Experts reveal adopting sustainable living could help the world cut greenhouse emissions by up to 70% by 2050. Reusable or returnable containers, such as supply chain totes and containers, are among the most sustainable packaging available today that can help you reduce your carbon footprint. Recent studies estimate that reusable containers like those Flexcon provides cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 60% by eliminating the need to recycle or remanufacture single-use packaging. 

What Is a Reusable Container?

Reusable or returnable packaging is a supply chain container used over many trips and has a prolonged lifespan. These containers are usually molded or fabricated corrugated plastics and are highly durable. They allow ease of use and cleaning while providing an option for repair. The containers are also collapsible or nestable to allow for inexpensive transit and storage when empty. Some of the common types of reusable Flexcon containers include:

• Handheld totes.
• Plastic bulk containers.
• Pallets.
• Shipping racks.
• Dunnage. 

How Reusable Containers Boost Sustainability Efforts

No doubt, reusable containers play an integral role in minimizing the environmental impact of supply chain operations. The following are some of the ways reusable containers can boost sustainable order fulfillment efforts:

• Reduced carbon emissions:  A returnable supply chain container can drastically reduce your carbon footprint. When your business requires constant shipment of products between factory sites and final destinations, single-use corrugated packaging results in a massive accumulation of waste materials in landfills. On the other hand, returnable packaging reduces raw material consumption while minimizing carbon dioxide emissions by facilitating stacking and efficient space use during transportation. A recent study estimates recycling reusable containers for 30 years reduces emissions by 5.5-6.02 gigatons of carbon dioxide. This figure is equivalent to removing more than 1 billion cars off the streets for one year. 
• Reduced solid waste: Reusable containers such as totes and RSC boxes eliminate thousands of single-use packaging items from getting into a landfill, reducing solid waste by up to 86%.
• Lower energy consumption: The energy used to manufacture reusable containers is lower than what’s necessary to manufacture single-use packaging items. This is because reusable containers last long, thereby cutting the manufacturing rate.
• Lower water consumption: Single-use packaging systems use four times more water compared to reusable packaging. The high usage is because of heavy water use during manufacture, recycling, and disposal.
• Recycling at the end of life: Reusable containers are circular, allowing for the full recovery of packaging materials at the end of their useful life. This ensures the materials are recycled and reused in producing new reusable packaging.

Benefits of Reusable Packaging Beyond Sustainability

Apart from the widely known environmental benefits, there are several business reasons why you should consider using returnable containers. These include:

• Faster return on investment: Despite their high upfront investment, reusable containers deliver a faster return on investment. The quicker ROI is due to a lower cost per trip than the single-use option. In a nutshell, the cost per trip is much lower than the cost of purchasing new expandable packaging each time. It is estimated that businesses that opt for reusable containers save between 40 to 70% on the overall costs.
• Enhances productivity: Reusable totes and containers offer vast productivity benefits. They improve ease of use while ensuring more accessibility of items to production line staff. The workers leverage dividers to allow for multiple parts to be handled in a single container.
• Reduces damage: Reusable containers are made from robust materials to protect products and parts throughout the supply chain, translating to lower costs related to written-off stock.
• Improves space efficiency: Collapsible and nestable containers can improve space efficiency in storage and transit. Nestable containers stack on their lids or over fold-out bail-arms, allowing them to nest on each other, saving up to 75% of space. 

Types of Products Included in the Reusable Ecosystem.

Several types of reusable containers are for companies looking to increase efficiencies and contribute to a sustainable order fulfillment supply chain. Some common types of reusable products include:

• Nesting postal totes.
• Nesting tray tote.
• Straight wall tote.
• RSC box.
• Collapsible containers.

Applications of Reusable Containers in the Supply Chain

Reusable containers have their applications in both commercial and household spectrums. In the commercial area, the containers are widely used in transporting raw materials to processing units and transporting finished products to warehouses and consumers. Among the industries that typically make use of these containers are:

• Food and drink industry.
• Cosmetics. 
• Chemical industry.
• Electronics and computer manufacturers and assemblers.
• Aerospace.
• Textiles and clothing.
• Pharmaceuticals. 
• Any industry needing bulk storage/transport.

