Package deal: current suppliers, packaging audits, tradeshows and online shopping, offer...

When it's time to find the best deal on a piece of packaging equipment or material, buyers should talk first with current suppliers. Other useful sources of direction include third-party auditors, industry tradeshows and the mountain of information that's currently available online.

Package design and development centers, such as those offered by material providers like Sealed Air (Danbury, Conn.), are one place to start. "Our testing labs offer a good way for us to work with the customer to determine what is the best way to solve a packaging problem," says Tom Windisc