My International Paper Ordering Checklist: 7 Steps That Saved Me From Repeating $4,200 in Mistakes

I've been handling corrugated packaging orders for manufacturing clients since 2018. In that time, I've personally made—and documented—12 significant mistakes totaling roughly $4,200 in wasted budget and countless hours of damage control. Now I maintain our team's pre-order checklist to prevent others from repeating my errors.

This checklist is for you if you're ordering containerboard, corrugated packaging, or specialty paper products from major suppliers like International Paper. It works whether you're going through their direct sales team or a distributor. If you've ever had a shipment rejected at receiving, or discovered your specs were wrong after 500 boxes arrived, you know why this matters.

Seven steps. I'd rather spend 10 minutes running through these than deal with a $890 redo plus a week-long delay. Trust me on this one.

Step 1: Verify Your Account Access Before You Start

This sounds obvious. It isn't.

In September 2022, I spent 40 minutes building out a complex order only to discover my portal credentials had expired. The my ip login system had timed out my session, and I lost the entire configuration. Worse—I was trying to pull paystub information for our accounts payable reconciliation and couldn't access historical invoices.

Before you do anything else:

• Log into your supplier portal and confirm you can access order history
• Verify your payment method on file is current
• Check that your shipping addresses are still accurate (we had a warehouse move that nobody updated)

Takes three minutes. Saves the frustration of rebuilding orders from scratch.

Step 2: Pull the Exact Specs From Your Last Successful Order

Here's the thing: memory lies. I thought I remembered the flute type we needed for a retail display project. I was wrong. Ordered 200 boxes in C-flute when we needed B-flute. Different crush resistance, different stacking strength. $620 worth of boxes that our client's distribution center rejected on arrival.

The fix I've used since: never spec from memory. Always pull the documentation from your last approved order. Check:

• Board grade and weight (this is where most mistakes happen)
• Flute designation—B, C, E, or combination
• Burst strength or ECT rating requirements
• Print specifications if applicable
• Coating or moisture barrier requirements

Actually pretty simple once it's habit. But that habit cost me $620 to develop.

Step 3: Confirm Lead Times in Writing—Don't Trust the Website Estimate

The conventional wisdom is that published lead times are reliable. My experience with 200+ orders suggests otherwise.

Published estimates assume ideal conditions: standard specs, available inventory, no production queue backlog. In Q1 2024, I placed three orders in one month. The website showed 10-12 business days for all three. Actual delivery: 11 days, 18 days, and 23 days. Same product category, wildly different results.

Now I email or call to confirm before placing any order with a hard deadline. I ask specifically:

• "Based on current production schedules, what's the realistic ship date for this order?"
• "Are there any inventory constraints on this board grade right now?"
• "What's causing delays for other customers this week?"

Get the answer in writing. Screenshot it. Attach it to your purchase order. When the shipment's late, you'll have documentation for your stakeholders.

Step 4: Calculate Your Buffer—Then Add Three Days

I didn't fully understand the value of buffer time until a $3,000 order arrived two days before a product launch—and the print registration was off-center.

No time to reorder. We used them anyway. The client noticed. It wasn't catastrophic, but it damaged our credibility in a way that took months to rebuild.

My rule now: whatever buffer seems reasonable, add three more business days. If you need product on the 15th and lead time is 10 days, don't order on the 5th. Order on the 1st. Yes, it means more advance planning. Yes, it means you can't always accommodate last-minute requests.

That's the trade-off. I'll take it.

Step 5: Triple-Check Dimensional Tolerances

This is the step most people skip. I was one of them.

Corrugated packaging has dimensional tolerances—typically ±1/8" for commercial applications, tighter for automated packaging lines. In my first year handling these orders, I specified exact dimensions without confirming tolerance requirements with our client's fulfillment team. The boxes arrived within spec. They didn't fit the automated erectors. Off by 3/16" on the length.

That error cost $890 in expedited replacements plus a 1-week delay while we hand-erected boxes to keep the line running.

Now I verify:

• Client's actual tolerance requirements (not assumed standards)
• Whether they're using automated equipment that needs tighter specs
• The supplier's stated tolerance for the product type

If there's a mismatch, I flag it before ordering. Better to have that conversation upfront than explain why 2,000 boxes don't work.

Step 6: Request a Physical Sample for New Specifications

Everything I'd read about sample requests said they slow down the process unnecessarily. In practice, I found the opposite.

For repeat orders with proven specs? Skip samples. For anything new—different board grade, new supplier location, changed print artwork—get a sample. I went back and forth on this for years, trying to save time. The February 2023 disaster changed my mind permanently.

New sustainable packaging line, fiber-based alternative to our usual containerboard. Looked great in the digital proof. Arrived in production quantities with a texture that made our client's labels peel off within 48 hours. The coating we assumed would be compatible wasn't.

$1,400 in product. Unusable. Plus rush reordering the original specs at premium pricing.

Sample requests add 3-5 days. They've prevented at least four major errors in the 18 months since I made them mandatory for spec changes.

Step 7: Document the Approval Chain Before You Submit

Real talk: this step isn't about the supplier. It's about your internal politics.

I once processed an urgent order for packaging materials—confirmed specs, verified lead times, got everything right technically. The order shipped. Then I discovered our procurement director had been negotiating a volume discount with the same supplier, and my order at list price undermined his leverage.

Nobody told me. I didn't ask.

Now every order over $500 gets a quick internal check:

• Are there ongoing negotiations with this supplier?
• Is anyone else ordering similar products this quarter? (Bundling opportunity)
• Does finance need advance notice for cash flow planning?

Takes five minutes. Has prevented three awkward conversations with leadership this year alone.

Common Errors This Checklist Won't Catch

Honestly, no checklist is complete. Here's what still gets through occasionally:

Shipping damage after delivery. The order can be perfect, but if receiving doesn't inspect properly and signs off on damaged goods, you lose your claim window. I've added a note to our warehouse team's intake procedures, but it's outside my direct control.

Supplier production substitutions. Twice I've received board from a different mill than specified, with slightly different characteristics. Within tolerance technically, but different enough that our client noticed. I now request mill-specific sourcing in writing for critical orders. They don't always honor it.

Environmental storage issues. Containerboard absorbs moisture. If your warehouse isn't climate-controlled and you're ordering months ahead, that beautiful packaging might be warped by the time you need it. This one I learned from a colleague, not my own mistake. Grateful for that.

The Checklist Summary

For quick reference:

1. Verify account access and saved settings
2. Pull exact specs from last successful order
3. Confirm lead times in writing
4. Add three-day buffer to your buffer
5. Triple-check dimensional tolerances
6. Request physical samples for new specs
7. Document internal approval chain

We've caught 47 potential errors using this checklist in the past 18 months. Not all would have been expensive. Some would have been catastrophic.

An informed customer asks better questions and makes faster decisions. That's the point of running through this every time—not because you're incapable, but because the cost of one preventable mistake outweighs the cost of seven extra minutes of verification.

Take it from someone who's made the mistakes already. The checklist exists because the errors happened first.