Excess Packaging from RS Components

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Ever think some companies include too much packing wit your orders ?

I ordered a single 18 pin DIP chip from RS Components and expected it to ship in a small bag, this is what turned up today!

The box which is over 70cm long box

With lots of brown paper inside

And a long bag inside again.

And inside the bag was a long plastic strip with the single chip inside which is less than 1 inch long!

Sep03

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Comments (2) -

9/8/2010 10:07:59 AM #

Hi Brian,

I looked into the issue and it appears you spotted a glitch in the packaging system that applies to the mentioned chip. Production Packaging (the big blue P next to the item) struggles with orders of small quantities.

Rest assured  that we do have a  standard packaging option in place for items like the mentioned one. You activate it by clicking on the "Also available in Standard Packaging" link. A likely scenario is that we did not have the standard packaging option available at the time.

We think you should receive  goods in the way you expect them, regardless of how you order them.

I made the team aware of your comments and they thanked for pointing it out. We take these issues seriously as we are part of the FTSE4Good index and we participate in the Carbon Disclosure Projects.

Let us know if you experience similar issues in the future - I am always available on twitter as @JuliusatRS or via email at julius.solaris@rs-components.com

Thanks
Julius

JuliusatRS

9/10/2010 10:58:36 AM #

Dear Sir

Further to Julius' comments above I would like to provide some more detail. Your concern regarding the amount of packaging used on your recent order from RS is understandable. At RS we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and are always trying to reduce the volume of packaging used whilst ensuring that products are adequately protected in transit.

Many of the electronic components in the RS "catalogue" are offered in 2 different formats; the standard small volume sales pack (i.e. a bag / box) and "production ready packaging" (i.e. in the manufacturer's packaging ready for use in an automated process - tubes, reels, trays etc.). When ordering a product the packaging type is defined by a "P" suffix on the product number - 123-456 is the standard sales pack and 123-456P is the production ready packaging. Once the order has been placed the packaging type is fixed irrespective of the quantity ordered.

If the standard sales pack had been ordered then it would have been packed in a small bag and despatched in a jiffy, not the packaging that you received. I can only assume that in this case the "P" variant was ordered and therefore the product was supplied in a tube. To ensure the integrity of the component and it's packaging we never cut tubes down, hence the need for the long bag & box.

We recognise that the identification of the different packaging types has caused some confusion with our customers; consequently we are investigating a number of ways to clarify this in the ordering process.

I hope this explains why you received your order packed in the way it was. Please be aware that any RS product with a "P" suffix will be packed in the same format as it is supplied to us by the manufacturer.

Best regards,

Mick Parker
Supply Chain strategy & planning manager

Mick Parker

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