Three Steps to Follow if it’s Time to Update Your Manufacturing Process
Published April 22, 2019
Change can be hard to adapt to, especially in the automated packaging machinery industry, where proven credibility and established success are valuable ways to build trust with your consumer base. For consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers and packagers, it can become all too easy to trust in older processes, counting on methodology that has worked in the past to continue to return a profit. However, as new technologies and changing customer demands spark change in CPG, secondary packaging automation (SPA) and packaging solutions included, producers are being forced to innovate to survive.
2018’s biggest CPG retailers have proven that the old ways of doing things no longer hit the mark. For example, L’Oréal Paris saw $32004 million in profits last year, earning a spot among the top 10 CPG brands on a global scale. Much of the skincare and makeup giant’s success can be attributed to innovation in the areas of production and advertising. L’Oréal’s marketing, showcasing commitment to ethical production and international presence, set the company apart. If you want to increase production and secure your place among the big brands, enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation through improved processes, more efficient manufacturing equipment and stronger marketing is the key.
Is it Time For a Manufacturing Update?
Rethink Your Production Process
Many CPG and SPA producers have rich histories in the manufacturing industry, but are losing potential profits to younger businesses that have taken the time to examine existing production processes and actively work to improve weak points. Communication and follow-through are the keys to success here. When considering a significant potential change in your production process, it is imperative to follow the change through the entire manufacturing line, considering how it could alter other parts of the process — down to distribution.
As you think through potential changes, strive to remain flexible and be open to new suggestions or ideas. Just as the needs of manufacturing’s primary consumer base continue to evolve, CPG and SPA producers must also be willing to change in order to best meet the needs of their supporters. Survey the industry and stay aware of evolving methodology so that you can incorporate advances that benefit your consumers and your business.
Update Your Production Equipment
Legacy equipment presents a number of problems that can make companies hesitant to update their manufacturing processes. As machinery ages, upkeep becomes more necessary as parts wear out. Generally, this means upkeeps also gets more expensive. Parts become difficult to find for older, outdated machines, and repair companies and techs who have experience with obsolete machinery can be hard to find. Although an update in manufacturing equipment provides an obvious solution, complete modernization of equipment often requires more time and resources than any single company can handle at once.
Industry Week recommends taking a migration approach to update your manufacturing system instead of modernizing your process all at once. Often requiring the time of only a single tech, the migration approach allows manufacturers to replace pieces of legacy equipment one at a time, slowly integrating the modern machines into their existing processes. Sometimes, one new piece of quality equipment, like an automated case erector, is all it takes to bring new life to your manufacturing line. Although this approach will require more time in order to fully optimize your process, it’s far more budget-friendly and more easily accepted by employees since it does not require your workforce to learn entirely new equipment.
Improve Your Manufacturing Marketing
In today’s world, producing a good product is no longer enough positive advertising for your manufacturing business. Marketing, whether through social media, your own website, or even TV and radio commercials, is crucial to increasing your potential consumer base and growing name recognition. Consider publishing an “About Us” landing page on your primary company site to help boost marketing efforts while continuously pointing visitors to your site. Creating informative pages like this provides potential consumers with incentive to browse further and navigate to the products and services you can provide. In addition to being useful in a marketing sense, an About Us page gives you a chance to tell your company’s story and to present the values that are important to you.
Stay Ahead With INSITE
Are you searching for an advanced case erector or case sealer machine to replace a piece of legacy equipment and help streamline your existing manufacturing process? Reach out to INSITE today. With proven experience in product packaging solutions, our attentive team is eager to help you optimize your manufacturing process for success.