A perfect fit for the perfect bed

Belgian firm Veldeman Bedding makes traditional beds and mattresses, delivering them throughout Europe. These high-value products are tailor-made. That requires flexibility and customised packaging solutions. Following extensive research, Tenfold was able to come up with a number of these for this nice family business.

How do you streamline packaging for custom-made beds and mattresses?

It’s generally a complex process to get from the moment raw materials come into a business and the moment they leave the site as a fully packed product enroute to a customer. Workers involved in processing, production and packaging often know that things could run better and more smoothly, but they just don’t know how exactly. And, anyway, how do you get everyone on board for change? Ultimately, do you really want to get involved with all that?

After supplying packaging to Veldeman Bedding for a while, we became convinced we could help the bed manufacturer operationally. But before we could come up with solutions, we performed an extensive ‘screening’ exercise to map out all the technical processes at play.

Research like an architect

During such an investigation, we look at the company as if we were an architect. After all, just like a master builder, Tenfold also comes up with solutions and insights that a user might not have come up with themselves. This was also the case at Veldeman Bedding. In this regard, it’s very important to talk extensively with employees on the factory floor every day. We ask a lot of questions, we’re critical, and sometimes try to dislodge entrenched working methods altogether.

From factory to bedroom

But the research didn’t stop there. Innovation never stops after just a single round of analysis. It is an ongoing process during which we constantly look for improvements along with our customers. For example, an interesting project involving drop-shipping came up: a Swedish Veldeman Bedding retailer asked if it was possible to deliver a complete bedroom directly to a customer. In order to pack such an order carefully, a number of new, specially made machines were required. Our Engineering & Design department started development right away which resulted in a stretch film machine that can also pack very large beds.

The ability to package and transport everything as efficiently as possible took a real ‘Eureka’ moment. We introduced a tilting table which meant the mattress no longer has to stand on its weak, narrow side during packaging. Now it can lie flat instead while the tilting table does the rest as the order is readied for shipment. That presented three key benefits: better ergonomics for the employee, an optimally efficient packing method for transport, and the capability to deliver directly to the customer.

From surplus to smarter packaging

Nisbets is one of the largest suppliers of non-food catering items in Europe. The Eindhoven company supplies everything you’d see in a hotel, restaurant or café: from crockery and chef’s knives to refrigerators and items of furniture. Tenfold helped Nisbets improve efficiency by solving its packaging problem.

How can we improve continuity without carrying a huge stock of packaging?

Continuity of supply is often a matter of puzzle solving. Naturally, in order to be able to deliver on time and according to need, your stock of packaging material must be in place. The moment Nisbets knocked on our door, the sticking point was clear. The catering articles supplier was getting supplies of cardboard from their parent company in England. But the minimum order quantity was fixed at a higher level than Nisbets strictly needed. The result: an ongoing cardboard surplus on the Nisbets site.

We saw that it could all be done smarter. But rather than just solving this issue in isolation, we looked at the whole Nisbets picture. That took real partnership. Together with our client, we started investigating how we could tackle both this problem and other areas for improvement that we encountered.

Smaller stock, shorter distances, less consumption

From our analysis of the packaging process, we noticed that Nisbets employees were having to cover relatively large distances to do their job. We streamlined this and improved organization by integrating the filling material more intelligently into the process. We also opted for a different material altogether. The new air cushions we specified are almost CO2 neutral and fewer are needed compared to the old filling material.

Returning to Nisbets’ original question: we have set up a tightly organized paging system. Now order sizes have been reduced from approximately 30 pallets per type of packaging material to between two and six pieces at a time. So consignments are never too big. If Nisbets orders from us today, we’ll deliver it tomorrow. That saves a lot of space! Overall this has been a process in which we worked closely with each other. We searched for solutions together in an open way. And found them.

A helping hand to get online

At the start of the coronavirus crisis, Groenrijk Garden Centres made the decision to expand their offline activities into online sales. From the outset, Tenfold guided the company on how to set up the entire web shop infrastructure.

