It’s a thrill to see your business growing, until you realise your packaging needs are struggling to keep up. What should be a cause for celebration can quickly become a source of stress as you face shipping delays, increasing returns and labour shortages. If there’s equipment involved, like vacuum packaging machines, things can get even more complicated.
There are many industries that make use of vacuum packaging machines. While the food industry is probably the most obvious example due to vacuum sealing’s role in sous vide cooking and extending the storage life of food, vacuum sealing also helps preserve products in industries such as medicine, cosmetics and electronics.
Scaling your business means growing it sustainably so that its revenue outpaces its costs. To scale vacuum packaging operations, you need to shift from smaller, often manual, processes to more efficient operations.
If your business is growing, you might be wondering how to scale your vacuum packaging operations without replacing all your existing equipment with higher-volume, more expensive machinery.
Fortunately, you can scale effectively without having to replace all your equipment in one go. Not only is it possible, but it’s also desirable. Here’s how you can scale your packaging operations without having to replace your entire inventory.
Assessing Your Current Setup: Signs You Need to Scale
There are many indicators that appear when it’s time to scale your business. It’s an exciting time in the life of your company, but a stressful one as well. Maybe you have a healthy cash flow, but orders are piling up faster than you can ship them, and your existing team is stretched thin. Some common signs that you need to make some upgrades include:
You can’t ship orders fast enough
A heavy increase in orders is an excellent problem to have, as long as you have the resources in place to manage it. If orders are piling up faster than you can pack and ship them, there needs to be a change in your approach, such as more staff, more automation or more prepacking.
You’re seeing more returns
If more customers than before are seeking refunds or exchanges, that’s a strong sign that your current processes aren’t keeping up with customer demands. If you’re packing the wrong items or your vacuum packaging isn’t meeting customer expectations, it’s a sign you’re rushing your processes.
You’re turning down potential opportunities
If you have to turn away potential partners, clients or customers or other viable business opportunities due to a lack of resources or hours in the day, that’s a sign you need to scale. Growing your business sustainably helps you avoid missing out when the right circumstances arise.
Your competition is increasing
As your business grows, so will the number of competitors. If other businesses are moving into your territory or you’ve exhausted all your available markets, it’s time to look at moving into new ones.
You’ve developed a positive reputation
If your reputation has grown exponentially recently or exceeded your expectations, it’s a sign that it’s time to take it to the next level to reach your full potential.
Maximise Efficiency: Small Upgrades for a Big Impact
Scaling your business doesn’t have to mean making significant, sudden changes, trying to do everything at once, or replacing all your equipment in too short a timeframe. Often, a series of small and manageable steps is a more effective approach. Some small actions that can make a significant impact when it comes to scaling your vacuum packaging operations include:
Tighten your preventative maintenance intervals
Vacuum packaging machines require regular preventative maintenance such as daily cleaning, regular lubrication of moving parts and periodic checking and replacement of worn items. Even a single worn-out gasket can compromise the efficiency of your vacuum packaging machine when you need it most. When your output picks up, reduce your preventative maintenance intervals from weeks to days.
Train staff thoroughly
As your business grows, it becomes necessary to bring new staff on board and to train them on the why as well as the how of your business processes. Training that effectively explains why correct loading, sealing, spacing, etc., matter means staff members are less likely to make mistakes. A motivated and resilient team is essential for growth and productivity.
Know your market and your objectives
As your business grows, knowing your market and your goals will help you to stay focused and to grow strategically. Identify a clear value proposition (the promise you make to customers about what they can expect from your product) and from there develop a scalable growth plan with concrete steps.
Expand your products
You can also grow by expanding your selection of products, offering complementary goods that align with your core business practice but allow you to reach new demographics.
Strategies for Scaling Your Packing Operations
In industries like food, medicine and electronics, it’s very common to scale without immediately replacing your existing equipment. The key is to increase your capacity and remove bottlenecks, and some of the most effective methods you can use to accomplish that include:
Parallelise instead of upsize
Rather than replacing all working vacuum sealers with larger ones, add compatible vacuum sealers alongside your existing machines and run them alongside each other. This allows your machines to work in tandem, sharing the workload.
Enhance automation around your existing equipment
There’s a lot of automation potential around the vacuum packing machines you have. Some common upgrades you can make to increase packs per hour and improve their consistency include automatic bag loading, automatic lid placement and conveyor infeed/outfeed.
Use format change optimisation
Optimise your tools and format to keep vacuum packaging procedures efficient. Standardise bag sizes when you can, use quick-change sealing bars and reduce changeover times.
Optimise other business areas
Often, vacuum packaging is not the main bottleneck slowing down your production. You may need to consider extending your operating hours, streamlining labelling and boxing, and automating certain processes.
Optimise Your Packing Operations with VACPAC
A team with over 20 years of experience under our belts as a vacuum packaging machine supplier, VACPAC helps businesses like yours scale their growth. We offer purpose-built vacuum packaging solutions for every product, demand, market and application out there by using advanced technology, quality construction and superior design. If you’re trying to scale and reach your full potential but need some help investing your energy in the right direction, the VACPAC team can help.
VACPAC sells industrial vacuum packaging machines from top-quality European brands with longstanding reputations for excellence, like Henkelman, Scandivac and VC999. We also have a range of pre-owned industrial vacuum packaging machines, a convenient choice for clients with time and cost constraints.
VACPAC’s vacuum packaging services cover the three most frequently requested areas: preventative maintenance, responsive services and emergency breakdowns. We provide manufacturing and consultations, vacuum pump rebuilds, custom machine fabrication, machine commissioning and more. Dedicated to cutting-edge technology and continuous improvement, VACPAC delivers prompt and efficient service on time and every time.
The VACPAC team is dedicated to tailoring our solutions to your unique needs. Call 07 3806 5972 or get in touch with us online to find out more about how we can help you.