Custom solutions — programs, not just products
When a catalog box is not the answer, we engineer the program: standing supply, closed-loop returns, reverse logistics, managed inventory and custom sizes — designed around how your operation actually runs.
Describe your operation
Volumes, sizes, dock constraints and goals — we'll design a program and quote it.
Custom solutions is where we stop selling boxes and start running a system. That includes standing supply contracts, closed-loop return programs that bring your boxes back for reuse, reverse logistics, managed and consignment inventory you draw down as you use it, kitting, and custom box sizes when nothing standard fits. Every piece is engineered around your dock, your volumes and your schedule — not the other way around.
Programs for operations that have outgrown ordering
The point is to take box management off your plate entirely.
Standing supply contracts
Reserved inventory in your exact size and grade, delivered on a set cadence at a locked price — so boxes are never the reason a line stops or a rate spikes.
Closed-loop return programs
Your boxes come back to us after use, get inspected and reconditioned, and cycle to their next trip. Fewer new boxes bought, less waste hauled, lower total cost.
Reverse logistics
We coordinate the return leg — collection, sortation, grading and redeployment — so the flow back from your customers or sites is managed, not improvised.
Managed & consignment inventory
We stage stock for you and you draw it down as needed, paying for what you use. Predictable availability without tying up your cash or your floor space.
Custom box sizes & kitting
When a standard footprint wastes space or fails your spec, we source or build to your dimensions and wall grade — new or reclaimed — and can pre-kit components for the line.
Program design & reporting
We map your flows, set the cadence, and report volumes, reuse rates and diversion back to you — so the program improves instead of just running.
Six ways to run boxes as a system
Most customers combine two or three of these. Here is what each one solves, and when it earns its keep.
| Program type | What it solves | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Standing supply contract | Stockouts, price volatility and rush orders on a box you buy constantly | You have steady, predictable volume in a known size |
| Closed-loop return / reuse | Paying for the same box over and over, plus paying to dispose of it | Boxes travel a controlled route and can come back — sites, customers, routes |
| Reverse logistics | A messy, unmanaged return flow from the field or from customers | You need collection, sortation and grading handled end to end |
| Managed / consignment inventory | Cash tied up in stock and floor space eaten by safety inventory | You want availability without owning the inventory until you use it |
| Custom sizing | Wasted cube, damage, or a spec no catalog box meets | A right-sized box would cut freight, dunnage or damage claims |
| Kitting | Line labor spent assembling box + insert + components before packing | You want pre-assembled, ready-to-pack kits delivered to the line |
Discovery, pilot, rollout — then keep tuning
We design it in four steps, then never stop calibrating. A program that does not improve is just a contract.
Discovery & dock walk
We map how boxes flow in, through and out: volumes, sizes, dock constraints, receiving hours, where stock piles up and where it runs short. We also find the hidden costs — damage claims, expedite fees, disposal, labor spent assembling and hunting for stock.
Design the program
We propose the right mix of standing supply, return loops, reverse logistics, consignment stock, custom sizing and kitting — engineered to your throughput, your budget and your sustainability goals. You see the cadence, the par levels and the expected numbers before anything ships.
Pilot & calibrate
We launch on one defined lane or SKU, prove the cadence and the economics, and tune cycle timing, par levels and grading rules against real usage. A pilot de-risks the rollout and gives you hard numbers to take to finance.
Roll out & report
Once it works, we scale it across sites and SKUs and report volumes, reuse rates and diversion on a regular cadence. Reviews become the loop that keeps squeezing cost and waste out of the system over time.
The KPIs that keep a program honest
A managed program lives or dies on its numbers. These are the ones we track and report back to you.
Fill rate & stockouts
The share of demand met from stock on hand, and how often a line waited on boxes. A good program pushes fill rate up and stockouts toward zero.
Reuse rate & trips per box
What fraction of boxes cycle back into service and how many trips each makes before retirement. This is the engine of both cost savings and diversion.
