Mike Alvis, Packaging News Insight Column

Mike Alvis, divisional sales director of the UK packaging division of DS Smith, shared his views on the sectors challenges and his favourite packaging with leading industry magazine Packaging News. The article featured in their June edition of the magazine.

What are the biggest challenges in your role?

One of the biggest challenges is convincing some customers that well designed packaging can offer so much more than merely the protection of goods through the supply chain. Secondary packaging when harmonised with the primary pack format can be a powerful part of the marketing mix, promoting sales and reducing costs for brand owner and retailer alike. Retail Ready Packaging design has revolutionised the perception of corrugated for many marketers, enabling easy identification at back of store, fast shelf replenishment whilst making it easy for the consumer to locate and shop the product on shelf.  

What are the opportunities?

There is a real opportunity to maximise a customer’s on-shelf presence, by working with designers and marketers, and developing greater understanding of the role packaging plays in the pathway to purchase. However corrugated packaging has traditionally been very low on the priority list of some brand managers, and I believe there is still substantial advantage in including the corrugated supplier into any development project at the earliest stage.

Corrugated can not only deliver at first moment of truth when consumers make their final buying decisions but also can be a potent agent for maximising efficiency through the supply chain. Optimised material usage, constructional design, end of line automation, distribution performances and eye-catching impactful graphics can be engineered in from the outset; at DS Smith we call this Supply Cycle Thinking.

What is your favourite piece of packaging?

 My answer would be the banana skin, for the following reasons:

  • Always a perfect fit
  • Minimalist
  • Integral temperature and moisture control for contents
  • Built in ripeness indicator via colour and odour signals
  • Easy to open
  • Looks good on shelf
  • Bio degradable
  • Has yet to be improved on!