THE BUSINESS OF VISCOSITY BLOG

There was a time not too long ago when corrugated printing meant adding blue or black logos and text to the plain cardboard box a product was shipped in. Or adding to the front of a pizza box the two-colored cartoon imagery of a chef tossing dough as he sported the stereotypical mustache and goofy hat.

That’s not the case anymore.

Like many other technologies over the past decade, corrugated printing has evolved to become much more advanced, incorporating high-definition imagery, a wider range of colors, and more intricate shapes and designs.

Sustainable packaging is quickly becoming a feature that consumers expect to see associated with their favorite brands.

In its article, “Booming Boards, Big Growth,” the July 2016 issue of FLEXO Magazine addressed this trend in packaging, stating: “Sustainability is no longer a just nice to have, but is now seen as a necessity for attracting consumers and protecting market share – i.e. it is now an expectation, not a differentiator.”

You may already know this, but the packaging and other materials you produce for your clients all play a central role in establishing their brand identity and helping to drive sales.

Think about how important packaging is to a brand like Coca-Cola. Since the 1890s, the brand’s famous “Coke Red” color has adorned bottles (glass and plastic), aluminum cans, wooden crates, cardboard boxes, corrugated store displays, paper signs, and countless other materials.

Every industry is looking for ways to maximize production and reduce costs without impacting quality. Packaging manufacturers and printers are no different.

Achieving these goals in packaging and printing can be difficult, though. Clients expect quicker turnaround on projects in order to get more products into the marketplace at a faster rate. Inks, materials, and specifications can vary greatly from job to job, leaving many projects vulnerable to human error. And the growing popularity of specialty packaging and print jobs introduces even more variables into the printing process.

As consumers walk up and down store aisles, they are inundated with tens of thousands of purchase decisions.

Shopping for laundry detergent? There are dozens of options to choose from. Cereal? There are even more choices. And that’s before a shopper encounters stacks of soup cans, rolls of paper towels, or a fully-stocked beverage aisle.

With so many alternatives for consumers to buy, how is it possible for a product to stand out among the competition? The answer is packaging.

For those of us old enough to remember shoe shopping before the internet, there was a lot of going to the store to try stuff on.

What was the point of buying a pair of shoes unless you were sure they would fit? The process for buying shoes went something like this:

To get the exact measurements of your foot, you would place your foot on something that looked like it was designed for discomfort while the shoe professional made the required adjustments. The sales person would then go to the back to get a box. You would try on the shoes and walk around a little bit. If they fit, great.  If they didn’t, you would continue to try on shoes until you got it right.

As suppliers of process improvement equipment, we’re often faced with a conversation that centers on, “Why do we need it? We’re operating fine without it.”

For many other equipment suppliers, this is not an issue. Much of the time those conversations are centered on, “Why should I pick you?” We are fortunate enough, (or unfortunate enough), to have to engage in both conversations regularly.

In Will The Shrinking Workforce Get You? (Part 1) we established that the concept of a shrinking force is real.

Just to be clear, the shrinking workforce has several factors, (including retiring baby boomers, people giving up on finding jobs, etc.), but we identified three factors that we, as manufacturers may be able affect.

About five years ago, I visited one of our machining suppliers. During our tour, he told me that he could grow quickly if he could only find machinists. But, since he couldn’t find any, he was just raising prices and people were paying them.

Last year, the Automotive Industry Action Group worked with Deloitte Consulting LLP to compile survey data in a report they called Quality 2020. In that report, the survey respondents identified the most critical issues impacting quality. In their top five was “Loss of Experience.” The report states:

“Over three-quarters of respondents rate their organizations, at best, moderately capable of preserving and transferring knowledge. However, over one-third of OEM respondents report somewhat or no capability.”

Vice President Michael Bonner to present at 1st Automotive Steel Summit in Delhi, India

WASHINGTON, MICHIGAN – Saint Clair Systems’ temperature control technology will be highlighted during the 1st Automotive Steel Summit, to be held Friday, July 22 in Dwarka, Delhi, India.