In the run-up to the Empack on 12-14 April in the Jaarbeurs, VerpakkingsProfs interviews the speakers of the fair. What can you expect from their presentations? This episode Annelies Clements, national sales manager at Bunzl, who, together with colleague Philippine van der Putten, is registered as the third speaker in the VerpakkingsProfs theatre!
Can you tell us something about yourself?
I am national sales manager at Bunzl Retail & Industry, an international company that is mostly involved in these industries. Web retail is starting to play an increasingly important role in this. Personally, besides selling large packages to big players in the market, I am involved in innovation and sustainability. Those playing fields often go hand in hand. The question that concerns me is how to bring certain innovations to the market. There are an awful lot of sustainability innovations coming out, but how do you make sure the market picks up on them?
I am doing the presentation in the VerpakkingsProfs theatre together with my colleague Philippine van der Putten, who specialises in packaging for the non-food market within Bunzl. Actually, she is the opposite of me, because within the company I deal with food packaging. Our markets meet in the field of e-commerce.
How are you working on this topic within Bunzl?
We don't only look at the trends we see around us, but also try to look beyond them. That will also come up in our presentation: for example, how should you look at costs when it comes to e-commerce? It has long since ceased to be as simple as having a box and simply putting something in there and putting it on the letterbox. Companies are looking more and more consciously at what it takes to get their product to the customer and how to work most efficiently.
How is it in the food market, which you are responsible for?
Of course, e-commerce is booming there, with all the delivery services popping up like mushrooms. What we must not lose sight of here is the consumer. What do we them and how do they react to certain developments? Staring blindly at your company or concept can be lethal if you forget to listen to your consumer. The power has slowly shifted from companies to consumers: they now decide how fast parcels should be delivered and that boxes are not shipped with too much air. It just doesn't get nicked anymore, after which the market has to adapt.
How did this change take place?
Consumers have become increasingly aware, in all sorts of areas. Packaging is part of that. Plastic and cardboard have long since ceased to be the only materials people want to see. In food, this is also an important change. People want to know what they are eating. It is up to the market, the government and also the packaging industry to provide consumers with that information, with an emphasis on honesty. The information provided simply has to be correct. Consumers are becoming more intelligent, and if they find out that a producer is not honest, it could end up being disastrous.
So how do you envisage the role of the packaging industry?
The packaging industry must dare to offer alternatives and give advice. In doing so, it is important to know your customer well and what he wants and expects. For example, do you go for interactive packaging or does a personal thank-you note with the order work better?
What will perhaps be most difficult for the market is to get off the beaten track. Of course we are stuck with using certain machines, but there is plenty of innovation taking place in that too. We are no longer stuck with that cardboard box: there are so many renewable raw materials. There is a range of possibilities.
How do you handle this at Bunzl?
We recently launched the Food mailer , in which food can be transported chilled via e-commerce. It is a good example of how all the 'obviousness' of the market has been put aside. People do not want to have a huge cooler in their house when they have ordered something that needs to be transported chilled. The Food mailer is made of cardboard and can be flattened. With an app, you can see how many icepacks are needed to keep the product constantly chilled. These icepacks are also made of paper, making it easy to recycle the whole package.
Does that make sustainability one of your spearheads?
We're working on it a lot within the company, but I think it's important that people ask themselves what exactly sustainability means to them. You don't necessarily have to use a sustainable raw material, but you can also make your packaging material thinner, for example. Packaging can never disappear, but we do need to look at it differently.
What should we see differently?
I think it is important that the packaging process is included in the production process. At Ikea, where I used to work, someone from logistics is part of the design process as standard. They check whether the products are not too big, so that less will fit in a truck, costing the company money. Logistics and packaging should both be more involved: that too is making your business sustainable.
Curious about the presentation of Annelies and Philippineand others? Free registration for the Empack is available here.
