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When it comes to aftermarket service, it’s typical for OEMs to support your production teams on initiatives like ensuring technical efficiency in your equipment, optimizing your plant’s operational expenditures (OpEx) and improving availability and access to spare parts for your equipment. But how can OEMs support you in navigating plans to change the look and feel of your packaging? 

Changes to your product’s packaging – whether to increase shelf appeal or reduce your environmental footprint – can have a significant impact on the performance of your equipment. Equipment with low performance will quickly hinder your ability to meet specific production output targets efficiently and on schedule.   

In this post, we will share some of the top marketing drivers that could impact your production plant in 2024 and offer advice for how you can prepare to address them when you learn of a packaging design change. We will also highlight specific Synerlink offerings that can help you create a seamless transition for your team members and share real world examples of how this might look in practice. 

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TOP MARKETING DRIVERS TO WATCH IN 2024 (AND HOW TO PREPARE FOR THEM)

As the food and dairy markets continue to evolve with the ever-changing demands of consumers and sustainability regulations, it is likely that your packaging design will experience several changes over time. These changes will have implications for your production plant, so it is important to stay up to date and prepare to adjust your operations for these packaging changes.

Sustainability Efforts 

Your marketing team might propose replacing your existing packaging material with a more sustainable option given emerging government regulations and today’s increased market pressure to implement sustainable packaging. Marketing may want to use more sustainable packaging material, like recycled and recyclable material, to retain and gain customers who are increasingly opting for sustainable packaging options. 

Premiumization 

It is also common to try to change the packaging to emphasize the higher product quality against competitors’, also known as premiumization. Producing a premium product or product line can create market buzz that is a strategy to increase sales.  

Size impression 

Another common strategy is changing the packaging to make the product appear larger. This driver could help compete for consumers’ attention with other products in the market. 

Now that you know the top marketing drivers that could spark a packaging change and impact your production plant, you can anticipate them and know how to address them better. The best way to prepare to address these trends is to maintain communication with your marketing team before changes are made and involve your OEM early in the conversation to start prepping aftermarket solutions.  

THREE SYNERLINK SOLUTIONS FOR RE-ALIGNING OPERATIONS DURING TIMES OF CHANGE

At Synerlink, we understand the challenges production plants face when the business decides to change the packaging design or material. To ensure a seamless transition to a new packaging material or design, we offer aftermarket solutions that can help you keep production on schedule and on budget.  

The three aftermarket solutions Synerlink provides for times of change are industrial project planning to adapt your machine, cup design expertise and marketing brief support. 

Adapting Your Machine 

When your packaging design or material changes, there is no guarantee that your existing equipment will produce the product to the same quality, capacity, or efficiency you had previously. Instead of needing to buy a new machine, Synerlink provides support by helping to create an industrial plan to adapt your current machine to the new packaging material or design.  

Synerlink will assist in an industrial machine adaptation project through quotation and planning. We will consider your production goals, the new packaging material or design, and your machine and budget constraints.  

For example, if your business wants to change the packaging material from PS plastic to more sustainable PET plastic, Synerlink would assess an up-to-date cup design and propose a machine adaptation plan. This plan will make implementing the new packaging design possible while maintaining production capacity and budget.  

To ensure that your industrial project plan will consider many varied factors to optimize production, Synerlink offers: 

• • A complete audit of your current equipment 
• • A complete and optimized commercial offer 
• • Advanced planning and optimized on-site intervention time 
• • Experienced field service technicians for effective implementation 
• • Full access to Synerlink’s team of packaging designers 

Pursuing an industrial plan to adapt your packaging machine with Synerlink can provide a smooth transition for your equipment operators and will ensure that production will meet your standards for quality, speed, capacity, safety, and budget.  

Cup Design Expertise 

In addition to planning an industrial project to adapt your machine, Synerlink’s team of packaging designers have the design expertise and packaging equipment knowledge to design a cup that is compatible with your current machine. You and your marketing team will have full access to our design services to help design new packaging while carefully balancing brand storytelling with the capabilities of your packaging equipment. 

The cup designers at Synerlink will provide technical drawings and 3D renderings of your new packaging designs so you can easily visualize the design’s fit with your brand and equipment. If your designs need to change before they can be approved, you can access our designers at any point in time and expect a timely response.  

Using Synerlink’s packaging design experts can make the difference between misaligning with your marketing team and risking machine downtime, reducing production capacity and damaging the product and machine.  

Marketing Brief Support 

When a new packaging proposal comes from your marketing team, it can be tough to find the right language to communicate clearly with every team involved. The best way to ensure all teams are on the same page with the packaging design or material change is to create a clear and concise marketing brief. 

Synerlink can aid in writing the marketing brief for your packaging change to provide clear communication through an easy-to-understand marketing brief. The brief can help limit frustrations between different teams by laying out a plan that is ideal and attainable for all departments.  

CASE STUDY: SUCCESSFUL MARKETING & AFTERMARKET COLLABORATION

Bringing your OEM into directional business changes early can aid in a smooth transition for your business, but what would this look like in practice? One specific business strategy change example where Synerlink was involved early in the process was helping a yogurt producer switch their packaging material to a more sustainable material.  

Switching to More Sustainable Packaging Material 

Our customer was looking to change their plant-based yogurt cups to align their product with the consumer trend of opting for sustainable packaging solutions. The CPG proposed switching from PS plastic to a recyclable and more eco-friendly PET plastic but asked for our aftermarket insight and resources to help make the switch efficient and seamless. 

Refreshing the Cup Design with Synerlink Design Experts 

We knew this upgrade would require significant changes to their machine, so we conducted a comprehensive cup design analysis. Our objective was to modernize and elevate the cup’s visual appeal to better fit in the dynamic market landscape and stand out to their intended audience.  

After our analysis, our design experts created a cup design that incorporated brand storytelling with the effort to switch to recyclable PET plastic. Our team provided technical drawings and 3D renderings of the modern design.  

The renderings included an engraved logo on the cup to enhance brand recognition, a softer and rounder shape to align with the brand identity, and a plant-inspired texture using the new PET plastic which brought to life the main identity of their yogurt: plant-based milk.  

A Win-Win Solution 

Our unique aftermarket approach created a win-win solution for the company’s plant managers and its marketing team. Our aftermarket involvement initiated an important dialogue between the plant management team and their marketing counterparts to help us create the best solution for both teams. 

As a result, the new yogurt cup design satisfied the plant managers with a more sustainable and high-performing upgrade, and it pleased the marketing team with a more relevant and attractive cup that aligns well with their target market and its current trends. 

Thanks to our converting capabilities and our packaging design expertise, Synerlink is prepared to analyze, and then provide packaging aftermarket solutions based on your specific needs and constraints. Our aftermarket solutions for a change in business direction bring plant managers to the front of the conversation, so the solution is efficient and ideal for your production quality and schedule.