If 2026 is already looking hectic… start here 🧩
New year, fresh plans.
New products, new targets, new volumes on the horizon.
But for a lot of manufacturers, there’s one thing that didn’t make it into the planning meetings:
Packing.
On paper, it’s the last step. Box it, label it, send it. Job done.
But in reality? It’s one of the biggest sources of stress, delays and spiralling costs in growing businesses.
If you want 2026 to feel more in control than last year, fixing the bottleneck between production and despatch is a great place to start.
Why packing quietly becomes the bottleneck 💡
Most manufacturers don’t plan to build a packing operation.
It starts as “a few lines in the corner that’ll do for now”… and then growth happens.
Here’s what we see again and again:
🔁 Packing takes over more space than expected
Before you know it, half the production area is full of pallets, work-in-progress and makeshift lines.
⚠️ Complexity creeps in
More SKUs. More formats. More retailer requirements.
Each one adds time, set-up, and chances for something to go wrong.
⏱️ Small delays knock on fast
A single hold-up on the packing line delays despatch — which delays delivery — which damages service.
The result?
Late nights.
Last-minute labour.
Managers pulled off improvement work to sort out whatever’s gone sideways today.
Sound familiar?
The hidden costs of keeping packing in-house 💷
When packing’s in-house, it rarely shows up as one clear line on the P&L.
But it’s there — and it adds up.
Here’s where it hides:
🏗️ Space
Floor space tied up in packing, storage and WIP could be used for production.
Add up rent, rates, lighting and heating — and it’s not cheap.
🛠️ Machinery & maintenance
Conveyors. Sealers. Labellers.
They all need capital, servicing, repairs, and usually break when it matters most.
🧑🏭 Labour & supervision
Not just the packers — the planners, supervisors and team leads constantly re-allocating resources.
⏲️ Overtime & agency staff
One spike in demand and you’re paying through the nose to recover.
🧠 Management time & mental load
Possibly the most expensive cost of all.
Leaders spending time putting out fires instead of focusing on customers, strategy or improvement.
By the time you’ve added it all up, keeping packing in-house often costs far more than it looks on paper.
Most manufacturers who partner with Excel see overhead savings in the region of 30% — along with more space, more control, and less chaos.
What happens when you treat packing as a specialist job 🏭
Packing isn’t just a final task — it’s a specialist process.
It’s all we do at Excel. And that shapes everything.
Here’s what it looks like:
🏢 The site
Laid out for flow. Designed for flexibility.
Not crammed into leftover space.
⚙️ The kit
Automated and semi-automated machinery, built for high-volume and changeable requirements.
🧑🔧 The team
Trained across sectors and project types — ready to plug into your workflow.
📦 The process
Built to meet retailer demands, quality checks and tight timelines — without last-minute scrambles.
And when manufacturers partner with us, this is what usually changes:
✅ Predictable capacity
You know exactly what can be handled and when.
✅ Less stress around peaks and launches
Promos, seasonal runs and busy spikes don’t derail everything else.
✅ More space, more flexibility
Instead of taking on more units or investing in new kit, you get room to grow where it counts.
✅ Management freed up to lead, not chase
No more constant re-planning. Just headspace back.
Signs it might be time to outsource your packing in 2026 🔍
Outsourcing isn’t the right move for everyone.
But there are clear signs it’s worth exploring:
🔸 Packing regularly overruns and pushes into overtime
🔸 You’re thinking about taking more space just for packing
🔸 Your team keeps getting pulled into “urgent” fixes instead of proactive work
🔸 You’ve got plans for production upgrades but feel blocked by space or budget
🔸 Your customer delivery times are under pressure — and packing is the weak link
If one or more of these sound familiar, you’re not alone.
And this could be the year you finally take packing off your plate.
Not sure if outsourcing is the right fit? Here’s how to sense-check it ✅
A good first step is asking a few key questions:
📦 What do we need to pack each month — and how does that change across the year?
🏭 How much of our site is given over to packing and storage?
💷 What are we actually spending on labour, machinery, overtime, and repairs?
🧠 What’s the time cost of planning, supervising and fixing packing issues?
📈 If that space, money and time were freed up… what else could we do?
From there, you can compare the cost of staying in-house vs partnering with Excel.
We walk manufacturers through this every day — and we’ll always tell you if it’s not the right time.
(We’re not here to force a fit — we’re here to solve real problems.)
Final thought: Make packing the first problem you remove this year 🚀
If you want 2026 to feel smoother, calmer and more scalable — packing is a powerful place to start.
It’s the bridge between making your product and getting it into customers’ hands.
When that bridge is shaky, everything else gets harder.
But when it runs like clockwork, you unlock:
✔️ More space
✔️ More control
✔️ Less stress
✔️ Happier teams
✔️ Faster growth
Whether you keep it in-house or outsource, the key is making a deliberate choice — not just surviving another year of “making do”.
If you’d like help sense-checking your options or want to come visit Excel HQ, we’d love to chat.
👉 Get in touch here to book a call or come see us in action.