How do you make the step from offline marketing to online?

There is a lot to consider when setting up an online store. For Groenrijk, the main thing was the sheer range of products it has to offer. From houseplants and plant-pots to barbecues, garden furniture and garden hoses. Selling products from a bricks-and-mortar store is a whole different story to getting them to someone’s front door in perfect condition after they were bought online.

Setting up this new way of working is a puzzle we worked on together. Throughout the entire process of expanding into the online market we helped Groenrijk from the ground up. Step by step we looked for solutions and improvements. For example, packaging that’s too bulky can be really annoying for consumers who ordered something online. So it was important that we were able to find the optimal packaging in terms of size for every product. The quest started small with just a few boxes. But after a promising trial period, we were soon able to grow.

Packaging to match the price tag

During such a process you will naturally always come across issues that you need to think about carefully. Take a flower pot, for example: a relatively cheap product that’s pretty fragile. It’s a conundrum: how can you package something like that without paying top dollar? Well, we developed a way to minimize possible breakages using paper padding. It was just one of many custom solutions we came up with.

Endless variety was the biggest challenge in this project. But it was also the most satisfying – not least because we were there when Groenrijk took its very first steps into online sales. We were able to provide this customer who had no experience in the field with welcome support in both setting up and further developing their successful web shop.

Optimal packaging for a wide range of products

Seabourne is a logistics service provider which transports many different products around the world. Big and small, expensive and inexpensive. Each product needs to be painstakingly matched with suitable packaging. Thanks to years of expertise and our modular set-up, Tenfold was able to save this customer a considerable amount of time in this regard.

How do you help a supplier with a very wide range of products?

Collaboration with a customer sometimes starts on a relatively small scale. In the case of Seabourne, our Packaging Supplies department initially started with one particularly interesting project. Beautiful books from the publisher Assouline are handmade, exclusive and very expensive. A publication by the American watch brand Rolex, for example, is sold online for about 900 euros. Clearly, such a book must reach the customer in the best possible condition.

Market knowledge

Our broad market knowledge meant we were able to provide solutions for Seabourne across the board. When you ship as many different products as they do, choosing materials can become a very time-consuming task. After all, you have to look for the best solution for every single product. How should it be folded or stamped? Printed or not? Lightweight or heavier material? All this in a market where Seabourne’s portfolio is constantly expanding. It’s also process requiring quick decisions to be made to package new products. Thanks to our market knowledge, Tenfold was able to take this search off their hands and save the company a considerable amount of time.

A gift from Houben Worstenbrood: the Sterrenbox

Houben Worstenbrood is perhaps the most famous baker of the Brabant sausage roll – a local delicacy. When the company launched some luxury varieties, they needed suitable luxury packaging – which Tenfold was proud to create.

How do you turn a luxury sausage roll into a real gift?

Inspired by Houben, four star-chefs from the Eindhoven region came up with their own luxury mini sausage rolls. The treats created by top restaurants De Lindehof, Wiesen, Sarso and the Treeswijkhoeve obviously deserved a fitting presentation. Houben asked us to make premium quality packaging with a premium quality appearance. Of course, a sausage roll is always a treat, but we wanted to take it a step further and make it a real gift. It was a task that fitted us perfectly because we’re always striving for excellent outcomes.

Beautiful packaging is added value

Above all, we think this is a good example of how packaging can also be an essential part of your product concept – and especially its marketing. Packaging is more than just a cost. Beautiful packaging is real added value. The unboxing experience of luxury products in particular is very important to a consumer. And the way you present something can sometimes be just as important as its contents. If a premium product is not perfectly packaged, it can only cause disappointment. Too little attention to attractive packaging and you’ll definitely not get the results you were looking for. We cannot emphasize the importance of a stylish presentation enough! And that’s why we won’t settle for anything less than the best.