• Sensors, RFID tags, and QR codes are all used in smart connected packaging to collect and communicate data about the product and the supply chain. 
• By incorporating data into new feedback loops and weaving it throughout the product life cycle, businesses may weave a digital thread. 
• Building data-driven feedback loops, being excellent at acquiring, evaluating, and managing data, combining data, and removing silos are crucial success criteria for businesses utilizing smart connected packaging.

An innovative technology that transforms how goods are packaged and delivered to customers is smart-linked packaging. Smart-connected packaging collects and sends data on the product and the supply chain using sensors, RFID tags, and QR codes. This data can help with product development, production efficiency, and marketing. 

Several applications for smart-connected packaging include:

• Giving customers more detailed product information.
• Tracking and tracing products.
• Facilitating quicker registration procedures.
• Discovering more effective product sales and data gathering.

Businesses that use connected smart packaging get an average 3.6% boost in annual income. What are the crucial success criteria for companies utilizing cutting-edge, connected packaging? Find out by reading on.

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What is smart connected packaging?

Packaging that is intended to be more than just a product container is referred to as smart-linked packaging. It collects information about the product and the supply chain and transmits it using technologies like sensors, RFID tags, and QR codes. This information can enhance product development, production effectiveness, and product marketing. 

For instance, the temperature of perishable goods during transport can be monitored using smart linked packaging to ensure they are maintained at the right temperature. Additionally, it can give suppliers access to real-time inventory data to determine when to replenish shelves.

What are examples of smart connected packaging?

Procter & Gamble is one business that uses intelligent linked packaging. It has created a smart-connected container for its Tide laundry detergent. A sensor integrated into the bottle can tell when it needs more detergent and will automatically order more via a connected smartphone app. Customers benefit from always having Tide available and are spared time and worry because they do not need to check their supply frequently or remember to place an order.

To track the source and environmental impact of the hops used in Heineken's Brand Blonde beer, the Dutch brewery Heinecken adopted blockchain technology. A private blockchain was set up to simulate the supply chain and collect data on water and fuel consumption. Customers could learn where and when the hops were grown and their carbon and water footprints by scanning the QR code on the bottle. The pilot program boosted consumer openness and revealed opportunities to improve supply chain efficiency and reduce environmental impact along the whole supply chain. 

To make their cereal boxes accessible to the blind and partially sighted, Kellogg's UK has included new technology in every box. The labels on the packages will each feature a different on-pack code that a smartphone can read and playback, providing the consumer with information. With this new technology, NaviLens, users don't need to know the code's precise placement to scan the extremely contrasting colorful squares on a black background. The boxes will be available in January 2022, and Kellogg's intends to share its experience with other brands to make grocery store shelves more accessible for those who are blind. 

What have been the smart linked packaging's most typical use cases thus far? 

Accenture and the Active and Intelligent Packaging Industry Association revealed that, as of the beginning of 2022, 46% of businesses employing smart linked packaging use it to give customers greater product information, followed by 45% who use it as a means of tracking and tracing. Most (44%) of users with 44% use it to register more quickly (for extended warranty registrations, for example), while 43% also use it to gather data and look for ways to improve product sales. Additionally, they have determined that businesses that still need to adopt smart connected packaging would see an average 3.6% boost in annual income if they did. 

Businesses that use connected smart packaging perform better than those that don't. What are the companies employing smart linked packaging doing to make this a reality?

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1 - Build Data-Driven Feedback Loops Across the Entire Product Lifecycle

With the aid of smart linked packaging, you can build a digital thread or stream of data that travels between products, processes, and facilities. Incorporating data into the whole product lifecycle and developing new feedback loops enables you to enhance product development, production efficiency, and marketing. It can be seen as a product passport.  

For instance, a company that makes food, snacks, and beverages started employing smart-linked packaging to abide by California's new consumer ingredient transparency regulation. However, they also saw it as a chance to give customers access to more detailed product information, such as ingredient lists, allergy guidance, and other desirable qualities. The business may determine whether clients are worried or interested in particular ingredients or flavors by scanning the product with their smart device.

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2- Excel at Capturing, Analyzing, and Governing Data

Using analytics to learn from and build from the data, smart connected packaging can strengthen your organization's evidence-based culture. A poll by Accenture and AIPIA found that while 97% of executives believe that data from smart linked packaging is valuable, just 29% use it extensively. Data governance should be used as a roadmap to create a clear business value-driven approach from data generation through retirement that will maximize the value of your data. 

However, having the best approach is only one aspect of it. Because they must be prepared to do so, research reveals that 56% of firms require assistance to respond to the data generated by connected smart packaging. Federated decision-making can assist you in overcoming this difficulty by enabling you to influence better customer results. Decision-making will also be easier if you prioritize developing an operational model, centralizing essential operations, and integrating business-specific competencies throughout your organization.

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3- Merge Data and Eliminate Silos

Cross-functional rivalry is one of the major barriers to technology-led innovation. Many want to know how packaging fits into their organization, but packaging decisions affect practically every business function. As a result, broad priorities may need to be noticed. Additionally, coordination is made more difficult by the need for integration across various systems. 

Data silos must be broken down and merged to get over these obstacles. You may remove barriers and promote creativity by coordinating data and procedures throughout the organization and establishing a single source of truth. Because it affects many other areas of the industry, the packaging is where this is particularly crucial.

By collaborating and exchanging data, you may build a supply chain that is more effective and efficient. 

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In summary, smart linked packaging can help your company, but it isn't easy. You may reduce the risks and fully utilize this new packaging paradigm by concentrating on data-driven feedback loops, collecting and analyzing data, and removing silos.  What can you do to start using smart linked packaging for your company? Give your product design and engineering, as well as manufacturing teams, the freedom to create digital packaging solutions that not only inform customers about the products they are purchasing but also collect information from them to enhance the quality of the customer experience for the duration of the life of the product. Create a digital thread connecting all functions to share data collected by smart connected packaging easily. Set up proper governance and collaboration tools to ensure smooth and responsible data distribution among parts. Invest in a flexible and intelligent technology architecture to break down data and functional silos. Companies that successfully use smart connected packaging often utilize the cloud, AI, and advanced analytics to help different functions work together and create additional value with packaging data.

In conclusion, smart linked packaging is useful for companies aiming to enhance marketing, production effectiveness, and product development. Companies can build a digital thread that runs throughout the product's lifetime and enables new feedback loops by collecting and transferring data about the product and the supply chain. Building data-driven feedback loops, being excellent at acquiring, interpreting, and managing data, combining data, and removing silos are a few crucial success elements for businesses utilizing smart connected packaging. Companies can effectively take advantage of the advantages of smart-connected packaging to generate growth and maintain competitiveness in today's digital environment by adhering to these success characteristics.

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If you want to find ways how your company can benefit from smart connected packaging, book an appointment to speak to one of our packaging and procurement experts today!