Receiving ingredients in bulk bags rather than small bags can improve your plant's bottom line. This article gives practical, step-by-step advice on how your plant can make the switch. Sections cover exploring bulk bag handling; planning to convert your plant to handling bulk bags; meeting to establish the bulk bag spec, filled bag quality, bag rejection procedure, and whether the bags can be reused; as well as organizing your plant to handle bulk bags.

If you're receiving dry bulk ingredients in 55- or 100-pound bags, you've probably considered receiving the ingredients in bulk bags to save money. The easy part is calculating how much money you'll save per ingredient-pound based on annual usage. The hard part is determining how to handle bulk bags in your plant.

Bulk bags require different equipment for emptying the bags, as well as different handling procedures to ensure worker safety, to control dust, and to reuse or discard the bags. But if you want to make the switch, you're probably prepared to explore these differences further.