How Digital Transformation will change the flexible packaging & labels industry

Just to recap what we have covered in the series so far. The digital transformation is the journey from conventional production with data islands (even within the same production site) towards a fully connected and transparent value chain, from material supplier to the brand owner (or even to the retailer and the consumer).

Everyone has the same expectations from its supplier: the best quality at the best price at the right time. This is what we want from our suppliers, but how do we act in our daily operation? We add time buffers here, volume buffers there. We try to be on the safe side all the time – this is human and natural, but we pay for this safety with inefficiencies. And the entire supply chain pays the price for it as we request too much from the suppliers while giving the minimum - with buffers - to the customers.

So why change it? It worked well enough over the last few decades and I have to protect my business, my know-how and my data. Data is indeed the new gold, and it is my gold!
Yes and no! Why are data the new gold? In the digital transformation process, data are required to improve the entire value chain - not only one part of it - and to add value. Data is the new gold, because it fuels the improvement at any step in a connected world and consequently throughout industry 4.0.

To be able to add value, industry 4.0 and the related data need to serve both the converters and the Brand Owners at the same time. Industry 4.0 is adding value by offering flexibility and more productivity.
 

Let starts with flexibility. In our industry flexibility means “being able to react quickly on new orders in whatever requested volume and quality”. And we all know how important this can be.

For BOBST customers, with proven solutions for quick setup time, small setup waste in every possible printing technology like Gravure (TAPS: MASTER RS 6003 or NOVA RS 5003), wide-web CI-Flexo (smartGPS^® on the EXPERT CI) or narrow-web flexo and converting (MASTER M5 and MASTER DM5) or digital printing, we have designed solutions with flexibility in mind from the beginning for every order size, for every printing technology and whatever Brand Owners can request from converters.

In lamination, with our brand new NOVA SX 550 LAMINATOR and NOVA S 550 LAMINATOR for solventless lamination, we are contributing to the success of our customers with short setup time and top production speed. With our partner we are working on adhesives with short curing times to decreases the time to market.
Within a connected production site in a connected supply chain, having the right machines with relevant digitalization and automation is the pre requisite to be successful. With the introduction of industry 4.0 and the digital supply chain, machine capacities and the digital twin of the products are transparently shared to all relevant stakeholders. This means that you know, first hand - even if it happens few supply chain steps “after you”. You can react quickly with your BOBST machines, you know the reality in real time – no buffers, no delay. Real data, real time! This saves many resources including in administration, time and money.
 

Let’s now look at productivity. This means to our customers “delivering the right volume, at the right time for the right costs”.

“Right volume at the right time” we discussed above, but the “profitability” dimension was not addressed. The Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 cost money and of course it has to have a ROI. So, how does Industry 4.0 increase profitability? By being more flexible, you save resources in administration but in quality control, productions steps approvals, etc. – all the key steps are visible in a digitalized environment. Imagine you receive data from your material supplier and it tells you exactly what you can process and at what meter of the reel there is a splice or any parameter out of tolerance. You know this already from the reports you get from your suppliers. Nice, but imagine you can load these data directly into your machines to get the most out of the material to help your operators to process the full setup automatically. It saves time, material and costs.

Managing all the above brings the stock levels down – not only for you – also for all relevant stakeholders in the supply chain. This alone boosts your profitability. It reduces the raw material warehouses, the finished material warehouses and all the buffer storages in between the production steps. We all have to consider this indirect profitability boosters as well!
 

Let’s now talk about quality. This means for our customers to “deliver exactly the specification and the volume that the customer pays for”.

In a connected packaging world, BOBST is supporting with the Job & Recipe Management system. The Brand Owners share the product specification and not only the printed image but the so called “Structural Design File”. It tells the converter not only what to print and how to print, it also explains what layers of substrates are supporting the print, what adhesive, which width, which packaging for transportation, etc.

And guess what? In the Structural Design File, all relevant information is included to define every single machine parameter, production time, productivity and even planned costs of each single square meter of the product. For example, by defining the adhesive, the converters knows exactly what nip pressure, what nip temperature, what drying profile or curing time is needed to laminate the specified product.

Producing quality is of course important, but how to prove it to the customer? In a connected factory in a connected supply chain, the “digital twin” makes this much easier – even in real time if needed.
 

Finally, let’s address the sustainability topic that some claim as a buzzword. What does digital transformation do for sustainability?

In the last 10 years sustainability, carbon footprint and so on were mainly marketing led initiatives. In the last two years, these topics have received a major boost and become more fact based. Every industry development now has to have “sustainability” and “recyclability” figures available.

How does the digital transformation and IoT support this target for the packaging industry? 

In flexible packaging “recyclability” is an effort of the entire supply chain, from raw material suppliers (paper mills, resin and film producers, etc.) towards the Brand Owners. BOBST showed its leadership role in the industry on this topic at K Show 2019. We connected the leaders in the industry to one supply chain and we together industrialized recyclable standup pouches with ultra-high barrier functionality – real aluminum replacement. This is a major step forward for the industry.

Sustainability is not only about recyclability, it is also about finding a “sustainable way to use our resources”. Resources can be many different things: time, energy, substrates, manpower, storing time, etc.

By saving waste, energy, storage times, double production or by allowing a more balanced production loading due to more precise planning, the digital transformation and Industry 4.0 will help converters to be more sustainable. 

Now you’re curious about how you can get all this added value and where to start with the digital transformation? This will be answered in the next upcoming blog post.
 

Christian  Zeller

Strategic Product Marketing Director
Business Unit Web-fed

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