Businesses at Martland Park and the surrounding Wigan commercial and industrial areas are supplied from one central Midlands stock. That means a reorder is a delivery from stock that already exists rather than a production lead time - which matters most on the consumables that stop a bench when they run out.
Martland Park: the packaging picture
The mix also means both parcel and pallet traffic leave from the same few streets, and a pack specified for one of those routes is usually wrong for the other.
Despatch is typically a person rather than a department. That makes continuity of supply matter more than small differences in unit price, because running out of tape stops work rather than slowing it.
What that means for a unit here is fairly specific.
- Call-off on printed and bespoke work, so run quantities do not need floor space.
- A short carton range fitted to what actually leaves, rather than the accumulated list.
- Trade quantities without a minimum on standard lines.
- Protective materials chosen against the failure mode rather than by adding more of whatever is to hand.
- Postal and parcel formats for the units despatching to consumers.
| Business | Despatch pattern | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Trade supplier | Collected and delivered | Heavy duty cases, strapping, film |
| Light assembly | Low volume, specific | Right-sized cartons, fitted protection |
| Engineering unit | Heavy one-offs | Triple wall, board bases, edge protection |
| Manufacturer | Pallet and parcel both | Carton ladder plus protective range |
| Equipment hire or repair | Out and back | Reusable cases with fitted inserts |
| Service business | Kit out and back | Reclosable cases, protective film |
The businesses in a mixed commercial area and what each tends to order.
Martland Park and the wider Wigan area
Wigan is a Greater Manchester town built on Distribution, food manufacturing, engineering and paper and packaging converting, and Martland Park is one of the places that work actually happens. For packaging the useful question is not what the town makes but how it leaves, because the balance of parcel and pallet traffic out of WN1-WN8 is what sets the range.
Martland Park is served by M6 (J23-J27), M58, A577 and A49, putting it on the national network directly. That is the reason the estate exists, and it is also why packs leaving here are handled more times than a short local journey would suggest.
Specification comes before the quote. Pricing a list that was never designed only prices the wrong things accurately, which is why we would rather see what leaves your unit at Martland Park than be handed a schedule of part numbers.
Everything here is supplied through packaging services in Wigan, and the service pages behind it set out each material range in detail.
What goes on a Wigan packaging account
A trade account into Martland Park covers the whole bench rather than just the boxes.
- Cartons and cases - single and double wall, postal boxes, heavy duty and triple wall where weight demands it. See packaging supplies.
- Foam - sheet, convoluted, profiled and pocketed inserts, including anti-static grades. See foam packaging.
- Films and stretch wrap - stretch film, shrink film and barrier film, specified by gauge and containment force rather than by roll.
- Printed and bespoke - printed cartons, tape and inner wrap, and made-to-size cartons where a standard line costs more than it saves. See bespoke carton manufacture.
- Tape and sealing - polypropylene, vinyl and paper tape in hand and machine widths, plus dispensers and case sealers.
- Retail and shelf ready - retail outers, trays and shelf ready cases where product goes on through a retailer. See retail packaging.
- Pallet consumables - layer pads, board tops and bases, shrink hoods and the film that holds a load to its pallet.
Delivery and resupply at Martland Park
The awkwardness in buying packaging well is that the better price needs the longer run, and the longer run needs space almost nobody at Martland Park has. A pallet of board is bulky, nearly weightless and sits where sellable product could be. Holding it centrally resolves that without compromising either.
The mechanics are on packaging stockholding, and packaging stockholding in Wigan covers how supply works across Wigan specifically.
Where the cost actually sits
What makes a range expensive is usually not what it is bought for. A unit paying a little over the odds on board and a great deal over the odds on carriage, because every pack ships air, will negotiate the first and never look at the second.
If you want that looked at properly rather than quoted like-for-like, a packaging review examines materials, storage, carriage, labour, damage and waste together.
The short version
- Printed and bespoke work carries a genuine lead time, which is why it is worth holding.
- A reorder from held stock is a delivery; a reorder without it is a production run.
- Stock is held About 85 miles / 1 hour 35 from Wigan at Bilston, Wolverhampton and delivered into WN1-WN8.
- Call-off is what makes run quantities practical for a unit with limited floor space.
- Protection specified against the actual failure mode usually uses less material, not more.
Frequently asked questions
What do you supply besides cartons?
Tape and sealing, void fill, foam, films and stretch wrap, strapping and pallet consumables, protective and edge protection, printed and bespoke work - see packaging supplies.
Our goods keep arriving damaged. Where do we start?
With how they are being damaged rather than how much protection to add. Photographs of items as they arrived identify the failure mode - see protective packaging.
Can you quote against our existing packaging list?
Yes, and it is the most useful thing to send. A line list with usage against each item shows where a unit is carrying sizes it no longer needs or buying in quantities that price badly.
Can we have our branding on the packaging?
Yes. Printed tape is usually the cheapest route because one setup brands every carton size you use - see custom printed tape.
Do you supply other estates around Wigan?
Yes - and Warrington, Preston and Manchester are supplied from the same stock. See packaging services for every location with a page of its own.
Can you hold our packaging rather than delivering it all at once?
Yes. The run is produced once, held in Midlands warehousing and released into WN1-WN8 as you consume it. That keeps the run-quantity price without filling a unit at Martland Park with board that will not be used for months.