Streamlined Systems
August 5, 2008
The pressure to execute becomes more manageable when procedures address the needs of both parties, and of all the steps in the process.
By Kent St. Vrain
A partnership is born based on the needs of two individual parties. A brand owner may have a new package design for which they do not have the equipment, or they may have a short run for a test market. Or they may have a very tight deadline, or a special promo job, or existing product that needs rework, or regulatory issues. Or… The picture is clear — partnerships are formed when there is a valid need that makes business sense for both parties. And many times it works out just as planned.
Many times, however, things are not quite as smooth as intended. Demands from a brand owner of a contract manufacturer or packager can exponentially grow in a short period of time. And often it takes a Herculean effort on the part of the contract packager to deliver on the expectations relative to costs, schedule and quality expectations.
Yet with today’s available resources, there are ways to standardize procedures and help both parties come out relatively unscathed when demands become a challenge. There are systems in which real-time project status information can be shared, and digital workflow also can positively impact the process. The pressure to execute becomes more manageable when procedures address the needs of both parties, and of all the steps in the process.
The Pressure Is On
It is no surprise why the pressure is on for everyone to execute successfully and efficiently – packaging has never had more of an impact on brand identity than it does today. With nearly every study showing the new product failure rate between 80 and 90 percent, it is paramount for a product’s package to contribute to its success. Packaging cannot be one of the reasons that the product ends up in the failing group.
Contract packagers are in a position to help brand owners launch successful products. Still, brand owners sometimes don’t recognize that their contract-packaging partners have high levels of sophistication in their processes. This perception stems from the fact that as a primarily project-based industry, manufacturers believe contract packagers are more of a vendor and less of a partner. While not a fair assessment, many manufacturers mourning the loss of control accept it as true. The good news is that contract packagers have a means available to sway such perceptions.
Improving Perceptions
There are many areas where contract packagers can show the level of sophistication that they really possess. First, the plant floor is a perfect way to illustrate the sophistication a contract manufacturer or packager has in its organization. The level of the machinery churning out the jobs is a very telling indicator of a company’s capabilities.
But there are other areas of sophistication that can be imperative when working with brand owners. When analyzing instances where delays occur, for example, much of the delay often has to do with communication and not to a failure of a component in the line. Think of the number of times a job was delayed because the artwork was late. Or the “final” artwork file was not really “final.” Is all the international legal compliance complete and documented where it is easily found? These issues can create delays just as long, if not longer, than any other issues in the process. But there is a way to manage the communication and audit trail, while simultaneously proving sophistication to brand owners.
Solutions
Internet-based technology, known as Software as a Service, has opened up a world of options where only internal ERP systems could go before. As a result, manufacturers and contract packagers can truly share real-time project status. Digital workflow and project management tools enhance the communication between brand owners and contract packagers, helping to solidify partnerships. Technology-based digital workflow and project management solutions can instill better quality control across the board. They can help streamline the branding process from ideation to the approval and repurposing of brand assets, including management of packaging-related specifications.
Routing of artwork, package designs, specifications and other tasks are simplified and accelerated, and the need for overnight delivery is reduced. Rework is reduced significantly as more projects are done right the first time. Brand owners benefit from speed to market since the additional layer of communication with the contract packager becomes seamless and instantaneous.
And these solutions often help with regulatory compliance. According to statistics provided by the United States Food and Drug Administration, in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries, more than 51 percent of all product recalls in a typical six-month period were the result of mislabeling. An automated system provides the audit and history necessary to remain compliant with FDA regulations such as 21 CFR Part 11 and Sarbanes Oxley.
By implementing the proper project management technology, contract packagers are poised to better plan, execute and deliver packaging projects on time and offer a competitive advantage by demonstrating greater accountability and control over projects. Digital workflow and project management solutions provide real-time visibility across projects to enable better decision-making and enable quick identification of problem areas.
The technology easily creates project plans, assigns tasks and automatically notifies assignees of their tasks. Project management tools offer task assignees a very simple way to report status against all of their tasks with a few mouse clicks, which immediately and automatically change the status of the tasks for other users to see — all integrated into the workflow and collaboration features of the solution. Finally, users are empowered to create a new project simply by copying and then customizing an existing project based on a best-practice project template.
Efficiency Is King
Contract packaging leaves no time for error. One error could cost valuable time, most of the margin and damage an organization’s reputation. Efficient processes must be in place to streamline packaging processes, meet time-sensitive deadlines and accelerate time to market. By leveraging digital workflow and project management technology that supports packaging and brand assets, contract packagers can gain real-time visibility to enable better decision making, ensure greater accountability and control over projects, and identity problem areas more quickly. And an added bonus – progressive systems help to eliminate pre-conceived notions of contract companies and foster long-lasting partnerships.
Kent St. Vrain is vice president of marketing and business development for Paxonix, part of MeadWestvaco (MWV), a global leader in packaging and packaging solutions. He can be reached at 978-582-0767 or kent.stvrain@paxonix.com.
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