A green look at packaging

SMART STRATEGIES

PACKAGING • THERE ARE FOUR KEY PHASES INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING STRATEGY, ACCORDING TO HOOVER FERGUSON, BUT THOSE WHO DO SO CAN REAP SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS

IMPLEMENTING A SUSTAINABLE approach to industrial packaging has hidden benefits for users. Intermediate bulk container (IBC) manufacturer Hoover Ferguson says that an effective chemical packaging strategy is “a safe, efficient and cost-effective solution, with sustainability, social responsibility, controlled chemical compatibility, optimisation of costs and profit, informed decision making and reduced logistics at its core”.

In the long term, a sustainable approach to chemical packaging can optimise water usage, actively promote social responsibility and better control raw material inflow processes. Packaging strategies that address items such as branding, marketing, transport and operational technicalities can also be forecast better.

The first step to bringing a sustainable packaging strategy into the fold is to prepare. Users should consider what the targets, goals and scope of the project will be – and it is essential to make these line up with corporate aspirations.

For example, will the strategy consider: • The whole company • A specific region • A group of customers and/or suppliers • Specific chemicals?

Outside of this, data is needed. Businesses looking to create sustainable packaging solutions need to begin gathering and compiling information on essentials such as forecast volumes, the types of chemicals involved, likely order dates and lead times, and the location of packaging supply and the final destination of the product.

CHOOSING THE MOST APPROPRIATE PACKAGING IS JUST AIMING FOR PERFECTION Once this data has been collected it is time to start analysing it – possibly the most important of the four steps outlined by Hoover Ferguson. This involves transforming the data into meaningful insights and operational scenarios that are relevant to the specific business. Users should focus on the main KPIs: average shipment distance, delivery time and volume. That data can support the construction of plans for different eventualities.

When different scenarios have been constructed, time is needed to evaluate and review workflow performance indicators and the cost-to-benefit ratios of technologies such as GPS, barcoding, RFID, level monitoring and inventory management systems. It is also a good opportunity at this time to develop business process workflows to better understand potential strategy variables. These variables can include vendor/customer/ packaging locations, chemical inflows and outflows, transport variations, test requirements, storage locations and more.

The third stage is selecting the most appropriate packaging, based on informed decisions from previous processes. The bottom line is that safety is the number one priority for packaging – no exceptions. After selecting a solution that incorporates the highest safety requirements, the sustainability of the packaging needs to be evaluated. This is not just in terms of corporate social responsibility and financial cost, but also the ability for an option to remain valid and accommodate future company growth. Additional calculations that need to be considered are the differences between rental and purchase options if these are variables that may arise.

Finally, there is the execution of the plan. In the words of Hoover Ferguson, “strategy without action is a waste of time”. When it comes to implementing the plan, the solution and execution should be tailored to each business and its individual operations and time requirements. This is designed to improve performance, operational efficiency and provide a sustainable impact, so special focus should be placed on safe operations, avoiding operational disruptions, team training and KPI monitoring to ensure a smooth process.

If these steps are followed, a sustainable packaging strategy can be created and brought into practice for a whole host of specialist businesses. www.hooverferguson.com