Developing A Successful Packaging Strategy

Packaging departments within organizations usually consist of highly capable people who work on different projects quite effectively. That is why packaging applications at the tactical level are worked on quite successfully. However, a tactical approach is never an ideal one if you want to achieve long-term success. It is the responsibility of the leaders of packaging departments to make sure that their packaging operations are set to achieve the goals of the larger organization.

In this article, we will discuss how to develop a packaging strategy to achieve long-term success.

Developing a packaging strategy can be challenging, especially since your packaging applications encompass multiple areas. This strategy is not just about package redesigning; it mainly involves figuring out the resources and systems to meet long-term objectives.

The three basic steps of developing a successful packaging strategy include:

• Discovery
• Statement of goals
• Determining objectives to accomplish those goals

Discovery

The discovery step involves an evaluation of the current status of the packaging department. When it comes to strategizing packaging, this step includes determining packaging goals. In most organizations, this step involves determining missions and general goals. For instance, some companies may have quite visible sustainability statements that they want to carry throughout manufacturing and packaging.

This step may also involve a company to have a little deeper insight. For instance, they may have to analyze the industry they operate in or look at certain other factors driving industry trends. It generally involves the analysis of the industry and stakeholder goals.

Statement of goals

While conducting business analysis during the discovery phase, you may find what is essential to your organization. Keeping those needs into consideration will allow you to form goals. There can be multiple levels of the development of a goals statement. For instance, you can use the concept of mission and vision statement. The vision statement refers to the big picture, while the mission statement is a summarized policy of how the vision will be accomplished. Furthermore, you can develop several mission statements to address different elements of a department. There are a few elements of the packaging department, including:

• Business processes
• Resources
• Engineering values
• Technology

Some examples of mission and vision statement include:

• Vision statement
• Business process mission statement
• Resources mission statement
• Technology mission statement
• Engineering services mission statement

Determining objectives to accomplish goals

This step of developing a packaging strategy involves more detailed steps and activities to accomplish goals. During this phase, the activities involved in the procedure become more precise and detailed. The level of objectives often embeds an additional level of tactics that define day-to-day tasks.

Since goals and forces can vary from organization to organization, there is no set formula for objectives. The best practice to determine objectives is to look at multiple organizations and see how they managed to overcome challenges while accomplishing their goals. In other words, this step may involve a lot of research.

Developing a packaging strategy is not just about the packaging department. It tends to outline the entire business process. That is why companies must consider all business processes before starting to develop a packaging strategy.