According to the research conducted by Simon-Kucher & Partners, the two most important trends for the paper and packaging industry in the last 5 years: sustainability and digitalization. It is predicted that the importance of these trends will increase gradually and that they will directly affect the product management, value chain, sales, and pricing processes of the manufacturers by getting stronger in the next 3 years. Especially the pandemic period plays an important role in the spread of these two trends.
So how can companies adapt to the effects of sustainability and digitalization trends that have accelerated with the pandemic?
The sustainability trend has been a growing trend during the 2010s, usually with the corporate responsibility activities of governments and brands. However, in recent years, it is seen that the main lines of the trend have changed and large companies are now looking for sustainable options. Big companies like P&G, Pepsi, Unilever have come a long way in finding packaging that is 100% recyclable or biodegradable. Therefore, the sustainability trend, which will gain more importance as we approach 2030, will become an even more critical decision point in purchasing processes.
However, it seems that many companies in the manufacturing sector are still not actively catching up with this trend. Therefore, there are a few actions that paper and packaging manufacturers who want to catch up with the sustainability trend should take. These are on R&D and product strategy.
R&D
Brands should add sustainable products to their existing R&D plans to meet market demand. It should be ensured that product options are ready to meet the needs of customers until important change dates such as 2025 and 2030.
Product Strategy
The number of sustainable options in the product portfolio of brands should be increased. For non-sustainable products, brands should identify sustainable options that can replace these products with a product life cycle perspective.
The digitalization trend has emerged as an important trend as well as sustainability, with the great impact of the pandemic. Digitalization, which has been going on since the beginning of the 2000s, has started to become effective in the paper and packaging industry, albeit later, in recent years.
Contrary to expectations, the main process that is expected to be affected the most by digitalization is known as sales processes, rather than innovative solutions such as smart packaging. Therefore, there are a few actions that paper and packaging manufacturers who want to catch up with the digitalization trend should take:
Planning Digital Touchpoints
With digitalization, contact points with customers began to increase and differ. Many new channels such as online purchasing options, order interfaces, and social media stand out as important contact points for paper and packaging manufacturers. Brands should use omnichannel at customer touchpoints to stay one step ahead of the competition in the market. Therefore, establishing teams such as telesales, multi-channel customer service, online technical support within the sales team should now be the first priority for manufacturers.
Standardization of Sales Processes
Brands need to design their sales processes in line with the digitalization trend and standardize them both internally and at the customer base. With the reduction of time spent on activities with the digitalization in these processes, the additional time that arises needs to be rescheduled and the necessary human resources for sales teams need to be reviewed.
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