India is a country with a vast area open to sea hence providing ample opportunity for easy shipment. Export Import trade in India is flourishing ever since times immemorable.
In India, there are many Export Entrepreneurs running a successful Exim Trade for a very long time. Their experience and knowledge about the Exim industry are immense but the newer generation is still new to this industry.
Many aspects of the Exim industry may prove to be challenging for the freshers in Exim Industry. One such challenge is Packaging and Labelling.
Packaging and Labelling can be easy if you have experience and are dedicated to perfection in every work. But it can make a very bad first impression if not done the way it is supposed to be.
- Why packaging and labelling
There are many reasons as to why one must invest in Packaging and Labelling. The most obvious being that you can not export goods openly and have to have proper packaging and labelling of the goods.
Another more frequent reason is that generally, the distance between an Exporter and an Importer is vast. Goods are to be transported to a different land before it finally arrives at the destination.
Under such circumstances, it becomes imperative that proper packaging and labelling is done. Without systematic packaging and labelling, damage and loss of goods pose a huge possibility.
The goods may be moved many times from one place to another. The cargo may be sent to storage places and loaded and unloaded many times. For every such small to big possibility of damage and loss of cargo, packaging and labelling proves to be a secure option.
Labelling of goods is also very important because the last thing you want is your goods not reaching their destination due to poor labelling or getting to the wrong address.
Let’s look at some advantages of Packaging and Labelling
- Advantages of Packaging:
Packaging provides physical protection against shock, vibrations, temperature, moisture and dust.
Packaging also provides agglomeration of small items into one big package hence making the transportation efficient and cost-effective. For example, it is advisable to pack 100 small bottles in one large box rather than packing 100 small bottles in 100 small boxes.
Attractive packaging plays an important role as a marketing strategy. There are professional packaging agencies that provide customized packaging facilities. Fancy and customized packages have a better chance at selling out than outdated and old fashioned packages.
Packages may also have additional features like distribution, handling, sale, opening, use and reuse.
The most important thing that packaging provide is security. Packaging plays an important role in reducing the risks of shipment. The authentication seal on the packages indicates that the packages and contents are not counterfeit.
Packages may also contain anti-theft devices, such as dye-packs or surveillance tags, that can be activated or detected by devices at the exit points and require specialized tools to deactivate them.
- Advantages of Labelling:
labelling is outright marketing of your goods. Proper labelling is directly proportional to better sales.
There are some signs and symbols that an exporter should be familiar with and should also maintain nationally and internationally.
Labelling should be in English and words indicating the country of origin should be as large as prominent.
The following information must be present as a label on the goods:
- Shipper’s mark
- Country of origin
- Weight marking (in pounds and in kilograms)
- Number of packages and size of cases (in inches and centimetres)
- Handling marks (international pictorial symbols)
- Cautionary markings, such as “This Side Up.”
- Port of entry
- Labels for hazardous materials
