The Role Of Packaging In Supply Chain Management

By Marvin Magasura

The packaging industry is evolving. We now know that packaging no longer refers to a box or a carton, but rather to a coordinated system of preparing goods for safe, cost-effective, and efficient movement throughout the whole supply chain that eventually leads to maximizing consumer value, sales and hence profits.

This means packaging also plays an integral role in supply chain management. It protects products from damage, allows for their efficient distribution, communicates to the consumers, and is one of the major product promoters in a competitive marketplace. In fact, packaging design has recently developed into a mature communication discipline on its own – and clients now realize that packaging is a critical and central element in the creation of an effective brand identity.

In order to achieve a successful supply chain management, packaging systems have to be connected with aspects of marketing, logistics, productions, and the environment.

Logistics demands for packages that can be easily handled throughout all processes and for the consumers. Marketing, on the other hand, requires for appealing packages that can engage costumers. Production usually demands for one size of packaging for all types of products to minimize time and labor costs. Good packages can satisfy all these aspects while also fulfilling consumers’ expectations to create the desire to try the product.