Packaging

Packaging means a product used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery, storage, transport and presentation of goods. Canadian Armed Forces solicitations cite this wording from ISO 21067-1:2016, clause 2.1.1, as the definition that applies to the contract. One example is a request for proposal on CanadaBuys.

The term appears in two main places in Canadian public buying. General federal purchasing uses it in environmental requirements for goods that arrive in packaging. Defence materiel procurement uses it in specifications that tell contractors how to prepare, mark and deliver items. Both set conditions that a supplier must meet at delivery, and both can be assessed as part of a bid or a contract.

Environmentally preferable packaging in federal solicitations

For procurements of goods that come in packaging, contracting officers must include standard language on environmentally preferable packaging in solicitations and contracts. This language is set out in the annexes to the Supply Manual. The default approach is a mandatory requirement where goods are delivered in readily available commercial packaging, as described in the CanadaBuys policy notification and the green procurement guidance.

The requirement can be made optional in specific circumstances. These include specialized packaging, remote delivery locations, concerns about supplier participation, accessibility concerns, and health, safety or national-security risks.

What suppliers can be asked to do with packaging

The standard language in the Supply Manual annexes sets out several supplier obligations. Depending on the solicitation, a supplier may have to:

• use recyclable packaging that local recycling facilities at the delivery location accept, which is the default option;
• verify whether reusable packaging can be reused by the end user;
• take back packaging that cannot be recycled or reused, at no additional cost to Canada.

These duties continue after the goods are delivered, so a bidder should price them into the offer.

Canadian Forces packaging specifications

Department of National Defence (DND) solicitations for spare parts, equipment and other materiel require contractors to prepare items for delivery according to applicable Canadian Forces packaging specifications. The specifications named in recent solicitations include:

• D-LM-008-036/SF-000, DND Minimum Requirements for Manufacturer's Standard Pack, cited in a spares and miscellaneous request for proposal;
• D-LM-008-001/SF-001, which covers preservation and packaging;
• D-LM-008-002/SF-001, which covers package marking, both cited in a spare parts request for proposal.

Some DND contracts go further on quantity and markings. Items may have to be packaged one per package, with the national stock number (NSN), the description and the complete part number shown on the outside of the package. One such requirement appears in a DND solicitation on CanadaBuys.

Packaging materials and secure shipments

DND reports that packaging materials are procured through a National Master Standing Offer available to government departments. The materials it names are corrugated fibreboard, shipping sacks, envelopes, polyethylene bags, cushioning materials, straps and tape. The details are in the DND property report.

Contracts with security requirements add their own packaging rule. The Industrial Security Manual calls for packaging materials of sufficient strength and durability to protect material in transit when its size, bulk, weight or nature prevents envelope packaging. See the Industrial Security Manual.

What packaging means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Read the packaging clauses in every solicitation for goods, because they are contract conditions and not formalities. On federal goods contracts, confirm whether the environmentally preferable packaging requirement is mandatory or optional, and cost any take-back obligation before you submit a price. On DND work, identify the specification numbers cited, then confirm that your standard pack, preservation method and exterior markings match them. Plan for one-per-package delivery and for the NSN, description and complete part number on each package where the solicitation asks for them.