Innovation?
In today’s packaging world the new hot term used across industry is innovation. It appears business groups have taken a relative scientific word and have spun the meaning. From the scientific and technical fields perspective, innovative means developing something completely new. However; in the business world this expression has an entirely different connotation.
Packaging innovation was true to its moniker up until the early 2000’s in most companies. There was a clear distinction between R&D packaging teams developing novel ideas and technology while operation teams focused on manufacturing and producing the technology. Operations may have had a case of envy when research and development was receiving accolades for new developments although operations were a major factor. In reality, this was not entire story.
Innovation began to evolve into another part of the packaging operations team’s responsibilities due to numerous business factors. Companies began to become savvy and determined they were spending millions of dollars in research and development compared to operation costs with a low return on investment (ROI). To alleviate the financial burden, executives began to combine R&D and operations into the same unit or completely eliminate R&D. Operations would take on the R&D role.
In the early to mid 2000’s, the world economy was on a slide. One way for a majority of business to stay profitable was to reduce the cost of packaging. Operations teams were tasked with shortening manufacturing/production processes and cycles as well as reducing number of parts and materials. Business was cannibalizing their packaging to remain profitable to please top brass and stockholders.
Innovation to business became: taking competitive packaging and mimicking, using non specified materials to reduce cost, or exercising both practices. The fundamentals of packaging and quality took a back seat to profitability. Packaging lifecycles transformed from cyclical into linear projects. Packaging emerged into a recurring episode of MacGyver where teams were tasked to build a package to save the world with a paperclip, toothpick, and a gum wrapper. MacGyver Theme Song
This concept of innovation by business was making Red Green’s Handyman Corner looking like the guru of innovation. If business would look beyond the short term gains, the big picture of innovation is invaluable. The problem is this practice has spread from the consumer world into other industry such as automotive, pharmaceuticals, medical device, food and beverage, and government applications.
Minimal concern to consumer goods packaging may lead to a disgruntled customer who may not purchase the packaged product again, while in other industry the outcome could be disastrous. Use of substandard packaging materials in industries where packaging has a direct impact on human welfare may be tragic. A prime example is substituting materials for a drug. Use of a new material may cause adverse effects to the package, the product, the patient, or all three. Although these industries are heavily regulated, business sole focus is on financial numbers compared to product performance.
A few companies still grasp the actual meaning of innovation. These companies take the time involved to develop new packaging and are rewarded in the long run by leading industry. There is higher risk in doing so, but the rewards besides cost savings may be infinite. Simply put: to be innovative companies have to take additional risk which is not the norm in the modern era.