Finding the right stretch film for your packaging line is a crucial part of optimizing your supply chain. Even something as simple as the color of your stretch wrap can completely change the way you move and handle product loads. That’s why many companies choose colored stretch film to wrap their pallets.
But what is colored stretch film? Can it really make that much of a difference for your packaging and shipping processes? Learn all about the reasons you should use colored stretch film and explore different strategies for making the most of your stretch wrap with this guide.
Same Protection and Durability As Standard Film
For the most part, colored stretch film functions in the exact same way as standard stretch wrap options. It’s still a plastic film that stretches and wraps around product loads to stabilize them and secure them to a pallet. As such, colored stretch film is ideal for wrapping pallets so that you can move them safely through the supply chain. However, the unique coloring also makes it useful for color coding products, protecting loads, and promoting consistent branding.
Manufacturers create colored stretch film by adding dyes to the plastic or resin during the extrusion process. Colored stretch film can come in a bright array of options to best suit the needs of your supply chain.
The Benefits of Color Coding
The biggest reason to use colored stretch film is to color code your product loads. By adding a rainbow of stretch film colors to your inventory, you can label each individual pallet in a way that is fast and easy to identify.
Organization is a major challenge for distribution centers and warehouses. An unorganized system creates bottlenecks, missing loads, and other issues that cost you a significant amount of time and money. Disorganization can also eat up your free space and make it difficult for workers to move products safely and efficiently through your facility.
When workers can determine crucial information about a pallet load just by glancing at it, you can move products through your facility with greater speed and accuracy. Color coding brings a new level of organization to your workflow so that you can speed up processes, optimize inventory management, and minimize misplaced orders and other mistakes. The following examples are just a few of the ways you can use stretch film to color code product loads in your supply chain.
Color Coding by Product
Colored stretch film allows you to color code different product loads. This ability is extremely useful for facilities that handle a wide range of product types every day. You can also keep track of priority products or time- or temperature-sensitive loads by color coding them. For example, if a grocery distributor wraps all their frozen loads in blue, then stores will know to unload blue pallets into the freezer as soon as they arrive. Being able to identify product types at a glance helps keep pallets moving smoothly through the supply chain.
Color Coding by Day
You can also color code products by the day you create or ship the pallet. With this method, all pallets that leave your facility on a certain day will have the same color of wrapping. For example, you can use blue stretch film for every pallet you create and ship on Mondays, red stretch film for pallets on Tuesdays, green for Wednesdays, and so on.
This method creates a fast and simple way to date product loads. Workers along every stop of your supply chain will be able to tell how old a pallet is as soon as they see it. Color coding by day also helps keep loads moving through your supply chain at a steady pace. If someone misplaces a pallet somewhere along the way, workers will be able to tell that it’s out of place and quickly determine how late it is based on its color.
International Color Coding
Companies that ship goods overseas might also use international color-coding procedures. This method involves assigning specific colors to product loads based on their country of origin or their end destination. International color coding helps supply chain workers quickly identify, organize, and move pallets to where they need to go.
Improving Tamper Evidence
Color coding isn’t the only benefit of using colored stretch film; it can also help with supply chain security by acting as tamper-evident packaging. For example, using black film will prevent people from seeing what products are wrapped on the pallet. Many pharmaceutical companies use this process. Colored stretch wrap is also less common and harder to come by than standard stretch film. This means that thieves or other parties with ill intentions will have a harder time re-wrapping pallets accurately after stealing from or otherwise tampering with them. As a result, tampering is more immediately obvious, which allows you to act quickly to catch the guilty party and/or prevent the issue from happening again.
Opaque Film Improves Product Protection
Some colored stretch film comes in opaque colors—usually in black or white options. Opaque colored stretch film creates a solid color that offers extra protection for the product load. The opaque color is more resistant to UV rays than clear stretch film, which helps protect products from the sun. Additionally, white opaque stretch film can offer enhanced heat protection for temperature-sensitive goods such as food and beverage products. Opaque colored stretch film also obscures pallet loads and hides the products, creating an extra level of privacy and security throughout the supply chain.
Branding With Colored Stretch Film
Colored stretch film also presents a useful branding opportunity for your business. Whether you use brand colors or order custom stretch film featuring your company logo, you can use colored stretch wrap to mark your pallets as property of your business. This added layer of branding creates consistency among your products and makes your pallets instantly recognizable to distributors. Additionally, improving brand recognition with colored stretch wrap brings a sense of exclusivity to your products. Use this method to make your product loads stand out in the industry—even behind the scenes.
Perfect Your Packaging Line With Robopac USA
If you’re looking for ways to improve organization, efficiency, and productivity in your packaging line, Robopac USA can help. With the right stretch film option and our industrial stretch wrap machines, you can streamline your operations and find greater success with your supply chain.
