Phillip Akhzar, founder and chief executive officer of Arka, details the many challenges and opportunities in packaging and cartonization.

In the packaging industry, there’s a bit of greenwashing – making deceptive claims about a product being environmentally friendly – Akhzar says. If something is said to be recyclable, it should be able to be recycled. That isn’t always the case. If it’s labeled compostable, consumers should be able to compost it. Unfortunately, compostable materials all too often go into either the trash or into recycle bins – “neither of which should happen. So I would say talk to your packaging provider about making the right choice versus just what's fashionable and what's hot.”

Shipping small items in overly large cartons is one of the biggest wastes of materials and money, Akhzar says. The solution lies in having the right communication between the shipper and its third-party logistics provider. “They can say, ‘I'm trying to make this as eco-friendly as possible: minimize the amount of excess space that's inside the package for my product.’”

Unfortunately, in some cases the shipper has no say-so. “The 3PL makes the call on what brown box or poly mailer they use because they service a bunch of different merchants under that warehouse,” he says. “Long story short: communication. Let your 3PL, your packaging provider, know it's important to you.”

Akhzar notes that money is saved not just in using less material but on the transportation side as well. “Although a 9-by-9 box is cheaper to buy than a 12-by-12 box, it's way cheaper to ship, and that's where your costs really can come down.”

AI can cut transportation costs, he says, by forecasting what packages and sizes will be needed based on the product sizes one has. “AI can be a super powerful tool to help you save costs,” Akhzar says.