Monday Musings: The Packaging Problem

We get though a lot of packaging.  By nature of our business, it sometimes feels like we are drowning under a sea of cardboard, but what choice do we have?  We want our expensive computer equipment to arrive in pristine working condition and our customers expect the same.  Often we get asked to take the packaging away, but is it our responsibility?  It would be like asking the postman to take away the envelope.  How far back does the responsibility go?  To the courier?  To the manufacturer?   Being at the end of the line leaves us in a bit of a bind.  It’s socially irresponsible to just throw all the packaging away, but to have it recycled correctly is an added expense, in both time and money.  There’s no doubt this is a problem that needs solving and we’ve started noticing that some of our vendors’ boxes are getting both smaller and smarter.  Dell and HP in particular seem to be leading the way here.  For example, in some shops if you are buying a HP laptop, you’ll have the option to take it away in a laptop bag – this is because the laptops themselves arrive at the shop three to a box.  Our Dell laptops are all arriving with bamboo-based reinforcements, which being stronger than Styrofoam means it can be thinner, reducing the overall package size.  Dell is even using mushrooms to make their packaging.  I’m looking forward to receiving our next server order so I can see this for myself!

We like smart solutions here, and these look to be some of the smartest but if you know of any other vendor doing anything similar, let us know and we’ll pass the message on!