Total cost per shipment
Not just box price — the fully loaded cost including freight, dunnage, damage, labor and disposal. The number that actually hits your P&L.
Damage & claims rate
Right-sized boxes and correct grades cut in-transit damage. We watch claims because a cheaper box that damages product is not cheaper.
Inventory turns & on-hand
How lean we can run consignment stock without risking a stockout — freeing cash and floor space you were spending on safety inventory.
Diversion & waste
Tons kept from landfill and the reuse-versus-recycle split, reported audit-ready for your ESG and Scope 3 disclosures.
We integrate with your dock and your ERP
A program only helps if it disappears into how you already work. We build around your receiving process, your dock hours and your data — not a portal you have to babysit.
On the floor, that means deliveries timed to your receiving windows, labeling and SKU conventions that match yours, and staging that fits your space. On the data side, we work from your reorder signals and consumption — whether that is a min/max on a par level, a scheduled release against a blanket PO, or a simple usage report from your ERP or WMS. The point is that boxes replenish and return on their own rhythm, and you get clean records back, without adding a system for your team to manage.
Your receiving windows
Deliveries and returns timed to your dock hours and appointment rules.
Your SKUs & labels
Labeling and part-number conventions that match your WMS, not ours.
Your reorder signals
Min/max par levels, blanket-PO releases or usage feeds drive replenishment.
What a program looks like by industry
The same building blocks, arranged differently. A few illustrative scenarios of how operations put them together.
Manufacturer
A plant runs a standing supply contract on its two highest-volume Gaylord sizes at locked pricing, with consignment stock staged on-site so a line never waits. Empties feed a closed loop back for reconditioning.
Multi-site distributor
Reusable totes and boxes cycle between DCs on a closed loop, moved on backhaul lanes we already run. Reverse logistics handles collection and grading; one dashboard reports reuse and diversion across the network.
E-commerce brand
Custom right-sized mailers and boxes cut dim-weight freight and damage, delivered pre-kitted with inserts so the pack line just fills and closes. Reuse and packaging data support the brand’s sustainability page.
Agriculture / produce
Seasonal surge handled with managed inventory that scales up for harvest and down after, custom sizes for specific packs, and correct handling of any waxed board so recyclable fiber stays clean.
Returns-heavy retailer
A reverse-logistics program collects, sorts and grades returned packaging, rehomes what is reusable, and recycles the rest with documented diversion — turning a return headache into a reported metric.
Contract packager / 3PL
Consignment stock across multiple client SKUs, kitting on demand, and standing supply on the movers — so the 3PL bills its clients cleanly and never eats a stockout.
A box that comes back is a box you buy once
Single-use packaging means buying the same box over and over and paying to dispose of it every time. A closed-loop return program flips that: the box you shipped comes back, gets reconditioned, and ships again — often a dozen trips from one triple-wall Gaylord.
It is the difference between a supply line and a supply loop. Pair a return program with our buy and box catalog and most operations cut both their packaging spend and their waste footprint in the same move. See the whole system on the Reuse Loop.
ROI and sustainability, in the same move
The reason these programs spread inside a company is that the financial case and the environmental case point the same direction.
What finance sees
Lower cost per shipment as reuse displaces new-box spend, fewer expedite and rush fees under standing supply, less cash tied up in inventory via consignment, and fewer damage claims from right-sized boxes. Predictable, locked pricing also makes the packaging line of the budget something you can actually forecast.
What sustainability sees
Every reused box is one not manufactured and not landfilled — the highest-impact move in packaging. You get documented reuse rates and landfill diversion, ready for Scope 3 and corporate reporting, plus a story your customers and your ESG team can both stand behind.
What operations leads ask us
Because a program only helps if it fits how you already work.
How big do we need to be for a custom program?
Can we start with just standing supply?
Do you handle the return freight?
What if we need a size that does not exist?
How does consignment inventory get billed?
Do we have to change our ERP or systems?
How long does a pilot take to prove out?
Can a program cover multiple sites?
Let's design your loop.
Tell us how your operation runs — we'll build the program around it.