Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day
By Alex Batty, MHI Marketing Communications Coordinator |@mhi_alex
August 7th is Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day. Yeah. That’s a thing. And because so many supply chain participants see packaging everyday, we thought we’d highlight some of our least favorites.
I used to work in shipping and receiving and we saw some weird stuff, but oddly, it’s as a consumer that I’ve felt the most frustration.
CD Overwrapping
Does this date me? I’m not that old, I swear. But the plastic that wraps CDs was always frustrating growing up because you could never get a good grip on it.
Source: CD-Info.com
The teeny-tiny folds always seemed to seal to each other and delay my music joy.
Unnecessary Packaging
Have you ever received a large package and opened it to find one tiny item inside? Now I understand why that sometimes happens, standard box sizes and all that, but it’s still a bit frustrating. You get a giant box and expect a bunch of cool things inside, but all you get is this:
It makes you wonder what happened at the source of the supply chain to make this happen.
Heat Sealed Plastic Clamshells
These are the absolute worst.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
These types of packages are associated with the phenomenon ‘wrap rage’, which most of us have probably experienced. There are internet rumors that you can open them easily with a can opener, but I usually resort to hacking them open with a pair of scissors and hoping I don’t slice myself on the newly created razor plastic edges.
Frustration Free
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably purchased something on Amazon, once or twice. Curse that Prime shipping. But have you noticed that some products come with a Frustration Free Packaging option?
Amazon.com
This is part of their initiative to deliver product in recyclable and easy-to-open packaging that ships without additional boxes.
So, happy Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day! Tweet at me your ridiculous packaging stories so I don’t feel like I’m the only one who struggles to get my stuff. Also in the spirit of celebrating odd things, it is also lighthouse day and psychic day, among other things. There is a day for anything you want to celebrate, but here in supply chain, packaging seemed to be something awesome to celebrate.
