Whether you use cast stretch film, blown stretch film, or stretch wrap equipment in your warehouse, distribution center, or business, it makes dollars and sense to know and use stretch wrap best practices. Doing so can help create time and cost savings as well as other efficiencies.
And to help you achieve these goals, the team at AAA Polymer has compiled a brief list of our top stretch wrap best practices. These best practices are applicable for cast stretch wrap material, blown stretch wrap, and stretch wrap machine film. You may even find the information useful if you use shrink wrap and a shrink wrapping machine. Let's take a closer look at a few stretch wrap best practices you can use today.
Pre-Stretch Film Offers the Best of Cast Stretch Wrap and Blown Stretch Wrap
One of the top stretch wrap best practices is to use pre-stretched film. This type of stretch wrap has been stretched near its breaking point before being placed on the rolls. As a hybrid stretch film between blown stretch film and cast stretch film, pre-stretched film is engineered as an extruded blown stretch film.
Because of this, pre-stretch wrap offers the desirable attributes of both blown stretch film and cast stretch film. For example, it offers the remarkable puncture resistance of a blown stretch wrap and is dull and hazy. However, it's easier to apply than conventional cast stretch wrap and blown stretch films.
The design of the pre-stretch film helps you avoid worrying whether your employees are using the right amount of stretch wrap to achieve optimal stretch tension. A few key benefits of using pre-stretch film include:
Pre-stretch film can stabilize misshapen and protruding
Pre-stretch wrap can bolster employee productivity by requiring fewer film wraps
Pre-stretch film can lead to improved load retention and load stability
Pre-stretch film offers remarkable tear resistance for loads with sharper edges and jagged corners
Pre-stretch film demonstrates excellent performance in extremely frigid temperatures
Save Money with Pre-Stretch Wrap Film
While pre-stretch film may be more expensive by the roll, using this common stretch wrap material will almost always lead to cost savings. When stretch wrapping with this type of film, you will use approximately 50% less than conventional cast film and blown film.
And this can lead to cost savings of up to 40%. At the same time, pre-stretch film is significantly lighter than traditional cast film and blown film, which means it costs less to ship.
Leverage Colored Stretch Film As a Competitive Advantage
Today, you have access to a broad spectrum of colored stretch wraps and stretch films, including blue, green, red, white, yellow, and black. And savvy warehouse managers and business owners utilize the full spectrum of colored stretch film to improve the function of their facility and create efficiencies. Here are a few ways you can leverage colored stretch wrap and stretch film as a competitive advantage.
Improve brand recognition by stretch wrapping in a brand color. Select a stretch film color associated with your brand. Then, use this color exclusively on all of your pallets to create a consistent look. When your pallets are shipped to your customers, they will recognize, expect, and associate the color with your business.
Add exclusivity to your product by stretch wrapping in a brand color. Colored stretch wrap can infuse an element of exclusivity to your product and help it stand out from other vendors. While the competition may use clear stretch wraps, you can stand out from the crowd by stretch wrapping in a specific color associated with your brand.
Improve warehouse organization by strategically stretch wrapping. Use colored stretch wrap in your distribution center and warehouse to create efficiencies. Color coding pallets is a simple and effective way to make keeping visual track of products easier. By color-coding pallets, you can easily separate items, so your warehouse will look and be more organized.
Bolster privacy when you wrap pallets in darker-colored stretch film. Opaque or darker colored stretch film can be used to improve security and conceal the contents.
Reduce heat damage when you wrap pallets in opaque stretch film or white stretch film. If you have products that are sensitive to heat, white pallet stretch wrap can help. The white stretch film doesn't attract heat, so it can be effective at helping to protect heat-sensitive pallets.
Choose the Best Shipping & Stacking Option: Pallets vs Skids vs Crate
When it comes to stretch wrapping products, you should always start by choosing the best shipping and storage solution. In general, you have three options: pallets, skids, and crates.
Pallets are the most popular shipping and storage solution. As the do-all storage solution utilized by several warehouses, most pallets can accommodate up to 4,600 lbs. Pallets feature a bottom deck that offers increased sturdiness and makes storage easy.
Skids are the precursor to pallets. Often referred to as the original pallet, skids are a more cost-effective solution and are easier to move because of the lack of the bottom deck.
A shipping crate is a shipping box with four walls. Crates are especially useful and helpful for holding supplies, products, and other items that need more protection.
Deciding which option is best will always depend on the product and other key factors. And whether you're stacking skids, pallets, or crates, the stretch wrapping process can add an extra level of protection. Whether you use stretch wrapping equipment, semi-automatic stretch wrappers, or hand wrapping, you'll rest easier knowing the load will experience fewer movements and shifts
How to Use the Right Amount of Stretch Wrap
At AAA Polymer, one of the top questions we receive is "how much stretch wrap do I need?" In either case, selecting the right amount of stretch wrap is a very common struggle for most distribution centers and warehouses.
While too much can cause increased costs, waste, and an unnecessarily wrapped pallet, using too little can lead to product damage and expensive accidents. As with most things, the right solution is just in the middle. Finding this middle, however, can be difficult. One solution is to opt for stretch wrapping machinery and machine film, which offers many benefits:
More efficient and faster product packaging
Reduced cost of packaging materials
Safer application
More secure, safer loads
Yet, the investment for a machine stretch wrapping equipment may not be feasible for some operations. In this case, choosing a pre-stretch film can offer you many of the same benefits without the capital investment.
Contact AAA Polymer for More Stretch Wrap Best Practices
At AAA Polymer, we have been helping facilities optimize their stretch wrap operations since 1974. As the leading provider of stretch film, stretch film recycling, and can liners, we are looking forward to meeting your needs and exceeding your expectations.
Contact AAA Polymer today.