When e-commerce products are packed well for their journey, they make your customers smile. Products damaged in transit lead to frustrated and irritated customers who ultimately choose not to buy from you again.

Packing and shipping heavy items has its own set of challenges. Your packaging has to be stronger and more protective than for standard shipments. Why? Because heavier shipments are more likely to be moved by forklift rather than human power and to switch trucks several times on the way to their destinations.

The e-commerce supply chain, for all its sophistication, is a violent place if you are a carton that must get from point A to Point B. You are handled by many people who may throw you around without much thought to your importance as a customer’s “first impression”. This carton on your customer’s doorstep is his or her first interaction with your company – so make it a good one. Ship your merchandise in a sturdy and well-packaged container – a corrugated one.

There’s still time to get out those business and personal gifts, but deadlines are looming. To make sure you can still delight your recipients, make sure you pack carefully and ship on time.

Sending holiday gifts to key clients and referral sources is a great way to show your company’s appreciation. Make sure these gifts survive the journey and showcase your good wishes by choosing, packing and shipping them correctly.

Shipping pharmaceuticals brings with it a unique set of risks. Shipments must arrive on-time, intact and at the right temperature. When a non-medical shipment goes wrong, a customer can be disappointed. But when a pharmaceutical shipment doesn’t go as planned, it can affect the health of a patient. Yet with all the advances in pharmaceuticals, not much has changed in the last 30 years regarding the way pharmaceuticals are transported. Many are still moved from warehouse to retail stores by small regional carriers.

E-commerce shippers wanting to seal cartons quicker, more economically and securely want to use water-activated tape (WAT). These are the conclusions of an independent test by SGS North America (SGS). SGS is an industry-leading testing and verification company. Intertape Polymer Group (IPG)and its brand, Better Packages, commissioned the tests to help customers compare the carton sealing performance of water-activated tape (WAT) and plastic, pressure sensitive tape (PST).

Now is the time to gear up for the holiday shipping rush.

Now is the time t o get your water-activated tape dispensers and packaging systems in tip-top shape before the holiday rush. Last year’s holiday shipping volume was a record-breaker and there are plenty of signs that Holidays 2017 will smash through that remarkable volume. Are your machines up to the task? Here are a few tips to make sure they are ready to go.

Shipping wine can be a delicate and tricky business. Since a 2005 decision by the Supreme Court, more and more states have allowed out-of-state licensed wineries and wine brokers to ship wine. In fact, only six states (Delaware, Alabama, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Rhode Island and Utah) now prohibit direct to consumer wine shipments according to the Wine Institute, the advocacy group for California’s wineries and affiliated businesses.