When choosing a contract packager, you are developing a partnership. As such, a contract packaging partner must be able to complete your project at a competitive cost aligned with your time schedule with quality assurance. They may also solve common problems in start-up businesses, limited production facilities, concerns about equipment investments, physical facilities, personnel training and more.

Here are some reasons why you may want to consider selecting a contract packager:

• There is no available in-house equipment or expertise for a particular job
• There's an alternative use viewed as a higher priority for the in-house equipment
• A series of geographically separated facilities could serve the product better for national distribution
• New packaging forms unfamiliar to your staff and equipment are being considered
• Your actual or projected product volume under or over employs your own manufacturing lines, either short or long term
• There's a short run for a new product market test, gift pack or seasonal appeal, which may require your company to invest in new equipment
• Promoting your product with non-standard packaging or promotional inserts requiring special machinery or labor intensive work is specified
• The pressure of new business or deadlines creates a heavy, short term workload for which you require experienced help to supplement the efforts of in-house staff
• A product may more economically be shipped in bulk to a distant market, then unit packed locally
• There's a specific, short-term requirement that may be better served by specific experience or equipment you don't have
• Operations problems such as your plant closing for maintenance or your being faced with a labor availability problem cause you to consider alternative options
• There's a warehouse full of a product that needs re-working to make it saleable
• There's a new package form that is to be market tested before general introduction
• There's a corporate downsizing in personnel, facilities or both
• The company is faced with a high investment to meet regulatory and environmental requirements

However, there may be times when it may be premature to talk to a contract packager. For example, when:

• The need is unclear or at least not clearly stated
• The problem can be more effectively and efficiently addressed using other methods
• You think the contract packager can salvage a project that you suspect is no longer salvageable
• The company is not organizationally or financially prepared to implement the contract packager's suggestions