In the middle of a brand refresh, NorthBridge Moving & Storage faced a simple mandate from the executive team: every box leaving any branch should look and feel the same. That sounds easy until you multiply it across dozens of locations, seasonal surges, and fluctuating corrugated supply. Our brief, as the brand team, was to bring order and consistency without choking local agility.
We mapped the current-state print and sourcing approach and saw too many variables: plate versions, color drift, SKU sprawl, and short-term buying. We moved to a controlled print model—balancing long-run flexo with direct-to-corrugate digital—paired with centralized procurement. Sourcing through papermart for specialty sizes gave us week-to-week flexibility while our contracted converter handled the base volumes.
Here’s where it gets interesting: the win wasn’t only visual consistency. The data showed healthier service levels and steadier unit economics, even when corrugate lead times stretched. The following sections unpack what changed and why it worked.
Company Overview and History
NorthBridge is a North American moving and storage brand with 18 years in market and a footprint of 40+ branches. Historically, each location had latitude in sourcing cartons and tape, which suited local operations but diluted brand consistency. A nationwide media campaign and a modernized identity shifted that equation; packaging became part of the customer promise, not just a commodity.
The practical reality of a moving business is volume and variety: wardrobe cartons, dish packs, book boxes, and a seasonal surge that pushes branches to improvise. When customers ask online, "where do you get boxes for moving," NorthBridge wanted the answer—at least for its own jobs—to be: the same spec’d, safe, and clearly branded cartons every time.
From a print perspective, we focused on corrugated board with water-based inks, one to two spot colors, and simple line art that stays readable under warehouse lighting. Minimal embellishment keeps per-box cost predictable and reduces risk of scuffing during load-in and transport.
Cost and Efficiency Challenges
Two issues surfaced early. First, plate management. Some branches were paying for plate remake cycles on small lots, and artwork drifted with each update. Second, changeovers chewed capacity during peak weeks, which triggered rush buys of generic cartons that clashed with the new brand system. The outcome was predictable: uneven presentation and avoidable cost spread across 15–20 carton SKUs.
We also reviewed consumer expectations. People will search "where can you get free moving boxes" and sometimes show up with grocery-store cartons. They’re fine for light loads, but they complicate liability and crush performance on heavy items. NorthBridge needed a clear policy and a reliable supply path so crews weren’t forced to mix unknown cartons with brand cartons in the same job.
There was a procurement wrinkle too. Corrugate prices moved quarter to quarter, and freight volatility hit branches unevenly. To buffer that, we aligned national contracts for base volumes and allowed opportunistic buys of specialty sizes through papermart—where the team occasionally used a papermart coupon code when it met internal thresholds without distorting the core supply plan.
Technology Selection Rationale
We adopted a hybrid print strategy: Flexographic Printing for the core, high-volume cartons; Digital Printing (direct-to-corrugate inkjet) for short-run, branch- or region-specific information. Flexo uses water-based ink on corrugated board; the die-cut and gluing steps stay standard, limiting variables. Digital carries variable data—QRs for branch pages, localized care codes—without new plates or long setup.
Spec choices did most of the heavy lifting. Standard cartons were specified at 32 ECT, while moving boxes xl and heavy-duty dish packs used 44 ECT. Color checks held ΔE within a 3–4 window across runs—tight enough that customers won’t notice shifts between batches from different regions. We validated FPY in the 92–94% range after the first month, with misprint-related holds dropping as operators settled into the new targets.
On the sourcing side, papermart handled fillers, odd sizes, and pilot runs. During launch, the team found a short-term papermart coupon code free shipping offer that shaved freight on two regional replenishments. It wasn’t the core savings lever; it simply eased the first-quarter cash flow while the new contracts stabilized.
Quantitative Results and Metrics
Service first: on-time fill rates for cartons moved into the 95–97% range during peak periods, up from the high 80s the year prior. Color drift complaints from branches stopped after week three of the rollout. Waste from misprints and repacks held near 3–4% across the first two quarters. Where the hybrid model mattered most was continuity: when one mill tightened capacity, digital short runs bridged gaps without pausing jobs.
On unit economics, the brand saw per-kit packaging cost trend down by roughly $0.15–$0.22 as plate remakes and emergency shipments faded. Freight landed a touch lighter—around 6–9% in select lanes—helped by the occasional free-shipping promo and smarter consolidation. It wasn’t flawless; one regional spike in OCC led to a three-week squeeze that forced split shipments. Still, the framework held, and the brand look stayed intact—right down to the cartons sourced through papermart.
