Digital Transformation. Key findings from the first E-PACK conference in Europe. Challenges and solutions in the field of e-commerce packaging.

Source: Smithers Pira

Key findings from the first E-PACK conference in Europe.

Challenges and solutions in the field of e-commerce packaging.

Thomas Reiner | 11.07.2019

E-commerce delivery is steadily rising. Between 2014 and 2016 alone, global growth was 33%. This distribution channel is rapidly evolving from niche to norm.

Following the successful launch of E-PACK in the US, the first edition in Europe followed in 2019. The event was the first cross-sector European conference on e-commerce about:

  • innovative and especially sustainable packaging solutions
  • case studies of leading brands and retailers
  • technical challenges related to functional design and protection of e-commerce packaging

The five B+P key findings of the E-PACK 2019:

1. Product protection is top priority
Experience has shown that most of the damage is to a product or its packaging on the “last mile” of e-commerce. Not surprisingly, the number of touchpoints is three to four times higher than in traditional retail (20 or more e-commerce touch points, 5 to 7 in traditional retail).

2. Challenge for brand owners in adapting to e-commerce
Adapting to e-commerce poses a major challenge to brand owners. To cope, there needs to be a rethinking of what actually works online and how to successfully sell a product.
Currently, brand owners are looking to major e-commerce retailers to see which solutions are being developed and implemented there. An important reason why the challenges are not addressed more actively by the brand owners is a lack of support. The present brand owners complained that their packaging suppliers had too little e-commerce competence and did not provide sufficient support.
An outstanding positive example was the collaboration between Alibaba and Snickers. Here, a new, spicy Snickers bar was developed particularly for the Chinese market. The new bar was exclusively available online.

3. Omnichannel significance and options
In the past, retailers were either bricks & mortar or mail order, but with the advent of e-commerce, these boundaries are increasingly blurring. Today, every option must be kept open to the customer. This increasingly results in the search for suitable solutions. Either a system for all distribution channels or different product and packaging lines for each individual channel.

4. Reusable packaging on the rise
RePack introduces an impressive system that brings customers and online retailers together to form a reusable circuit. After receiving the ordered goods, customers can easily fold the empty RePack packaging into letter format and return it free of charge via every mailbox in the world.

5. Old designs disturb sustainability
Contrary to consumers’ sustainability wishes, it is precisely one type of packaging that became standard in the 1960s and is still dominant today: the classic box made of corrugated cardboard. In times of high sustainability demands in e-commerce, the bulk of the empty space which is transported in the corrugated boxes is now particularly noticeable. But because sustainability necessarily affects the entire supply chain, it is increasingly becoming a disruptive factor.

Also:
In addition, E-PACK covered a wide range of topics – from creating an effective unboxing experience to algorithms and artificial intelligence to address the complexity of complicated supply chains.

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