In the news these last few months are constant reports focused on reliable and timely delivery of what’s essential to the success of every product: Packaging. It centers on mitigating supply chain disruptions of both packaging and the raw materials to manufacture it.
Brands are facing unprecedented packaging challenges in 2025 that are centered on their packaging supply chain. These formidable obstacles are wide ranging and can make it harder to secure materials, meet sustainability goals, and get products to market quickly to meet consumer buying demands.
Is there a viable, long-term solution to ensure packaging supply chain reliability? The answer, and ultimately the successful outcome, may be found in how brands can go from a survival mode to the ability to thrive by overhauling their supply chain thinking to mitigate disruption risks:
“For some companies, the goal is no longer just resilience – it’s anti-fragility. Anti-fragility means getting stronger from shocks rather than just surviving them. The best supply chains don’t just withstand disruptions – they use the crises as a catalyst for improvement.”
Forbes, March, 2025
Right sourcing: Eliminating dependence on overseas packaging.
Let’s face it, the concerns and disruptions tariffs cam create don’t start when tariffs go into effect. Hardly. The issues begin as soon as brands begin to fear the impact of that disruption.
These fears include shipping delays, rising overseas freight costs, port congestion, and ultimately consumer trust errosion. This is why it’s crucial for American brands, and the products they sell, to build more resilient logistical networks close to home as well as consider near sourcing their packaging suppliers to reduce dependency on overseas sources.
EnviroPAK terms it “right sourcing” – where a supplier like EnviroPAK is selected by a U.S.-based product manufacturer due to being closer and, thus, offering a more dependable packaging supply chain solution. The dependability EnviroPAK molded fiber packaging delivers is because of multiple beneficial reasons. For examples, EnviroPAK has a central U.S. location in St. Louis, Missouri. This makes shipping more economical and quicker to all points within the USA east of the Rockies, especially Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska, Tennessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Indiana. Plus, EnviroPAK locally sources all raw packaging materials for added supply chain reliability.
If packaging supply chain reliability is all about location, location location; the added advantage is control, control, control:
“With proximity, companies can visit [supplier] locations more frequently, with fewer travel costs and more convenience. There is less risk of mistranslation, as the company and the supply chain actors are more likely to have common cultures, languages, references, etc. In addition, companies can better respond to rapidly changing customer demands and schedules by using local partners.”
Noatum Logistics
A short-term solution may not equal long-term success.
Some brands may be hoping that short term relief can be found in preordering from overseas packaging suppliers. Sounds good at first glance. But this can be far from a practical option due to potential issues such as cash flow concerns for a large purchase like this as well as inventory storage constraints and costs.
Another direction, and what can be a wrong turn, is that brands may try to search out overseas packaging suppliers that have not been hit by U.S. tariffs – at least not yet:
“For companies trying to mitigate the impact of tariffs, one common strategy is to shift from China and Mexico-based suppliers to contractors in unaffected countries. However, this is becoming harder as tariffs spread, including to Europe.”
Packaging Dive, March 2025
A closer packaging supplier goes a long way in supply chain reliability.
To stay ahead in the shifting packaging supply landscape, brands must embrace flexibility, invest in finding closer suppliers, and explore solutions that improve supply chain visibility. The brands that adapt quickly will be the ones that thrive in an ever evolving packaging industry. One company already making this positive packaging shift is a leading manufacturer of electric corporate desk lifting columns.
While still in the project development phase, EnviroPAK is already delivering positive outcomes for this brand. For example, as a St. Louis-based supplier, EnviroPAK is thousands of miles closer to the manufacturer’s Midwest facilities compared to the previous European-based supplier. This will eliminate the vast complexities of overseas shipping and provide lower shipping costs. The fuel savings from shorter shipping distances, and the fact that EnviroPAK molded fiber packaging is compostable and biodegradable, will also be a sustainability win, win.
Add to this the fact that EnviroPAK is in the heart of a national transportation hub that’s located at the intersection of five major interstate highways, six Class I railroads, two major river transportation systems, and two international airports.
EnviroPAK molded fiber custom packaging. Made better in the USA.
Overcoming overseas packaging supply chain challenges can be effectively achieved by partnering with U.S.-based EnviroPAK. By shifting to a packaging supplier closer to home, or right sourcing, brands can significantly reduce risks associated with international shipping delays, regulatory shifts, fluctuating tariffs, and geopolitical uncertainties.
Partnering with a domestic packaging manufacturer also gives a brand greater control over production timelines, quality standards, and inventory management – all are crucial for maintaining on time packaging delivery, customer satisfaction, and positive brand identity.
Additionally, working with EnviroPAK packaging can result in shorter lead times, which can enhance responsiveness for meeting market demands and allow brands to quickly adjust to shifting consumer preferences. This right sourcing move not only helps mitigate global supply chain risks, but also promotes sustainability through reduced transportation emissions and the fact that EnviroPAK molder fiber custom packaging is biodegradable and sustainable.
To overcome your packaging supply chain challenges, contact EnviroPAK® to learn why molded fiber custom packaging is the positive, sustainable direction for retailers, product brands, consumers, and the environment. Our molded fiber packaging is made from over 3,500 tons of recycled paper yearly. And it’s the ideal sustainable, biodegradable, and compostable solution to protect your products and your brand image with consumers – and it’s Made in the USA.
