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Five Considerations for Preventing Product Damage Prior to Launch

Preparing your package for its journey to the end consumer involves many considerations.

ISTA Distribution/Package Type
ISTA Distribution/Package Type

Eric Hiser, Vice President of Standards & Certification, ISTAEric Hiser, Vice President of Standards & Certification, ISTA

One of the critical considerations is to verify that your packaging will perform as designed and leaves the customer with the desired brand impression. The verification of performance involves testing the packaged product to an industry-developed general simulation protocol. At times, this task can feel overwhelming, especially for those who are entering into new markets or are finding themselves engaging testing for the first time. To help prepare you for this important task and potentially ease those overwhelming feelings, ISTA would like to share five common pre-testing considerations.

1. Utilize the appropriate test. An important step in the selection and use of test protocols is the user’s familiarity with their actual distribution environment. Understanding the flow of packages—how they are shipped and handled and stored—is critical to test selection and interpretation of results. Users should regularly observe package distribution, both in the manufacturer’s facility and outside of it in warehouses, transportation facilities, vehicles, and customer locations.

There are many established test protocols and ensuring you select the correct one for your desired outcome is important. Absent of detailed knowledge of your distribution environment the test selection matrix (above right) will assist in narrowing down the test options.

2. Define Success Criteria Prior to Conducting Testing.  Before testing begins, a determination must be made as to the definition of damage to products and packages. These are dependent upon the product, package, distribution system, market, customers, and other factors and can vary widely. Therefore, product damage and allowable package degradation must be defined by the stakeholders and interested parties (carrier, manufacturer, damage claim group, retailer, and/or others). In most cases, the shipper/manufacturer is in the best position to define product damage due to detailed familiarity with the product. Sometimes others may contribute to these determinations, including carriers and test lab personnel. But in any case, definition and agreement should be reached cooperatively among all entities concerned.


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