State of Industry 2017: Packagers Rely on Outside Help
While a majority of those in the survey say that packaging operations are conducted in-house, many operations are being outsourced. Primarily these outsourced operations include manufacturing/processing, co-packing and raw material sourcing. However, a third say their companies are purchasing design and creative services from agencies and other service providers. When it comes to design, many companies rely on these providers for their expertise across a range of products to create innovative packaging.
Study participants say they use outside vendors for their packaging needs because it gives them more flexibility to meet customer demands, increase supply chain efficiency, and manage their capacity requirements. The use of co-manufacturers and co-packers is especially prevalent during the commercialization of new products, where the product’s future is being tested and capacity requirements may be limited.