At a time when the supply chain is under unprecedented strain, logistical delays, cost increases, and geopolitical uncertainties, every decision counts. Among the often underestimated levers: the choice of packaging supplier.
What if the solution to make your supply chain more agile and predictable was… in packaging closer to home?
The Hidden Limits of Imported Packaging
Increasingly unpredictable supply lead times
Sourcing from abroad may seem economical on paper. However, companies using printers located outside Europe face extended delivery times (often 8 to 12 weeks), dependent on exogenous factors: port congestion, increased freight costs, geopolitical tensions…
Result: launches are delayed, shortages increase, and product flexibility is compromised.
Costly stocks and weakened cash flow
To compensate for the long delays, companies are often forced to order in large quantities. This strategy generates:
- Significant financial assets
- High storage costs
- Increased risks of obsolescence in the event of a change in recipe, design or regulation
A product agility compromised in the face of the market
Packaging is one of the primary vectors of differentiation. However, with a model fixed for 6 to 12 months, any modification becomes complex. Testing a new recipe, responding to seasonality, or translating packaging for a new market becomes a real operational headache.
Why local packaging is a game changer for your supply chain
Gain speed and secure your deadlines
A local printer allows you to drastically reduce your production and delivery times. At ePac, for example, orders are produced in 10 to 15 working days. This allows you to plan your launches more calmly, react to sales in real time, and limit stockouts.
Reduce volumes, adjust orders on a just-in-time basis
Local packaging, when based on digital printing technologies, allows for small series production without structural cost increases. This offers great flexibility:
- Orders on demand, according to the sales pace
- Better alignment between production and distribution
- Less waste, less dormant stock
Quickly adapt to product developments
Change of allergens? Regulatory update? New flavour to try? With a local supplier, it is possible to launch a new reference or modify a visual in a few days, without any cliché costs.
Make packaging a strategic lever for operational optimisation
Anticipate demand without overproducing
Thanks to short production cycles and the ability to order in small batches, brands can adopt a “lean” approach:
- Test
- Observe the sales
- Adjust
- Reproduce
This helps to avoid overstocking and costly forecasting errors.
Reduce losses related to packaging obsolescence
An expired packaging is a double cost: financial and ecological. By ordering as precisely as possible, you limit unsold items, waste, and the wastage of resources. This is particularly crucial in sectors sensitive to the rapid evolution of the market (organic, nutrition, snacking, limited edition…).
Contribute to your CSR objectives without burdening logistics
Choosing a local supplier also means reducing the carbon footprint associated with transport, and promoting recyclable or high-barrier materials from short supply chains. This fits perfectly into a CSR strategy that aligns with the expectations of consumers and distributors.