Kotis strives to package your shipments with care so your orders arrive in full and presentable.  To do so, the following packing guidelines are distributed to our packing and fulfillment teams, with a goal to meet these standard in 98% of your shipments.

 

PACKING & FULFILLMENT  PROCESS

Kotis starts the packing process by scanning your order # into our Warehouse Management System (WMS). The WMS allows Kotis to have multiple points to check for accuracy when packing orders.

• Staff can see a thumbnail image of the items, descriptions and qty’s ordered to ensure verification 
• If items arrive to the packer that are not correct or missing, they flag it for further inspection as an “Incomplete Order” which triggers a manager review

 

After verifying the items are correct, we determine what type and size packaging based the quantity of items and type of items that are part of your order. We use 4 main types of packaging:

• Poly-Mailers 
  • Best suited for apparel and soft, non-breakabel items in small qty’s
  • Kotis stocks various sizes to fit a single t-shirt up to large backpacks & jackets o
• Hard Mailers 
  • Rigid paperboard mailers are best suited for paper prodcuts, stickers or small rigid items. 
• Bubble Mailers
  • Used for small qty orders with non-breakable items such as keychains, bottle openers, pens, etc.
• Cardboard Box 
  • Kotis stocks various sizes to ensure we have the right box for any order placed 
  • We pick the best box for the items in your order to ensure we are not using excess void fill or increasing the shipping costs by using packaging too big and being assessed additional dimensional weight charges

 

After the packer has picked the correct packaging for your order, we take the following steps on every order:

• Items are placed in the box like groceries, heaviest items on the bottom and lighter, delicate items on top
• Add paper void fill to help secure items from aggressive shifting during shipping 
• Fold the pack slip and place it inside the package last,  before sealing package
• Seal package, adhering any special labels, fragile stickers, do not bend labels, etc, to the outside of the box 
• If there are multiple packages in the order, mark each box “1 of...”
• Move package to the shipping area for processing

 

SPECIAL PACKING REQUIREMENTS

Different items require different handling techniques prior to being packaged. Here are the steps we take for the following product categories to ensure your items arrive in the best possible condition

Apparel	Glassware
Neatly fold (individually or bundle) before packing Pack/stack like items together. Stack garments from largest at the bottom to smaller items on the top 20+ hats : packed in hat boxes instead of larger boxes with other items. <20 hats: packed on top of other items to prevent crushing	Wrap each item 6-8 times, tucking the sides in for a nice secure finish Construct the box and fill with packing peanuts or paper fill  Place items into the box. Packing peanuts/paper fill should be filled between items to prevent them from touching.  Place glass or fragile sticker to the top of the box next to where the shipping label will be placed
Glassware + Other Items	Small Loose Items
If packing peanuts are used, non-glass items should never touch packing peanuts. Apparel must be poly-bagged when packed in a box with peanuts Hard goods must be wrapped, bagged, or boxed	Any loose items, like small buttons or stickers, should be bagged or bundled so they do not roll around the package.
Large Glass Items (i.e. growlers)	Scratchable Items
Wrap item in paper machine both width and lengthwise No more than 2 large glass items per box	Do not put scratch-able items against each other without protection Protection can be paper sheets/bubble wrap or clear plastic bags that items sometime arrive in from suppliers.  The point is to NOT have the items making direct contact with each other

Paper Products	Full Case Items
Paper products that are 8.5 x11 “or larger will shipped in flat rigid hard mailer and have “DO NOT BEND” stickers applied to both sides. If paper products are going with other items, Kotis will safely pack them with other items,and even place in hard mailers if necessary to ensure safe arrival	Full cases will be inspected for carton integrity and ensure that all previous shipping labels are covered, marked out or removed.
Tradeshow Items
Tablecloths  If folded, they will be shipped in poly-mailer - If rolled, they will be shipping a box Roll Up Banners and Pop-Up Displays If they are in hard case, Kotis will ship in hard case and ensure it is secured prior to shipping - If not in hard case, items will be placed in new box before shipping