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Cascades joins Amazon network for sustainable e-commerce packaging
June 17, 2019 – Cascades has joined the Amazon Packaging Support and Supplier (APASS) network as an official member to offer sustainable packaging solutions for e-commerce.
June 17, 2019 By P&PC Staff
APASS is a program designed by Amazon to support vendors, sellers, and manufacturers in certifying their products as Prep-Free Packaging (PFP), Ships-in-Own Container (SIOC) and Frustration-Free Packaging (FFP). By doing so, packages will be the right size, protected against damage, ready to ship without the need for additional packaging, and ideally easy to open and recyclable. Amazon provides a list of suppliers that can help test, design, and supply packaging in line with Amazon’s packaging certification rules.
Cascades is now on that list. Its R&D Centre has implemented an internal quality system based on ISTA, TAPPI and ASTM directives to ensure that the company provides consistent service quality. Cascades is therefore able to conduct baseline testing on boxes and components (liner and medium), as well as competitive analysis, root-cause analysis and qualification testing of individual packages or pallets. The R&D Centre provides ISTA 6-Amazon.com testing to help customers meet Amazon’s strict packaging requirements.
“E-commerce represented 14.3 per cent of total retail sales in 2018 in the U.S., and Amazon is an important part of this,” says Danick Lavoie, vice-president, operations, packaging at Cascades Containerboard Packaging. “Our goal at Cascades is to partner with our customers as they grow their e-commerce business, and by joining the APASS network, we can offer our clients the essential services they need to successfully certify their packaging with Amazon.”
Amazon’s FFP Vendor Incentive Program applies to all vendors. By August 1, 2019, all items larger than 18″ x 14″ x 8″ or greater than 20 lb and sold through Amazon must be designed and certified as ready-to-ship under their FFP program. To encourage early adoption of this program, Amazon is offering a one-time early adopter credit of $1 per unit to vendors that certify their items before August 1, 2019 and will issue a chargeback of $1.99 per unit beginning on that date.
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