capable of producing the packaging consistently to the required specifications.
Packaging qualification can involve dimensional requirements, materials, tolerances, molding processes, closures, tooling, quality systems, samples, performance expectations, and production capacity.
This is especially important when moving existing packaging to another source because apparently similar bottles or closures can perform differently when dimensions, resin, tooling, or process conditions change.
Global Sourcing Can Also Be a Supply Chain Risk Strategy
Sourcing is not only about finding a lower-cost supplier. It can also be used to reduce dependence on a single manufacturer, region, production process, or long lead-time supply chain.
Alternate Suppliers
Develop qualified alternatives before a current packaging source becomes unavailable.
Dual Sourcing
Use more than one qualified source where volumes, tooling, economics, and package specifications support it.
Regional Diversification
Reduce dependence on a single geographic region by balancing domestic and international manufacturing capabilities.
Frequently Asked Questions About Global Packaging Sourcing
What is global packaging sourcing?
Is overseas packaging always less expensive?
When does global sourcing make sense for rigid packaging?
Should manufacturers use domestic or global packaging suppliers?
Can Empire EMCO help identify alternate packaging suppliers?
Can global sourcing help reduce packaging supply chain risk?
Sourcing Decisions Connect to Cost, Engineering, and Supply Risk
Need Another Source for Your Rigid Packaging?
Tell us what you are sourcing. Empire EMCO can help evaluate domestic and global manufacturing options based on packaging requirements, capability, quality, cost, tooling, lead time, logistics, and supply risk.