Some of the country's biggest brands are making improvements in company sustainable packaging solutions and are saving through effective supply chain management and packaging improvements.
There are many areas that stand to see improvement within the sustainable packaging solutions processes of a business. Materials used and product safety play big roles in mitigating costs for companies, and as a result many are looking to optimize how they address this process.
Walmart enhances in grocery sustainable packaging solutions
One such company looking to optimize their sustainable packaging processes is Wal-Mart - who set out to reduce the packaging in its products in 2007 by five percent. The company was able to recently achieve this goal in 2013, according to Packaging Digest, as it made large strides in its grocery department.
The news source reports that in bottled sauces, Wal-Mart was able to make their containers 44 percent lighter while cutting plastic resin by an average of 40 percent in packaged salads. The latter reduction allowed the company to reduce plastic film by 1.2 million pounds.
These reductions were made through addressing a variety of different areas. Wal-Mart did not focus on simply cost or the amount of material used, but looked for sustainable packaging solutions that would implement improvements on multiple fronts. By using a holistic approach that addresses various issues beyond merely one element of the packaging process the company was able to make large strides - just as in the same way no one part of the supply chain should be neglected.
Packaging applications across multiple sectors
These strategies do not just apply to the food market. Many other industries stand to benefit from such packaging improvements and supply chain management. Packaging World explains that a recent UPS poll of the healthcare market shows that these trends are to continue in healthcare as well. Over the next five years, 84 percent of companies plan to invest in new technologies, while 70 percent will look to implement new distribution channels.
The news source explains that the technology investments in particular signal a growing concern to make sure that high-value products are well secured and that they are not spoiled. These concerns are something that strong sustainable packaging solutions can address as the right container and sealing method can ensure that contaminants do not enter and that the package maintains its shape.
In fact, for the first time ever in the survey's history, product security concerns were higher than cost management with 53 percent of executives saying it was a top issue. There are a number of automated packaging machines that can address both of these issues. For example, some stretch film wrapping machines can use different techniques to build pallets securely, while at the same time using just the right amount of packaging material - thus addressing the product security concerns along with material reduction stressed by Wal-Mart.
