Maven masthead
May 2010

Maven (also mavin) N: A trusted expert in a particular field, who seeks to pass knowledge on to others. Maven comes from Yiddish, and means one who understands, based on  knowledge.

 The PTIS Maven comes to you from Packaging & Technology Integrated Solutions. As packaging moves to a strategic function, we give you innovation, strategies and technology ideas to add value to your brands through packaging.



This PTIS Associate contributed insights to the issue:
mulligan k 100w
Kevin Mulligan's packaging career spans 30-plus years with several Fortune 500 companies. He has worked across the globe in leadership roles and is a leader in healthcare packaging. Among his current projects: Working on a healthcare packaging textbook with Michigan State University.




Packaging helps "private brands" grow . . .
. . . says PTIS' Mike Richmond in April's Dairy Foods magazine.  The term "private label" is morphing into more competitive "private brands." How keen is the competition? Both Target and Walmart are in the midst of redesigns to strengthen their own branded products.
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Copyright 2010. Packaging & Technology Integrated Solutions, LLC. All rights reserved. All links are accurate at the time of publication.
Packagers/suppliers join R&D efforts
Costs can dictate close relationships between a packager and supplier as a way to meet the packager's long-term research needs. The supplier may even to need commit part of its R&D budget to the packager. Here are key points to make the relationship work:
  • Does the supplier's staff and facilities support long-term research?
  • Do the supplier's materials and processes have potential for cost-effective improvement?
  • Initiate a relationship when the packager and supplier sign a contract.
  • Have guidelines to select programs and projects with a supplier. Use them to focus on a technology's potential.
Click here for a Management Checklist on packager/supplier R&D relationships
Checklist helps sell ideas to management 
Packaging managers have to sell ideas "up the chain of command," and here's a written communications tool to do that. The PTIS Project Justification Grid lets you concisely lay out all the key points to your management team. It's a simple spreadsheet, and these steps make it work:
  • Develop a grid for your company environment. Focus on what's "hot" in your company.
  • Be comprehensive and short. Quantify where you can.
  • Give your management options. Present alternatives.
grid example
 
Click here for Management Checklist on
PTIS Justification Grid

Get a market edge in healthcare packaging
Packaging is up to half of medical waste, and making packages sustainable can add a real marketplace plus. PTIS Senior Associate Kevin Mulligan says that hospitals are now looking at sustainability as they make buying decisions. He suggests these steps to make sustainable healthcare packaging work:
  • Develop a mission statement for sustainable packaging
  • Develop a legislative benchmark and compliance strategy
  • Build objective benchmarks on Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) modeling.
Click here for a PTIS Checklist on healthcare packaging sustainability
Walmart ad sees scorecard business side
If you haven't seen it, look for Walmart's TV ad that touts less "cardboard" in boxes and shows shippers on a conveyor. It echoes why it is good business to focus on sustainable packaging. For Walmart, it keeps costs down, and enhances a corporate image.

Click here for info on PTIS sustainability consulting services