What Should I Do If My Packaging Supplier Can’t Scale With My Business?

When your business grows, your packaging supply needs to keep up. It’s a common issue for expanding manufacturers and e-commerce brands: the service that worked for small volumes starts to struggle as your orders increase. This often results in missed delivery dates, inconsistent quality, and the risk of stock running out. You need a packaging partner with the capacity to handle your volume.

Manor Packaging provides the manufacturing strength and stock-holding support you need to keep your operations running smoothly. We will ensure your packaging arrives on time, every time.

Why Do Some Packaging Suppliers Struggle With Growth?

Packing suppliers often fail to scale with you because they run out of machine time or floor space. If they can’t accommodate your increased production, you’ll start experiencing longer lead times and increasing uncertainty.

Many smaller suppliers also rely on buying raw materials from the open market, which leaves them, and you, exposed to material shortages and fluctuating prices. To meet increased demand, they may rush your orders or send them to other factories. This means you lose control over your packaging quality, and your delivery dates become more of a guess than a promise.

Five Signs Your Packaging Supplier is at Capacity

You can often see the warning signs before a major packaging supply failure happens. If you notice these issues, it is time to look at your options:

1. Delivery Dates Keep Changing

A reliable supplier will give you a date and stick to it. If your supplier frequently moves dates, blames “material shortages,” or takes days to confirm a slot, they are stretched too thin.

2. Minimum Orders are Too Rigid

Growth involves testing new products and managing seasonal peaks. If a supplier demands the same order size for a trial run as they do for full production, they are hindering your business from testing new formats. A helpful packaging partner will offer flexibility for trials and scale up with you.

3. No Design Advice

As your volumes rise, your packing efficiency matters. An excellent supplier won’t just take orders; they will suggest design changes to speed up your packing line, save on materials, fit more boxes on a pallet, or use plastic-free alternatives. If your supplier isn’t offering design advice, there is room for improvement.

4. Quality Varies Between Batches

Inconsistent glue lines, print variation, and boxes that are slightly different sizes will jam automated packing lines. These imperfections are often the result of rushed production or being outsourced to a third party with different quality standards.

5. Compliance Paperwork is Missing

Retailers and export markets need strict paperwork, such as FSC® certification and ISO standards. If your supplier cannot provide you with up-to-date certificates for the materials they use, they are putting your retailer contracts at risk.

The Real Cost of Using the Wrong Supplier

Sticking with a supplier that can no longer handle your volume will cost you money. It’s not just about the price of the box; it’s about how it will affect your whole operation.

• Shipping Air: Using standard off the shelf stock boxes that are too large for your product increases your courier costs. You will pay to ship empty space and need more void fill to protect the item.
• Product Damage: Poorly designed packaging fails in transit. The financial and reputational costs of replacing damaged goods and handling returns is far higher than the cost of getting your packaging right at the outset.
• Slow Packing Lines: If your boxes are hard to assemble or jam your case erectors, your labour costs will go up, and you will get fewer products out the door.
• Wasted Warehouse Space: If you can’t trust your supplier to deliver on time, you will have to hold extra “safety stock.” This will tie up your cash and fill the valuable warehouse space that should be used for your finished products.

Reliable, Scalable Packaging from Manor Packaging

We have full control over the manufacturing process, allowing us to manage quality through every stage. Manor Packaging is part of the Fencor Packaging Group, giving you the security and scale of a large manufacturer with the personal service of a local partner.

World-Class Delivery Reliability You Can Count On

We maintain a 96–98.5% OTIF (On Time In Full) delivery performance, near-flawless service levels, and a proven track record of reliability. This consistency will allow you to plan your production schedules with confidence. You can avoid supply chain failure by choosing a reliable packaging partner that actively measures and publishes its performance.

Secured Supply via CorrBoard UK

We are part-owners of CorrBoard UK, an independent corrugated sheet manufacturer. This guarantees us direct access to an independently produced board, ensuring short lead times, price stability, and reduced reliance on the open market.

In-House Manufacturing Control

We manufacture everything in-house at our 61,598 sq ft facility in Peterborough.

• Investment: We reinvest approximately 6% of our sales turnover annually into our business to keep our equipment state-of-the-art.
• Machinery: Our plant features BOBST conversion equipment, capable of rapid set-ups and high-speed production.
• Capacity Headroom: We maintain 30% capacity headroom throughout the calendar year, which means we have the space to handle your demand spikes without delays.
• Quality: Our strict quality controls, including calibrated colour management and in-house ink kitchen, ensure every batch meets strict regulatory standards.

Stock and Serve Logistics

Growing businesses often run out of storage space, which is why we operate a dedicated 43,000 sq ft Stock and Serve warehouse. We will manufacture your packaging in efficient volumes and hold it for you. You can call it off for Just-in-Time packaging supply, freeing up your valuable warehouse space and improving your cash flow.

Sustainability is Built-In

We make it easy to scale responsibly. Through CorrBoard, we use corrugated board where the manufacturing process is carbon-neutral and produced using renewable energy from CorrBoard UK’s Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant.

• Materials: All our materials are FSC®-certified and 99.9% recyclable.
• Targets: We are committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2030 for Scope 1 and 2 (direct and energy-related emissions)
• Renewable energy: 50% of our factory’s energy is supplied by rooftop solar panels.

How to Switch Suppliers Without Disrupting Operations

Switching suppliers can feel daunting, but with the right support, it becomes a smooth, low-risk transition. We will use a structured approach to ensure you have a constant supply of packaging while you move over to us.

1. Packaging Audit: We will review your current range to find savings. We will identify oversized boxes that are too costly to transport and slow-moving items that we can consolidate.
2. Trial Runs: You don’t need to switch everything at once. We can run trials on specific lines to show you our quality and print capabilities.
3. Build Buffer Stock: To ensure resilience in your supply chain, we can manufacture a corrugated buffer stock before you stop ordering from your incumbent supplier. We will be ready to provide a JIT delivery service to ensure there is no gap in your supply.
4. Implement Stock and Serve: We will establish a schedule where we manufacture in bulk to get you the best price, then deliver to you on a daily or weekly basis.
5. Regular Reviews: We will schedule regular reviews to look for more material savings and design improvements as your business continues to grow.

Summary

Your packaging supplier should help you grow, not hold you back. If you are dealing with rigid order quantities, late deliveries, or quality issues, it’s time to move to a packaging partner with industrial capacity. Manor Packaging offers the supply security, manufacturing strength, and logistics support you need to keep your business moving. We are large enough to cope and small enough to care.

Ready to improve supply chain confidence? Contact Manor Packaging for a packaging audit today.