Dealing with Packaging Complexity – Tips 17 to 20
By Stephen McIndoe, VP Consulting, Be4ward
In my previous articles, I discussed a series of tips on managing packaging complexity. In the final article in the series, I look at the last four tips continuing on the theme of how to cope with added-value complexity.
17. Reduce line change-over time
Have you maximized your opportunities for fast changeover?
Line change-overs are non-productive time, and in a world of increasing complexity and product variants, the amount of changeovers increases and so lines can spend significant amounts of time not producing product. This reduces capacity and increases cost.
There are three parts to a changeover: clean-down, set-up, and start-up. All can be improved through the application of operational excellence techniques and product and equipment design. There are four steps to consider and many opportunities with each:
- Eliminate non-essential operations. For example, standardize component sizes, reduce the range of tooling, and equipment modifications, such as adjusting only one guard rail instead of two.
- Perform external setup. For example, have all of the change-over materials and equipment ready before you start; use pre-assembled modules.
- Simplify internal set up. For example, use quick couplings, scribe marks, jigs, and hand knobs rather than nuts and bolts.
- Measure and improve. Continue to look for opportunities, hone your process, and keep training. A changeover should be like a racing car pit stop.
18. Supply chain design and Hubs
Have you optimized your supply chain to provide required levels of variation and customization?
In coping with complexity, it is necessary to think not just of what must be done and how, but also where. To minimize obsolescence, the goal should be to make products and components market specific as late in the supply chain as possible.
To achieve this, a different approach to the design of the supply chain may be required.
Postponement and late customization activities are production activities, and therefore, must be undertaken with appropriate GMP processes and facilities. You need to ensure that such operations are being undertaken with appropriate levels of control, and therefore, undertaking such tasks within warehouse operations may not be appropriate.
Conversely, as most markets are supplied from many packaging facilities providing the local market specific requirements from each factory can be an unwelcome complexity burden at each factory.
Ensuring that activities are undertaken at the appropriate points in the supply chain is another key part of managing complexity. The concept of regional hubs can help provide appropriate solutions, where the hub supplies a group of local markets with market-specific product created from a stock of standard and customized components supplied from the factories.
19. Outsourcing
Have you considered outsourcing the things you are not best equipped to do?
Another facet of the design of your supply chain is the "make or buy" decision. It may be tempting to try to keep all of the volume in house, but considering the concept of runners, repeaters and strangers, you may not be best equipped to deal with all.
If you have a high volume facility, it may be better to outsource the strangers to a packaging third party who can cope with an unpredictable product and infrequent orders. Alternatively, you may want to keep all of the specialist and unusual product in house and outsource the standard and repetitive volume.
Also, considering the overall supply chain design, there may be geographic areas where you want to customize product but don’t have internal facilities available locally. An outsourced partner may be able to provide an appropriate regional hub.
The important consideration is that you don’t have to do everything yourself and external partners may be better suited to solving the challenges you are faced with.
20. Plan for future legislation
Are you already planning for how you will introduce required future legislation?
No matter how well you manage your current portfolio, there will always be new challenges to drive further complexity. New aspects of legislation will arise, requiring new solutions to provide. At the time of writing, these included:
- QR codes
- Serialization
- Tamper evidence
- Temperature monitoring
It is therefore worthwhile planning ahead for future legislative drivers and considering:
- How well are you sensing what is likely to happen in the future?
- What changes do you want to influence and how are you engaged in that influencing?
- How early do you mobilize to start introducing new capabilities?
- What alliances and partnerships do you need to establish to develop new solutions and supply strategies?
- How do you integrate necessary changes into normal business to avoid the incremental workload?
- How do you ensure packaging design activities are cognizant of potential future requirements?
- How do you track progress to ensure compliance is achieved?
This draws to a close this series of tips on complexity management. I hope you have found these useful. For further discussion on any of the topics discussed, please don’t hesitate to contact me at stephen.mcindoe@be4ward.com.
Other articles in this series:
Dealing With Packaging Complexity
Dealing With Packaging Complexity: Tips 1 To 4
Dealing With Packaging Complexity: Tips 5 to 8