Supply Chain & Packaging Solutions Post COVID-19

While it is very difficult to predict exactly how life will look once normality has resumed, it is inevitable that the supply chain and its packaging solutions will need to adapt to become ‘COVID secure’ even after the coronavirus pandemic.

We have seen changing trends in some of our popular products, with our customers looking to protect goods from bacteria and contamination in an effort to lessen the risk of spreading the virus.

One thing we aren’t sure of yet is if supply chain and packaging solutions will return to how it was prior to the coronavirus pandemic, and how we expect supply chain and packaging solutions to develop as time goes on.

Demand Following The Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced customers and businesses throughout the UK to stay at home in order to reduce the spread and protect those who are vulnerable and considered ‘high-risk’. This has resulted in customers turning to the online world of shopping, meaning a huge surge in sales of electronics and gaming behaviours increasing exponentially.

Because of this, we have seen a huge increase in demand for plastic cases with foam packaging. This is to store and transport these electrical goods so that they safely make their way to customers.

Although, the pent-up demand leading to e-commerce and retail sales of non-essential goods isn’t the sole reason for an increase in packaging. During the early stages of lockdown, we saw an unprecedented increase in demand for the NHS and the pressure upon the medical field to cope with a surge of cases throughout the UK.

With this demand, we were approached to assist with packaging solutions for additional respiratory and renal dialysis machinery as well as cases for endoscopes, foams for face shields and at-home palliative and oncology treatments kit cases. 

Due to there being a large majority of service users classed as vulnerable and therefore needing to shield, we saw a complete switch in the approach for many health and social care providers.

Although some restrictions have been lifted on social distancing, this has resulted in an increased need to complete necessary assessments, procedures and treatments, whilst maintaining social distancing for service users. Packaging and transport solutions are required for the necessary equipment needed to complete such appointments.

Environmentally Conscious Packaging

With the ever growing importance of remaining environmentally friendly, having environmentally conscious packaging is critical in ensuring sustainable living, cutting carbon emissions and generating less waste in our collective role to protect the environment. Consumers are generally becoming increasingly more aware and conscious of using recyclable materials and reusable packaging solutions.

However, during the early stages of the pandemic, the emphasis has been on safety and convenience, with the primary focus moved to acquire necessary packaging solutions instead. With increases in online sales, this focus has shifted to meeting the demand of fast-changing consumer buying habits.

Personal Protective Equipment

PPE (personal protective equipment) protects users against health or safety risks, which has become critical for safe working in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19. This personal protective equipment has been widely used during the pandemic, with health professionals needing to wear gloves, medical face masks, face shields, visors, overshoes, hand sanitisers, aprons and gowns.

With this demand in PPE, our medical cases were frequently used to enable isolation and shielding to be upheld by keeping PPE safe from contamination. These have been used widely during in-house treatments, testing and monitoring. PPE is also used day-to-day by medical professionals who are operating within environments which must be kept clean, hygienic and disinfected.

In order to keep PPE clean to prevent an increased transmission of infections, it must be stored away in a safe medical bag which can be easily transported for doctors, nurses, paramedics, home care workers and most importantly, COVID responders.

How Can We Help?

We know the importance of providing reliable and protective custom bags to the medical industry and we can assure you that our products are made to extremely high standards to ensure you are getting a quality product solution.

PottertonPacs are leading suppliers of custom made protective custom bags and this includes protective bags for use within the medical industry. Our medical bags provide a safe method of storage and transportation, with a custom solution to suit your medical needs and equipment requirements.

Get in touch with a member of our team today to discuss the various options of custom medical bags that are available to you.