Most packaging conversations start too far down, with a price for a part before anyone has agreed what the part is doing. This is the sequence we run instead.
Most accounts start on one and move to another. The honest answer is usually the lightest path that does the job. An engineered program you didn't need costs time as well as money.
| Path | Choose it when | What happens | Typical gate count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock | The standard formats fit your payload and you need it working now. | Order against a known SKU and lead time. Samples first if you have not seen one. | 0 |
| Branded | The packout works; it just looks like anyone's. | Dieline, artwork, proof, run. Your identity on a proven format. | 2 |
| Engineered | Unusual geometry, an awkward workflow, or a lane nothing off-the-shelf suits. | The full sequence below, with an output you keep at every gate. | 5 |
Each gate ends with an artefact that belongs to your program whether or not you continue. That is the point of gating it: every stage leaves you with something you can take with you.
We take one shipment apart: components, steps, cost, cube and transit. You keep a written measurement of your own packout, which is useful even if you never buy anything from us.
Drawn options against that measurement, with the trade-offs stated. Usually two or three, so you choose between real alternatives.
A physical sample you can load, seal and hand to the person who will actually pack it. Opinions change quickly at this gate, which is why it comes before testing.
We document what we tested and the exact configuration it was tested in, along with what your team qualifies in your own process, route and use case. That split is written down before you order, not after.
A limited production run against success criteria agreed in writing beforehand. A pilot starts by stating what would make it a success, so both sides know what the run has to show.
The program becomes a controlled SKU with a bill of materials, a dieline, a price and a lead time. Your next order is a purchase order.
One shipment, honestly described. Access to whoever actually packs it. The bench is where the real constraints live, and they are rarely the ones described in a meeting. And an early introduction to whoever signs off a packaging change, because a program that reaches quality for the first time at the pilot gate tends to restart there.
Discover is a thirty-minute conversation and it costs nothing. You get a written measurement of your current packout either way.