Features of Reusable Containers From Flexcon

The following are some of the features of reusable containers from Flexcon.

Heavy-duty construction: Our containers can withstand constant rigors in various automated systems. Made from corrugated plastic, they withstand rust, corrosion, and water damage.

Adjustable dividers: Our containers are available with adjustable dividers to maximize versatility while optimizing picking, sorting, and packaging operations.

Versatile designs: They are compatible with most automated inserter/extractor and conveyor systems in ASRS.

Pitched drain holes: The containers have pitched drain holes for ease of cleaning. The holes also ensure water drains out to prevent the collapse of the automated storage and retrieval system when sprinklers are on.

Optional lids: Optional lids are available to secure and protect your products in transit. 

Contact Flexcon Today for Reusable Containers

Reusable packaging systems play an integral role in minimizing the environmental impact of supply chains. These containers provide users with long, useful life in a truly circular model. Flexcon is a world-renowned manufacturer and supplier of reusable containers designed to meet the unique sustainable order fulfillment needs of every industry. 

We aim to promote sustainability by enabling a circular economy for flexible packaging. All our products are polypropylene, which resists extreme temperatures and reduces carbon emissions. The containers are also recyclable at the end of their life and returned to productive use rather than entering the landfill. 

We leverage cutting-edge technologies and techniques to design and deliver returnable containers that meet FDA standards and your specific needs. Custom designs, layouts, and sizes are available. Dealer inquiries are welcome. If you have further questions or want to order something that meets your sustainable fulfillment order needs, contact us today.

Branding and advertising are the major tools used to promote businesses. They help brands to reach and acquire new customers and are also good drivers of sales and profits. For instance, presenting a brand on all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%. 

The two elements are closely connected on purpose, and they feed off each other, hence, it’s easy to get them confused. Also, each has the ability to make the other more or less effective. Although their major goal is to increase revenue, they do it differently. Failure to know the difference between branding and advertising can create a marketing gap, but knowing the difference between the two can strengthen your marketing strategy. 

In this article, we will be discussing the differences between branding and advertising to help you better align your overall business strategy. 

What is Branding 

First, let’s understand…

What is a brand?

A brand refers to a compelling identity that helps businesses create a long-lasting emotional connection with their customers. It is a promise of value that gives a unique customer experience. Customers remain loyal to brands that share their values Ibomma. 

Businesses should know that a brand is not owned by a company, but by the customers. So, if your customers don’t buy into your brand’s story, the brand doesn’t really exist. 

To build a brand, a business must develop a holistic awareness of its operations, strategy, and communications. Everything that a business does, including customer service, website design, responding to customer calls, handling customer complaints, and much more, is part of establishing its brand. 

Thus, branding deals with the identity of a business and everything it does to make customers loyal to its products or services.  

The identity of a brand determines what customers think about it, and it is marked by factors like its logo, colors, and tagline. For example, color improves the recognition of a brand by up to 80%. Branding helps businesses to build relationships with customers and relay a consistent theme to them. This way, customers can know what to expect from a business during the course of interactions. 

Branding also has the aspect of understanding yourself. Some of the fundamental branding questions for businesses include:

• Who are we?
• What kind of people do we serve?
• How are we different?
• What problems do we solve for our customers?

A brand also includes the tone it uses in advertising, newsletters, social media posts, treatment of employees, the company’s community outreach, and all other impressions that the business makes to the public. So, it’s important for a business to establish stuff like the mission of the company, the selling features of their products or services, and the customer base to be targeted. 

Let’s say you run a company that makes beach accessories. Your customers will expect it to have a certain look and feel. Your company may host beach parties, sponsor outdoor water sports events, and let workers wear beach clothes while in the company. The employees may use casual language and explain to people the importance of being in nature. It’s also important for your company to differentiate itself from other companies that make beach accessories. You can talk about the unique services that your company offers to make itself unique. All these activities are part of branding. 

