Packaging for businesses at Orbital 24: the outer, whatever holds the product inside it, and the consumables that close and palletise it. WSUK specifies all three and supplies them into WS11-WS12 with stockholding on anything printed or bespoke.
Orbital 24: the packaging picture
Despatch is typically a person rather than a department. That makes continuity of supply matter more than small differences in unit price, because running out of tape stops work rather than slowing it.
The mix also means both parcel and pallet traffic leave from the same few streets, and a pack specified for one of those routes is usually wrong for the other.
What that means for a unit here is fairly specific.
- A line list review, which on most units finds a range longer than the despatch profile needs.
- Pallet consumables for anything palletised: film, strapping, layer pads, corner protection.
- Protective materials chosen against the failure mode rather than by adding more of whatever is to hand.
- Trade quantities without a minimum on standard lines.
- Call-off on printed and bespoke work, so run quantities do not need floor space.
| Business | Despatch pattern | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Food or drink producer | Retail cases | Shelf ready cases, trays, layer pads |
| Importer | Bulk in, broken cases out | Heavy outers plus a part-case pack |
| Manufacturer | Pallet and parcel both | Carton ladder plus protective range |
| Online retailer | Parcels daily | Postal boxes, mailers, void fill, printed tape |
| Print or signage | Flat and rolled | Book wraps, tubes, board tops |
| Service business | Kit out and back | Reclosable cases, protective film |
The businesses in a mixed commercial area and what each tends to order.
Cannock's business base around Orbital 24
Businesses at Orbital 24 sit in a Staffordshire town whose industry runs to Distribution, warehousing and manufacturing. That breadth is the reason a packaging range here should be short and well chosen rather than long and accumulated.
Cannock is connected by M6 (J11–J12), M6 Toll (T7), A5 and A34, which is why the units are where they are and why resupply into WS11-WS12 off central Midlands stock is straightforward. Goods leave Orbital 24 on national routes within minutes of the door.
A specification written from damage evidence tends to use less material than the one it replaces, not more. That is worth saying because the instinctive response at a bench is to add protection, and at Orbital 24 as anywhere that usually treats the symptom.
Everything here is supplied through packaging services in Cannock, and the service pages behind it set out each material range in detail.
What we supply into Orbital 24
One account, one invoice, one delivery into WS11-WS12 - across all of this.
- Cartons and cases - single and double wall, postal boxes, heavy duty and triple wall where weight demands it. See packaging supplies.
- Tape and sealing - polypropylene, vinyl and paper tape in hand and machine widths, plus dispensers and case sealers.
- Void fill and cushioning - paper fill, air cushion, bubble and loose fill, specified against the failure rather than the shelf. See protective packaging.
- Postal and ecommerce formats - mailers, letterbox packs, book wraps and padded envelopes. See postal and parcel packaging.
- Foam - sheet, convoluted, profiled and pocketed inserts, including anti-static grades. See foam packaging.
- Pallet consumables - layer pads, board tops and bases, shrink hoods and the film that holds a load to its pallet.
- Sustainable options - recyclable corrugated, paper tape and fill, moulded pulp and plastic-free mailers. See sustainable packaging.
Delivery and resupply at Orbital 24
Supply into Orbital 24 runs off central Midlands stock rather than to order. Standard lines are an ordinary delivery into WS11-WS12; printed and bespoke lines are produced at a sensible run, held, and called off as the bench consumes them.
The mechanics are on packaging stockholding, and packaging stockholding in Cannock covers how supply works across Cannock specifically.
Where the cost actually sits
The first thing a line list usually shows is that the range is too long. Sizes accumulate, nothing is ever removed, and a unit ends up carrying eight outers where four well-chosen ones would fit the despatch profile more closely and buy considerably better.
If you want that looked at properly rather than quoted like-for-like, a packaging review examines materials, storage, carriage, labour, damage and waste together.
The short version
- The outer, the protection and the consumables are three decisions, and most ranges only make one of them deliberately.
- A line list with twelve months of usage shows the opportunity faster than any conversation about price.
- A reorder from held stock is a delivery; a reorder without it is a production run.
- Units at Orbital 24, Walsall and Wolverhampton are supplied off the same Midlands stock.
- One account covers outers, protection, sealing, print and pallet consumables.
Frequently asked questions
What do you supply besides cartons?
Tape and sealing, void fill, foam, films and stretch wrap, strapping and pallet consumables, protective and edge protection, printed and bespoke work - see packaging supplies.
Do you supply small units as well as large ones?
Yes. Standard lines are trade quantities with no fixed minimum, and printed or bespoke work is handled through call-off so a run quantity does not need your floor space.
Can we have our branding on the packaging?
Yes. Printed tape is usually the cheapest route because one setup brands every carton size you use - see custom printed tape.
How quickly can packaging reach Orbital 24?
Standard lines come off stock held around 45 minutes away at Lutterworth, so resupply into WS11-WS12 is a delivery rather than a production run. Printed and bespoke work carries a genuine lead time, which is the argument for holding the run.
Is there a minimum order for packaging at Orbital 24?
Standard lines are supplied in trade quantities rather than against a fixed minimum. Printed and bespoke work comes in run quantities because the setup is spread across the run - which is where packaging stockholding earns its place.
Do we need a trade account?
It is the simplest way to run it, because it puts outers, protection, print, bespoke work and pallet consumables on one account and one invoice rather than four.