Life Science Logistics – Tips and Tricks To Keep Lab Supplies From Breaking

Have you ever ordered a product from Amazon or eBay and wondered if it’ll break during shipping? Or have you had trouble filling out your supply orders because you don’t know the best way to pack your lab supplies? These are valid concerns in the world of laboratory supply shipping.

When it comes to shipping, you want your items to reach their final destination in optimal condition. We are living in a fast-paced environment where time has become everything. Quickly reaching the laboratory with a top-notch condition does not allow minor mishaps and damages.

So what can you do to prevent your precious lab materials from cracking, fracturing, or rusting? Read on for several tips and tricks on how to keep your lab supplies intact!

How to Keep Lab Supplies From Breaking During Shipping

Here are some tips and tricks that can help you ship lab supplies through global logistic companies without causing any damage to them:

1. Packing Material – Pick the Right One!

The safest way to pack lab supplies is by using appropriate packing materials. You’ll want high-density foam or something similar that can cushion and protect your items from getting crushed. Reputable shipping entities such as Shipmercury mostly use them for lab materials. So they should provide the best protection against damages.

When you opt for packing peanuts, you must consider that they pose a fire hazard. Likewise, styrofoam and other types of foam can melt and cause damage in case of heat exposure. Plus, these materials slow down the recycling process when disposing of your products after use or shipping them back to suppliers.

2. Using Appropriate Boxes

The next step is to select suitable boxes for your lab supplies carefully. You can use corrugated cardboard, fiberboard, or wooden boxes for life science logistics. If not, then opt for the option that best suits your needs.

3. Adding Padding to the Inside of Your Boxes (and Between Multiple Items)

As mentioned before, packing peanuts are unsuitable for industrial purposes because they pose a fire risk. However, you can use other padding materials inside boxes such as bubble wrap, paper towels, Styrofoam, etc.

They should absorb shocks and prevent items from moving around during transit. Padding materials can also protect your lab supplies from shifting inside the box, which can cause damage to delicate instruments or other goods you wish to ship.

4. Labeling Your Packages Properly

If your global logistic business offers shipping services, then it’s most likely that you use custom-made or generic boxes. Sometimes it’s easy to forget which one is the right option for a given situation. But if you label your packages properly, there should be no confusion about what each contains and what to do with it after arriving at the destination.

5. Disposing of Empty Packaging Material Properly

Do your part and ensure to dispose of your empty boxes, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, etc., properly. This means taking them out of the office and disposing of them according to local waste management rules and regulations. That way, you can prevent these materials from piling up and causing fire hazards.

6. Shipping Lab Supplies During Hot or Cold Weather

When you ship lab equipment or supplies during winter, the whole process becomes manageable. However, you must be careful when shipping items during summer because this is usually when damage occurs most frequently.

Why? Well, think about it; items shipped during hot weather get exposed to direct sunlight and heat exposure. This can cause melting and other types of damage to your shipment:

Excessive Heat: You should avoid shipping packages when the temperature exceeds 90° F (32° C) for an extended period. High temperatures can cause the protective materials used in manufacturing to melt and damage your goods.

High Humidity: Excessive humidity can affect sensitive instruments or other types of lab supplies, so you should take steps to protect them from it. If you have a dry ice option for shipping, use it to reduce the effects of elevated atmospheric moisture.

Other Environmental Factors: Keep in mind that you can’t always predict environmental factors. You should take steps to reduce your risks as much as possible.

For instance, shipping items around the 4th of July is probably not a good idea because fireworks are unpredictable and can lead to severe accidents involving laboratory equipment or chemicals. So check the current weather and shipping conditions before placing your order.

Bottom line

As you can see, there are many essential factors that you must consider when shipping lab supplies. You don’t have to be a professional in the science field to understand them, but it does help if you’re at least knowledgeable about the basics of packaging and insurance claims. The more you know about these things, the better your chances are of reducing costs and minimizing potential damage to goods.