Industry Trends

Bemis Packaging Procurement Checklist: 7 Steps to Avoid Hidden Costs After the Amcor Acquisition

Bemis Packaging Procurement Checklist: 7 Steps to Avoid Hidden Costs After the Amcor Acquisition

If you're sourcing flexible packaging or healthcare packaging and Bemis is on your vendor list, this checklist is for you. I've managed our company's packaging budget ($145,000 annually) for six years, negotiated with 12+ vendors including Bemis distributors, and documented every order in our cost tracking system. After Amcor acquired Bemis in 2019, the procurement landscape shifted—and so did the cost traps.

This isn't a guide about why Bemis packaging matters. You already know that. This is about how to procure it without getting burned on hidden fees, minimum order surprises, or specification mismatches. Seven steps. Follow them in order.

Step 1: Verify You're Actually Buying Bemis (Not a Different Bemis)

Here's something most procurement people don't realize until it's too late: there are two companies with "Bemis" in the name that operate in completely different spaces.

Bemis Company, Inc. (now part of Amcor) specializes in flexible packaging—barrier films, pouches, medical device packaging. Bemis Manufacturing Company makes toilet seats and sharps containers. I've actually seen purchase orders get routed to the wrong company because someone searched "Bemis healthcare" without checking further.

Before you request quotes:

• Confirm you're contacting Amcor's Bemis division for flexible/healthcare packaging
• If you need sharps containers specifically, that's Bemis Manufacturing—different company, different procurement process
• Check the stock ticker if you're doing vendor financial analysis: Bemis Company traded as BMS before the acquisition; it's now consolidated under Amcor (AMCR on NYSE as of January 2025)

This step takes 10 minutes. Skipping it can cost you weeks of back-and-forth with the wrong supplier.

Step 2: Map the Post-Acquisition Supplier Network

When I compared our pre-2019 and post-2019 Bemis orders side by side, I finally understood why our contact list had become useless. The Amcor acquisition restructured everything—sales territories, distribution channels, even product naming conventions.

What you need to do:

• Don't assume your old Bemis rep is still your rep. Many were reassigned or consolidated
• Request updated distributor lists directly from Amcor's Bemis division
• Verify whether you're now buying direct or through a new regional distributor (this affects pricing tiers)

The acquisition closed in June 2019. If your vendor contacts haven't been updated since then, you're probably not getting the best available terms. I found that out after overpaying by roughly $8,200 over 18 months because I was going through an outdated channel.

Step 3: Calculate Total Cost of Ownership Before Requesting Quotes

This is the step most people skip. They shouldn't.

In Q2 2024, when we switched packaging vendors for one product line, I ran our standard TCO spreadsheet. Vendor A quoted $0.12 per unit. Vendor B quoted $0.09 per unit. I almost went with B until I calculated everything:

Vendor B charged $1,200 for tooling setup, $0.02 per unit for "barrier certification documentation," and required a 50,000-unit minimum. Vendor A's $0.12 included everything with a 10,000-unit minimum. For our 25,000-unit annual volume, Vendor A was actually 23% cheaper total.

Your TCO calculation should include:

• Base unit price at your actual volume (not the volume they quote for)
• Tooling and setup fees
• Minimum order quantities and what happens if you don't meet them
• Shipping—Bemis/Amcor ships from multiple facilities; origin matters
• Certification documentation fees (especially for healthcare packaging)
• Quality testing costs if not included

Build this spreadsheet before you request quotes. It forces vendors to give you itemized pricing, which is where the real comparison happens.

Step 4: Specify Barrier Requirements in Writing (The Overlooked Detail)

From the outside, it looks like ordering packaging film is straightforward—you specify dimensions, material, quantity. The reality is barrier specifications are where most cost overruns hide.

Barrier technology is Bemis's core strength, particularly for food and pharmaceutical applications. But "barrier film" means different things depending on what you're protecting against: oxygen, moisture, light, or some combination. Each has different material costs.

