A question of Dollars and Sense

Two or three years ago, I designed and built a low cost DVD Case to hold up to 15 discs. We call it the ACE Folio. Yes you read correctly -- fifteen(15) discs. This behemoth of a case had a comparatively smaller profile (43mm spine) to other cases and disc folder systems and a lot easier to assemble and fulfill. It literally filled a niche in the growing movie market namely budget DVD Compilations.

I won't say who it was but it was for one of the big guys. Well we were working with a replicator and indirectly with the replicator's customer; creating a case to best fulfill their needs yet come in under budget. We did it. The Replicator bought into it and we thought their customer did as well. Boy were we mistaken.



Fast forward to today.



I have seen a resurgence in the interest over this case but for a different reason. It's kind of neat to see an overlooked product take on a life of its own once it finds its niche.

Yes it does provide a single package to hold from 1 disc to 15 discs -- sleeved -- and homogenizes the packaging format so you really only need one overlay jacket (Cover art) instead of coming up with 16 different Cover arts for 16 different disc cases. You could characterize the ACE Folio as a catch-all case. It is a flexible case to store one to fifteen discs. It standardrizes the Cover Art so you really only need to have one template; not a plethora of them so printing over runs could be a thing of the past. Holding fifteen discs we are talking just under 1 pound of discs plus anything else the publisher wants to throw in to add value to the product.


You still have the ability to index and find a disc you wish even if it at the bottom of the stack. You really only have to worry about using inexpensive paper sleeves which further protect discs during transit because let's face it UPS is not the gentilest of carriers. And if you consider unit cost plus assembly to other multi disc cases for a package of this caliber (i.e. Binder + vinyl sleeves or Binder + Polypropylene sleeves) you could save as much as 60% of the cost of fulfillment and product -- combined.

Considering all the positives this case offers I understand now why it has seen a resurgence of customer interest.


Now let me break this all down.

If we look at a regular binder system for discs it takes 5-6 steps to pick and place a disc. If we compare that to our ACE Folio which takes only 4-5 steps per disc. Multiply that by the number of discs you are placing into the ACE Folio -- as many as 15 discs or 15 additional steps saved. Now if we assume that it costs approximately $0.03 per touch or step, you save $0.45 per case and that is just fulfillment cost. Add that to our normal pricing of the ACE Folio (approximately $0.55-.85 per case depending upon quantity) to a binder and sleeve set up (approximately $1.35-$5.00 depending upon its complexity) and you can really see the savings a case like the ACE Folio can offer the Customer.

But proof is in the pudding. Figure it out for yourelf. You will see as did I and my customers why this case offers such a big punch for DVD packaging. To view our specification sheet click HERE