Everything that your business does should be reflected in your branding. Which qualities do you want your company to be associated with? Do you charge higher prices because of niche offerings, or are they lower because your product is mass market? If you establish strong, consistent, and authentic branding, you will retain your customers. 

What is Advertising?

The relationship between your company and your customer starts and ends with your brand. For your business to remain profitable, it has to make sales. An ideal customer will come back to buy your product or service not just because they want the product or service, but because they want to support your brand. That’s why it is of great essence for you to know who your ideal customer is. 

Advertising is the process of spreading awareness about your business. It is part of building your brand and it should reflect the values of your brand. Advertising is also about communicating products and services to a wider audience. It can be done through social media promotions, online advertising campaigns, or local media. Advertising does not target any single individual, but the entire audience. It is a way of convincing a large audience to take a particular action such as making an online purchase, or visiting your store because sales are of great importance to any business. 

An advertisement is a way of requesting a meeting between your company and your ideal customer. There is a big difference between a customer who knows your brand and a customer who doesn’t. It is like the difference between asking a friend to go for coffee with you and asking a stranger. 

So, advertising is a way of getting your company name known to the wider public. After all, no customer will visit your restaurant if they haven’t heard of you. If you are celebrating a milestone or you have a special offer, it is a good time to let the world know about your business. But it is branding that will keep these customers coming back. It tells customers what they can expect from your business. And if you deliver that, you will retain customers for years. 

Traditionally, advertising was difficult due to the lack of proper tools to run advertisements. However, the invention of digital advertising tools has made it easy for businesses to reach a larger number of new and returning customers.  A tool like Latana helps businesses to measure and spread brand awareness for audience and revenue growth. Such tools are also good for segmenting audiences based on their unique characteristics. This helps businesses run customized advertisements to increase the chances of making conversions. 

The Role of Trust in Branding and Advertising

Trust is an important factor in branding and advertising. 

Let us use a scenario to explain the role of trust in branding and advertising. Let’s say you are the brand, your products are cookies, and your friend is the customer. 

Scenario A: You make a call to your friend and request them to come and buy cookies. Your friend is most likely to think that you are only interested in selling, but you (the brand) don’t care about them, their feelings, or experience. There is a big truth in this because you are putting your product and profit before your relationship with them. 

So, what is missing in this case? 

A brand relationship. 

Scenario B: You make a call to your friend and request them to come over for cookies because you want to have a conversation with them and have ample time together. This way, you are cultivating a good relationship between yourself and your friend. It is a clear indication that you are putting the relationship between you and your friend first, hence, they will experience you as a trusted and genuine person (the brand).  

So, you should always consider the different ways that you can use your brand beyond colors or logo design to provide your customers with the experience that they are looking for. After knowing who your ideal customers are and what they are looking for, you can come up with new ways to customize your brand to gain trust from your customers and provide them with what they want. Your brand will then get loyal customers who will keep coming back for more. 

Conclusion

Branding is what a company believes in and how consumers feel about it and its products. It helps businesses promote loyalty and long-term commitment. Customers recognize brands using their visual elements like logo, company name, fonts, tagline, and color scheme. Such elements identify a brand and create an association in the minds of consumers between their desires and the company’s ideals. 

Advertising involves spreading the awareness of a brand to acquire new customers and drive sales. It is normally done through paid campaigns that are customized to reach a target audience through different media including newspapers, social media platforms, television, radio, etc. 

Branding and advertising work together. Branding drives the direction and style of advertising campaigns while advertising enhances brand awareness. 

Using chemical cleaners to disinfect surfaces and items can be ineffective, exposing you to harmful germs and bacteria. UV sterilizers are a modern method of disinfecting surfaces and are a great substitute for chemical cleaners. You can use the new disinfecting technology in homes and highly contaminated offices to maintain hygiene. Read on to learn why you should use UV light over chemical cleaners when disinfecting.

