If you’re considering purchasing a packer, stacker, box turner, or other packaging equipment, you’re probably wondering how long it would take to get your machine delivered.
Hi! Hani Hallal here from Impack packaging!
Whenever I am shopping for anything, one of the most important things I want to know is “How long will it take for my order to get delivered?”
At Impack, we like to be an open book with our clients.
And so, this article, with video will address IMPACK’s delivery times, what to expect, and what you can do to speed up the delivery of your machine.
Your machine delivery depends on 3 things:
Present Lead Time
Shipping Time
Estimated Delivery Time
Before we dive in, you should know that IMPACK provides you with the present Lead Time and the estimated Delivery Time.
The Lead Time is the time between order placement and machine shipment.
Your present Lead Time will be provided in terms of “number of weeks” given that our production is also planned in terms of weeks.
And this present Lead Time will be provided as a range with a span of 4 weeks. For example, 34-38 weeks. This range has allowed IMPACK to always be on time with our shipping.
The Shipping Time is the time between machine shipment and machine delivery.
All of our machines ship from our headquarters in Saint-Jacques, Quebec, Canada.
Therefore, a shipment to North America takes 2 to 7 days via ground shipping depending on the client’s state.
A shipment to Europe, on the other hand, takes 5-6 weeks via marine shipping.
Similarly, a shipment to Asia takes 5-6 weeks via marine shipping.
Expedited shipping is also available via air transportation (2-3 weeks) but is more expensive.
The Delivery Time is the present Lead Time + the Shipping Time. In other words, the Delivery Time is the time between order placement and machine delivery.
And your exact Delivery Date is the present Lead Time + Shipping Time + a day X (the day at which the order was placed).
It is important for you to know that IMPACK does not provide an exact delivery date.
And this is not because we don’t want to but more so because providing an exact delivery date is unrealistic and inaccurate.
🔍 Recommended: If you’re wondering why IMPACK does not provide an exact delivery date, we have a complete article on this topic that I strongly recommend you to check out: “Why Does IMPACK Not Provide a Delivery Date?”
Fortunately for you, you have the majority of the control over how fast you get your machine delivered.
There are 4 things you can do to speed up the delivery of your machine. Those 4 things are:
Order the machine as soon as you can.
When ordering, use IMPACK’s contract instead of your own contract.
Complete the signature of the contract and the associated payment as soon as possible.
Upgrade your shipping method (if possible).
First, order your machine as soon as you can.
Here’s why: At IMPACK, we build to order. We don’t stock machines in our inventory.
Hence, if you don’t order, we don’t build.
And we take orders first in, first out. The faster you order, the faster you get your machine.
Second, when ordering, we strongly recommend that you use IMPACK’s contract over your own contract. It is not mandatory but highly recommended.
This is because using your contract would involve additional steps that could add weeks or months over IMPACK’s standard purchasing process.
This would, thereby, delay the delivery of your machine, the commissioning of your machine, the operator training, and the time it takes until you realize productivity gains from using your machine.
🔍 Recommended: If you’d like to learn about the pros and cons of using your own contract versus IMPACK’s contract, and what it involves, read the article “Should You Use Your Own Contract or IMPACK’s Contract: Which is Better For You?”
Third, avoid excessive delays in signing the contract and making the payment for the associated invoice.
This is because your present Lead Time and estimated Delivery Time all depend on when you sign the contract and when you complete the associated payment.
When a client asks us for the estimated Delivery Time, we are often in the preliminary stages of our discussions with the client and it is difficult to foresee when a contract would be signed.
For some clients, it's a few weeks after the preliminary discussions and for others, it's a few months!
Thus, we provide a present Lead Time that fits the current situation and according to the orders that are currently in progress.
If our order book is already full, all new orders will be initiated only after the current orders have been processed.
You should also consider that when the time comes for you to place your order, our order book will most likely have changed.
As we work on a first-come, first-served basis, it is possible that the estimated Delivery Time provided in the preliminary discussions is not the same a few weeks later.
Therefore, the sooner you sign the contract, and complete the payment, the sooner you get your machine.
Finally, if you’re located outside of North America, you can upgrade your shipping to air transportation which allows you to save 3-4 weeks of delivery time.
That said, it is important for you to consider how this expedited shipping service would impact your return on investment.
Your ROI should confirm that the return from your investment in an IMPACK machine would partially, or fully, cover the cost of expedited shipping.
If it does not, then investing in premium shipping would not make sense for your company.
🔍 Recommended: Discover How Long Will it Take to Get Your Return From Investing in an IMPACK Machine?
So, there you have it.
We talked about how your machine delivery depends on 3 things: The present Lead Time, the Shipping Time, and the estimated Delivery Time.
We also discussed how IMPACK does not provide an exact delivery date since we have no control over the shipping/transportation of your machine.
Instead, IMPACK provides you with the present Lead Time and the estimated Delivery Time which are far more reliable indicators of when you will receive your machine.
Finally, I shared with you 4 ways to speed up the delivery of your machine.
At IMPACK, we have always been on target with our deliveries. Apart from very few, and rare exceptions, we have not delayed the delivery of a single machine in IMPACK’s 20-year history.
We have a strong dedication to deliver on time.
It is what we’ve been doing over the last 20 years, and are continuing to do despite the unprecedented challenges the economy has faced.
This explains our strong relationships with clients that we have had over the last 2 decades and continue to foster for many years to come!
👉 Wondering whether you can pay a premium to get faster delivery? Find out by reading “Can We Pay a Premium to Get Faster Delivery of our IMPACK Machine?”
👉 Considering working with IMPACK but still got questions? Here are IMPACK’s Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions with clear and direct answers.
👉 Confused on why IMPACK is asking you to increase the height of your folder-gluer's outfeed? Discover “Why You Need to Increase Your Folder-Gluer’s Outfeed Height.”
👉 Finally, save money on your IMPACK machine by learning about the “7 Hidden Costs with Buying Packaging Equipment & How You Can Avoid Them.”