Packaging Design and Development for Supply Chain Efficiency and Effectiveness

Abstract: In the supply chain interactions with product and packaging systems, actors place various needs on packaging. Satisfying these needs eventually increases the supply chain efficiency and effectiveness. The aim of the research presented is to contribute to the packaging logistics body of knowledge on reducing the gap between the supply chain needs and satisfying them, through packaging design and development directed toward increasing supply chain efficiency and effectiveness. This research was carried out in a university-industry collaboration on problems in industrial practice and then matched to the academic literature in the field. A pre-investigation and four main investigations were conducted. Investigations 1, 2 and 3 were primarily related to the physical function of the supply chain toward increasing its efficiency. Investigation 4 was based on the market mediation function of the supply chain toward increasing its effectiveness. Toward increasing supply chain efficiency, this dissertation provides an expanded operational life cycle based on supply chain needs by exploring supply chain interactions with the product and packaging system. In addition, an improved packaging design and development method based on the expanded operational life cycle is provided to satisfy the actor’s needs. This was achieved by exploring and analyzing an existing packaging design and development method for satisfying the supply chain needs. By identifying available models and software for corrugated board packaging design and development and exploring their use in industrial practice, this dissertation suggests using a p-diagram as a method to provide a holistic perspective for modeling corrugated board packaging in the improved design and development method. Toward increasing supply chain effectiveness, the dissertation further provides improvement to a model for matching supply chain strategy and product while highlighting the role of packaging by describing the current state of supply chain strategy research in relation to product and packaging in order to map the lack of consideration of packaging. This dissertation concludes that packaging can contribute to both supply chain effectiveness and efficiency if it is matched to the supply chain strategy and if it is designed and developed to satisfy physical supply chain needs.