In consumer product industries there is a constant pressure to get to market faster. This creates a lot of primary and supporting challenges across the supply chain. For example,  when you want to go faster, how do you keep the process high-quality and on a high compliance level? How can you do things faster with people who are not very skilled? Additionally, with the shifting markets, products and packaging changes are going increase. On a global scale, we are seeing new markets emerging for packaging, so we have challenges, but also opportunities. This is a perfect storm for the introduction of intelligent supply chain automation. The real goal is to accelerate packaging creation and update production processes in an environment where sustainability and skilled labor are becoming more of an issue.

Today, we hear that the average time to market can be anywhere from four to six months. As a result of the shifting and growing markets, consumer product companies are now looking for ways to reduce that to as little as two months—or even two weeks. Ultimately, the people who are buying packaging or sponsoring the product launch have an aspiration. The entire process needs to go faster. What are the constraints? Where are the challenges? Is it the content on the box or label? Is it a shape issue? How much time do I have to put into those selections or the process as a whole if there are really only a finite number of shapes and options?

For production, if it is a new die there is undoubtedly a time penalty. If you don’t use a die and use a laser instead, it could be done in two or three days, although today that is primarily a solution for short runs. These types of decisions are changing with market and technology developments.