Simple To Use

Chemical cleaner application involves processes like mixing, spraying, and washing, making it difficult. UV light creates convenience when disinfecting your surroundings; most options work on simple modes like intelligent function or one-button operation. They work by emitting ultraviolet rays which kill the DNA of disease-causing pathogens.

The simplicity when using UV light means it can be used by almost anyone. You can have peace of mind knowing your space is disinfected with the touch of a button.

UV disinfecting systems can also operate autonomously once installed, making sterilization easier. You can place the technology in rooms for use as per the need. You enjoy disinfection services for pre-set cycles, such as overnight when the room is unoccupied Ytml3.

Low Maintenance Costs

UV purifiers require maintenance to retain optimal performance and operate effectively but have low maintenance costs. Minimal maintenance costs on UV light make them ideal when operating on a budget.

Most companies offer a warranty on the UV lamps or parts should they need replacement. You experience minimal to no maintenance costs over the sterilizer’s useful life. UV light use is affordable since it serves you for years, unlike chemical cleaners, which you buy once and use.

Apply For Disinfecting Busy Rooms

Busy and highly contaminated spaces like operating rooms or laboratories require frequent disinfection. Using chemical cleaners requires some time to allow the sanitization process to complete. After completing disinfection, chemical residue in the air may make the rooms unsafe for immediate occupancy.
UV disinfectants offer almost instant sterilization results after a procedure. Since the process is chemical-free, you can occupy the room or use the surface right after sterilization. Get hospital-grade UV-C lights for effective sterilization of operating rooms and laboratories.

Non-Toxic to the Environment

Most chemical cleaners have harmful compounds that disintegrate once released into the environment. These chemicals cause a Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) influx into the atmosphere, contributing to ozone layer destruction. CFC release to the environment also intoxicates the air for living organisms, affecting their health.

UV disinfectants use a chemical-free process to break down germs and bacteria. The chemical-free process is non-toxic to the environment, allowing living things to remain healthy.

Works Well for Disinfecting Electronics

Chemical cleaners are mostly mixed with water to make application easier. Use of such disinfectants on or close to electronics risks their functionality. UV light, on the other hand, does not leave moisture and residue behind, meaning it is perfect for disinfecting electronics.
Disinfecting surfaces using UV light leaves them dry and free of most bacteria and pathogens. UV light disinfection works well for manufacturing facilities and hospital rooms with machines. The sterilizing process breaks down tough chemical combinations promoting germ existence without risking your equipment.

Less Risk for Illness or Death

A common concern for most people is safety in the disinfection methods. Chemical cleaners, although effective, create a risk; children can easily ingest the chemicals, or they can cause damage if wrongly used.

UV disinfection, if appropriately applied, is safe. Its chemical-free nature implies that UV light use reduces the risk of harm from harsh chemicals.

Most UV disinfectant systems come with safety properties pre-installed; the product detects room occupancy and only turns on if the room is unoccupied. Such features prevent any possible harm to your household or clients at work.

Ultraviolet sterilizers are safer to use around children. Most UV disinfectant equipment comes with top child safety features and passes UL Safety certification. These properties offer sufficient protection against problems related to UV light exposure like skin burns or eye injuries.

Higher Disinfection Rate

Chemical cleaner use in washing, sanitizing, and disinfecting sometimes miss harmful bacteria that can cause diseases. Bacteria also mutate to survive in harsh chemicals, rendering the cleaners ineffective. The ineffectiveness of these traditional disinfecting methods is why you should settle for UV light.

UV light disinfects using physical methods, meaning pathogens cannot develop mutations. Continuous UV disinfection can deal with bacteria and germs on surfaces.

UV disinfectants boast a high disinfection rate – up to 99.9% – leaving surfaces germ-free. The technology can help keep your premise disinfected from illness-causing bacteria and viruses.

Use UV Sterilizer to Effectively Disinfect Surfaces

Using UV light disinfection for your office or business premises helps deal with illness-causing germs and bacteria. The method is safe and has many benefits like better disinfection and eco-friendliness. Using a UV sterilizer will offer value for your money while protecting your employees and clients. The non-toxic sterilization method also kills many harmful pathogens for proper protection.