rom product rework and relabelling to kitting and shrink wrapping, Bray Solutions’ contract packing department handles what standard fulfilment cannot. Established 2018. 

Most businesses have products that need more than straightforward pick, pack, and despatch. Promotional bundles that need assembling. Returned stock waiting to be reworked. Products that need relabelling or repackaging to meet a new retailer’s requirements. 

Bray Solutions established its contract packing department in March 2018, and it has grown consistently since. This article explains what contract packing is, what Bray Solutions’ department specifically offers, and how to identify whether it could solve a problem your current supply chain arrangement is not equipped to handle. 

Key Takeaways 

• Contract packing covers a wide range of services beyond standard fulfilment, including small light assembly, product rework, labelling and relabelling, bagging, banding, shrink wrapping, batch coding, and logistics 

• Bray Solutions established its contract packing department in March 2018, with dedicated machinery and experienced operatives handling both small and large volume projects across multiple sectors 

• Product rework is one of the most commercially valuable applications: items returned, damaged, or incorrectly packaged can be opened, inspected, reworked, and repackaged ready for resale, recovering value that would otherwise be written off 

• Combining contract packing with 3PL fulfilment under one roof eliminates the cost and delay of transferring stock between separate service providers, keeping the whole process within a single managed operation 

• The most common trigger for businesses exploring contract packing is a requirement that falls outside what their standard fulfilment arrangement can accommodate, whether that is a promotional campaign, a rework need, or a retailer-specific packaging requirement 

• Any business with packing, assembly, or repackaging requirements too specialised or variable to handle in-house cost-effectively is a potential beneficiary of contract packing services 

What Contract Packing Actually Is, and Why It Is Not the Same as Pick and Pack 

Contract packing, sometimes referred to as co-packing, is the operation of packing, assembling, or repackaging products on behalf of a manufacturer, retailer, or brand. It sits at the intersection of production and logistics, handling the tasks that either fall outside the capability of standard warehouse operations or that would be prohibitively expensive to handle in-house for requirements that are variable in volume or infrequent in occurrence. 

The Services Bray Solutions’ Contract Packing Department Offers 

Bray Solutions’ contract packing department offers small light assembly, product rework, labelling and relabelling, bagging and banding, shrink wrapping, batch coding, and Kimball tagging for fashion and retail clients. Once contract packing work is complete, finished goods move directly into our warehousing and storage system for fulfilment or despatch via our 3PL shipping network. 

Why Recovering Value From Returned Stock Is One of the Most Overlooked Commercial Opportunities 

A significant proportion of returned goods are returned not because they are defective but because the packaging was damaged, the wrong item was sent, or the customer simply changed their mind. These goods are typically in a perfectly resaleable condition if they receive the right intervention: inspection to confirm quality, repackaging or relabelling to replace damaged or outdated outer packaging, and reintegration into the fulfilment system. 

A client came to Bray Solutions with over 100 pallets of returned stock sitting in racking with no clear plan. Bray designed a tailored rework programme that saw every item opened, inspected, reworked, reboxed, and relabelled. A substantial volume of stock was recovered for resale that would otherwise have been written off entirely. 

The Commercial Advantage of Contract Packing and 3PL Fulfilment Under One Roof 

Because Bray Solutions’ contract packing department operates within the same facility as our broader 3PL services, completed packs move directly into our warehousing and storage system. This integration eliminates the transfer costs and time delays that apply when contract packing and fulfilment are managed by separate providers. The WMS updates immediately, making finished goods available for order fulfilment without delay. 

Which Businesses Use Contract Packing, and What Triggers the Decision 

Contract packing is used across food and drink producers, beauty and personal care brands, consumer goods businesses, agricultural and garden product suppliers, and toy and games companies. The common factor is not sector but need. Any business with packing, assembly, rework, or repackaging requirements that are either too specialised, too variable in volume, or too resource-intensive to handle in-house is a potential beneficiary. 

Contract packing is one of those services that solves problems businesses have often been carrying longer than they should. Unprocessed returns accumulating in racking. Promotional opportunities that cannot be pursued without an assembly solution. Products sitting outside the fulfilment system because they need relabelling or repackaging before they can go live. Bray Solutions has the equipment, the capacity, the trained operatives, and the quality control processes to address all of these, and to integrate the output directly into our wider 3PL operation. 

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Frequently Asked Questions 

Q: What is the difference between contract packing and standard pick and pack fulfilment? 

A: Standard pick and pack involves selecting existing, finished products from storage locations and packing them into customer orders. Contract packing involves intervening in the product itself: assembling components, repackaging bulk product into retail units, reworking returned or damaged items, applying labels, adding banding, or performing any other value-added operation that changes the product’s state before it enters the standard fulfilment flow. 

Q: What types of businesses use contract packing? 

A: Contract packing is used across food production, beauty and personal care, consumer goods, toys, agricultural products, and many other sectors. The common factor is not industry but need: any business with packing, assembly, rework, or repackaging requirements that are too specialised, too variable in volume, or too resource-intensive to handle in-house cost-effectively is a potential beneficiary. 

Q: Can Bray Solutions handle both contract packing and ongoing fulfilment for the same products? 

A: Yes. Bray Solutions’ contract packing department operates within the same facility as our 3PL warehousing and fulfilment operation. Finished packs move directly into the warehousing system for storage and despatch without any transfer between providers, eliminating the transport costs, time delays, and additional goods-in processing that apply when contract packing and fulfilment are managed by separate businesses. 

Q: How does product rework work in practice? 

A: Items are received at the facility, inspected against agreed quality criteria to determine their condition, reworked or repaired where required, repackaged or relabelled to the specification needed for resale, and reintegrated into the WMS so they are available for immediate order fulfilment. The specific quality criteria, inspection protocol, and rework specification are agreed with the client before the process begins. 

Q: How do I know whether contract packing is the right solution for my business? 

A: If your business has packing, assembly, relabelling, or rework requirements that your current fulfilment arrangement cannot accommodate, or that would be uneconomic to handle in-house given the volumes and frequency involved, contract packing is likely a good fit. The best starting point is a conversation with the Bray Solutions team about the specific requirement.