I've seen specs get interpreted three different ways by three different sales reps. Our procurement policy now requires:

• Specific oxygen transmission rate (OTR) if relevant, with units clearly stated
• Moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR) requirements
• Shelf life expectations for the packaged product
• Regulatory requirements cited by name (FDA 21 CFR compliance, ISO 11607 for medical device packaging)

Putting "high barrier" in your RFQ is basically asking vendors to guess. And their guess will be whatever's most profitable for them.

Step 5: Request Samples Before Committing to Volume

The most frustrating part of packaging procurement: the same material can perform differently depending on the production run. You'd think a specification sheet would guarantee consistency, but interpretation varies between facilities.

After the third quality issue from a Bemis-product distributor (seal integrity problems on medical pouches), I added a mandatory sample stage to our process. Here's what that looks like:

• Request 50-100 units from the actual production facility that will handle your order
• Test the samples under your real-world conditions, not just visual inspection
• For healthcare packaging: run samples through your sterilization process before signing off
• Document sample batch numbers—if production quality differs, you have a reference point

Yes, this adds 2-3 weeks to procurement. It also prevented a $14,000 rejection last year when production samples didn't match the quoted specs.

Step 6: Negotiate Lead Times Separately from Pricing

Here's a mistake I made for years: negotiating price first, then asking about delivery timelines. Bad sequence.

Seeing our rush orders vs. standard orders over a full year made me realize we were spending 34% more than necessary on artificial emergencies. The "cheap" option resulted in a $3,800 rush fee when our production schedule couldn't accommodate the standard 6-week lead time.

Better approach:

• Establish your required delivery date first—be honest about what's actually needed vs. what's preferred
• Get pricing for standard lead time AND expedited options simultaneously
• Build in buffer: Bemis/Amcor's healthcare packaging often requires additional QC steps that can add 5-10 days
• Ask about inventory programs if you have predictable recurring needs

The value of guaranteed turnaround isn't the speed—it's the certainty. For production schedules, knowing your materials will arrive is worth more than a lower price with "estimated" delivery.

Step 7: Document Everything (Including What They Don't Put in Writing)

After tracking 47 orders over six years in our procurement system, I found that 62% of our "budget overruns" came from verbal commitments that weren't in the final purchase order. We implemented a written-confirmation-only policy and cut overruns by 78%.

Your documentation should capture:

• Every specification discussed, even ones that seem obvious
• Verbal pricing commitments with date and rep name
• Lead time promises with consequences for delays (credits, expedited shipping at vendor cost)
• Quality acceptance criteria—what specifically constitutes a defect
• Who your escalation contact is if problems occur

Honestly, this step has saved us more money than any negotiation tactic. A 10-minute email summarizing a phone call prevents a 10-hour dispute resolution later.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Based on six years of Bemis procurement and talking with peers at industry events:

Assuming the Amcor network means better pricing. Sometimes yes. But the acquisition also consolidated some product lines, reducing competition. Compare quotes from Amcor-Bemis against independent flexible packaging suppliers for non-specialized products.

Ordering healthcare packaging without regulatory verification. Bemis has strong healthcare packaging expertise, but "healthcare packaging" doesn't automatically mean FDA compliant for your specific application. Get documentation showing compliance for your use case, not just the general product category.

Ignoring sustainability requirements until the last minute. If you need specific sustainability certifications or recycled content percentages, specify upfront. Adding these requirements later often triggers complete requoting and lead time changes.

Treating all distributors as equivalent. Post-acquisition, some distributors have better access to certain Bemis product lines than others. A quote that seems high might just mean that distributor doesn't have favorable terms for that specific product.

Quick Reference: Before You Send That RFQ

Confirm you've got the right Bemis entity for your product type. Verify your contact list against current Amcor-Bemis distribution. Complete your TCO spreadsheet with all cost categories. Write out barrier specifications with specific, measurable requirements. Plan for sample testing time in your timeline. Get lead times and pricing quoted simultaneously. Prepare your documentation template for capturing commitments.

That's it. Seven steps. None of them are complicated—but skipping any one has cost me real money at some point. Take it from someone who's built this process through expensive mistakes: the upfront work is worth it.

Pricing and lead time information based on Q4 2024 procurement experiences. Verify current terms directly with Amcor-Bemis representatives as conditions change.