With so much in flux, there is a clear need to help remove noise in the system and move from bad VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) to good VUCA. We will identify what is important for packaging organizations and corporate leaders going forward. It’s all about good VUCA. Our goal is to help provide foresight in developing strategic packaging pipelines and recommend platform approaches to help navigate a successful journey.
Packaging continues to gain importance across the value chain. Based on our foresight research, as well as leading consultants like Deloitte and McKinsey increasing their focus on packaging, we see a bright future for packaging globally. Preparing for the future will be critical.
PTIS World Class Packaging Organization Model© 2017-2020
In order to lead, organizations need to have multi-year technical and strategic platforms, with near-term through 10+ year, long-term action plans. The long-term pipeline should include a variety of focus areas that they may choose to monitor, rather than actively invest in and work on. But they can readily backburner some and pull forward others based on trends, transformations, and disruptions. The year 2020 is one of those times to pull forward, prioritize, and accelerate.
Platforms are a best practice at many leading organizations since they help focus innovation and research resources on key areas, rather than being diluted among many less focused areas of interest. The goal of platforms is to be able to take the technology/benefit across multiple applications and opportunities to deliver enhanced growth, speed to market, and cost optimization. Frankly, most companies, and even many “leaders,” do not have early state/stage packaging pipeline programs to align with brand strategy and product development timing. Packaging needs this as an adjunct to stage gate process.
In order to move towards good VUCA, organizations across the value chain need to know what their best bets are, choose what not to work on, and start working on the top priorities. With these choices come the need for new skill sets, resources, and collaboration opportunities. In many cases, technology is allowing us to do far more, with greater efficiency and effectiveness. The time may not have been right a year, or even six months ago, but is now! Some platform examples:
• Digital Transformation: AR/VR, smart packaging, IoT, Industry 4.0, robotics, sensors, blockchain, etc.
• Consumer understanding and insight for package design, requiring new methods such as online ethnographies
