Packaging: a management challenge

What does packaging mean to your business?

In today’s consumer markets, packaging is increasingly critical to success. In modern retailing, packaging is a vital tool in shopper strategy. You want your product to be noticed and found. You may need to inform about complex features. You must attract and distinguish amidst a myriad of competing products and stimuli. The perceived image must be consistent with brand equity, your marketing strategy and price point. This way, packaging has an indisputable impact on your marketing and sales. 

In fact, packaging delivers value in all sorts of areas:

• Satisfy consumers
• Convey a competitive image
• Be efficient to handle in stores
• Easy to process in the supply chain
• Be cost effective to manufacture 
• Contribute to a sustainable use of resources 

So how succesful is your packaging? Which costs and benefits are known and managed effectively? How much is hidden, associated with key business processes and disregarded as a packaging related issue? 

Beat the value filter

In reality, most packaging fails in one or more critical areas. Companies struggle with managing packaging in a wider context. As a result, much effort put in developing excellent products never reaches the consumer. Grocery supply chains appear to be good at filtering value out instead of adding to your product. Effective packaging helps to turn the value filters into profit boosters. Not only graphics, but also smart primary and secondary packaging design contributes to overall effectiveness.

But for many companies the variety in demands, opposing interests between multiple stakeholders, and the pace of change in products, markets and business conditions seem too much to handle. Yet, the call for better, cheaper and more sustainable strategies cannot be denied.

How we help: better solutions, less costs  

Impaqtum is a specialised, independent business service that helps companies beat the complexity by applying a simple principle: think first, design later. This is the true meaning of packaging management with an indiscernable profit impact.  

Typical assignments evolve around 3 relevant areas:

Set profitable performance criteria in a changing business environment

• What business function(s) benefit most from better solutions and how?

 Efficient portfolio management in the end-to-end supply chain

• How to serve different markets and customers with a dynamic demand?

 Development and implementation of suitable options

• How to make design, technology and organisation match and agree?