Concurrent Development of Product and Packaging - Towards an Integrated Development Procedure

Abstract

The global company operates from a number of locations worldwide, which entails geographical distances and logistical implications for product and parts transported, as well as the choice of product variety because of numerable worldwide consumer preferences. In these companies, packaging becomes a frequently used object to complement product features and achieve an effective and efficient means of transportation. In this context, it is interesting to integrate packaging development in the product development process to improve development decisions on e.g. manufacturing, assembly and distribution, and also to reduce repeated changes in product design and other development processes. To corroborate these thoughts, the overall objective for this thesis is to explore the potential of improving resource utilisation in the development of product and packaging by an integrated development of product and packaging. In three surveys in Swedish mechanical, pharmaceutical and food industries, which account for approximately 74% of all packaged products produced in Sweden, the potential for the concept was explored and positively validated. By comparisons across survey results and additional information provided by literature reviews of mechanical, pharmaceutical and food product development, the possibility of introducing integrated product and packaging development into an integrated procedure model has been established. Note that the packaging developer’s perspective is excluded in this thesis. Duc to extensive diversity in composition and organisation for product development across the product areas surveyed, an integrated product and packaging procedure model is heavily dependent upon product area. For the integration of product and packaging it is (1) important to include packaging in the product mission statement, (2) preferable to consider the function decomposition of product and packaging when specifying the product and (3) beneficial to also decide upon packaging hierarchy and packaging materials when deciding on detailed product systems and subsystems. Note that when the product area is known, relevant methods and techniques for the integration of product and packaging activities on an operational leve1 in the procedure model may be developed Future research should implement a preliminary suggestion into one or more of the surveyed product areas’ product development activities to achieve a final and verified integrated product and packaging development procedure model.

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