PACKAGING
P costs
Today, with tight margins and rising expectations, treating packaging as an afterthought is a missed opportunity. Smarter packaging design does much more than help products look appealing in store or arrive safely with customers. It also helps factories run more efficiently, with less waste and more agility.
For VPK, packaging is a performance enabler, not a passive product. Over the past decade, this mindset has become essential as factories face growing operational pressures. Here are some ways packaging design can deliver meaningful efficiencies on the factory floor.
LESS CHANGEOVER, MORE THROUGHPUT One of the biggest hidden costs in high-volume manufacturing is changeover time. Switching between pack sizes, designs or materials can slow production lines significantly. Even small inconsistencies, such as variations in board thickness or carton tolerances, can lead to jams, stoppages or the need for manual interventions. This is where packaging optimisation can deliver value. Reducing the number of SKUs or aligning formats across ranges lowers changeovers and enables machinery to be set up more precisely. When thousands of packs are produced each hour, these improvements quickly add up.
Optimisation does not have to mean compromising on branding or shelf impact. Good design can keep strong visual identities while maintaining core dimensions and features that are standardised for production.
DESIGNED FOR AUTOMATION
As more factories invest in automation, whether through end-of-line case erectors, robotic palletisers or automated guided vehicles, packaging compatibility becomes increasingly important. Even advanced equipment relies on consistent pack geometry and robust construction.
This means the design process must consider more than aesthetics or raw material costs. For example, corrugated cases with precise fold tolerances erect faster and seal more reliably on automated lines. Robust, well-engineered packs
ackaging is often seen as the final step, the protective container applied when production is complete. But it runs through every part of manufacturing, influencing line speeds, downtime, storage and transport
HOW SMARTER PACKAGING DESIGN CAN UNLOCK EFFICIENCY
ON THE FACTORY FLOOR By Adam Platts, Sales and Marketing Director, VPK Packaging UK & Ireland
improve pallet stability and reduce the chance of damage, which limits rework and waste. Cross-functional collaboration is essential. Designers, engineers and operators should work together, alongside the OEMs from the start to ensure the packaging solution supports automation, rather than creating extra challenges later.
OPTIMISING SPACE AND STORAGE Factory floors and warehouses rarely have surplus space. Poor packaging design can lead to wasted cubic metres, awkward pallet configurations or unstable loads that are difficult to store or move.
Rethinking how packs stack or fit together can maximise space in storage and transport, reducing costs, improving safety and lowering environmental impact. Simple changes to pack dimensions or material combinations can significantly improve pallet utilisation, delivering immediate operational savings without compromising performance.
SMARTER MATERIALS, SMARTER HANDLING
Material choice has a big impact on how packs perform under pressure. Optimisation is an important sustainability goal, but if packaging is too fragile, the gains are lost through damaged products and extra waste.
Finding the right balance means careful material selection and testing. High- performance corrugated grades with enhanced crush resistance help manufacturers optimise their packaging without sacrificing strength. Thoughtful design, including reinforced corners or integrated handles, improves manual handling and ensures compatibility with automated systems.
It is common for businesses to stick with ‘what we have always done’, but material innovation is moving fast. Revisiting assumptions regularly can reveal opportunities to improve performance, deliver sustainability
14 JULY/AUGUST 2025 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS targets and lower total costs.
A STRUCTURED APPROACH TO PACKAGING IMPROVEMENT Improving packaging efficiency is not about guesswork or making small, isolated tweaks. It requires a structured, end-to-end approach that starts by identifying the specific challenges and goals of each business.
Our VPK Eight-Step Solution Cycle, a framework that is designed to help businesses refine, optimise and future-proof their packaging, begins by understanding each customer’s environment, from production capabilities and storage to sustainability targets. Mapping these details means you can design packaging that performs consistently across the factory and supply chain.
This process also supports continuous improvement. By regularly reviewing performance against operational data, such as downtime, damage rates and waste, manufacturers can make incremental changes that build into significant gains over time.
THE PAYOFF
The most effective packaging solutions integrate seamlessly into operations, reducing friction and creating more flow. In a world where efficiency can be the difference between profit and loss, optimised packaging helps manufacturers run faster, safer and more sustainably. Rethinking packaging is not always easy, especially in businesses where habits are well established. But the benefits are real and measurable. They lead to lower costs, higher output and a more resilient, future-ready operations.
As factories search for every advantage in a competitive market, smarter packaging design is proving to be one of the most underused levers for progress.
VPK Packaging
www.vpkgroup.com
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