You’ve made the first steps in choosing your returnable packaging but do you understand the added advantages of colour coding your system? Many business’s don’t realise there are a variety of colours available in the same specification of packaging, this can range from attached lidded containers, trays, bins, ingredients storage units and tubs. If you are looking to streamline inventory management, save time and reduce errors now’s the time to considering your colour coding options. Organising your stock, warehouse or retail functions can be time consuming, but once this is in place time will be saved in the long run.

So what sort of businesses might use colour coding and why?

Retail- to differentiate sizes, garments and branches, this can make selecting and loading for dispatch more efficient.

Food- to differentiate chilled, fresh, frozen and ambient. Products can then be easily identified on mixed pallets and moved quicker to their destination rather than having to be sorted through. This also eliminated cross contamination.

Warehouse- for stocking and pick items. Simplify stock counting so you know exactly where the goods are.

Automotive- different sized components can be stored in alternative box colours maybe by size or manufacturer. Popular units include stacking crates and picking boxes.

Schools- trays used in classrooms can be colour coordinated per subject and in the staff room with important documents.

Storage- if you are storing items for a period of time and want to easily identify what’s in each box so you don’t have to rummage through, you might consider blue for your lounge, green for the kitchen and yellow for the bathroom.

 Recycling- alternative bins for different recycling material. These are used in a variety of environments with the same principle such as one for cardboard, one for plastics and one for metal.  

Visually colours can be more identifiable than text or numbers, this could help remove room for error and unnecessary mistakes in an operation with hundreds of people or simply make life easier for a class of school children. The clearer your instructions the better, it will create transparency on how to complete a task and overall be more aesthetically pleasing.

At Alison Handling we stock a huge variety of coloured plastic packaging and storage options. To speak to one of our team call 01772 687 940 or visit www.alisonhandling.com