1. INTRODUCTION
AI integration has been transforming the B2B industrial packaging landscape for quite some time. What was once thought impossible a few years ago has now become a reality in our daily lives. The manufacturing and packaging sector have undergone a significant transformation. This sector has realized that for continuous growth and revenue, AI integration is vital.
A McKinsey report shows that 62 percent of respondents believe that, after AI integration into their systems, they have observed significant impacts. The huge impact was on growth and productivity. AI integration helped them save 6 percent on costs and generate 8 percent more revenue.
In this blog, we shall explain how AI impacts the various sectors of B2B industrial packaging. It analyzes how manufacturing and packaging companies can integrate AI and machine learning into their operations.
2. THE DEMAND OF AI IN THE PACKAGING SECTOR
In the B2B industrial packaging sector, the demand for AI is driven by revenue and margin growth. The good news is that several packaging industries have already realized this. They know it is not possible to operate without AI.
McKinsey analysis states that, on average, Generative AI (Gen AI) adds value equivalent to 4.4 trillion US dollars each year. This figure is humongous. The McKinsey survey indicates that executives in the packaging industry are ready to invest in implementing AI. The reason is that they undoubtedly see significant potential for AI in the B2B industrial packaging sector. The glass perfume bottle packaging industry is no exception.
Another reason behind the increase in demand for AI in B2B industrial packaging is the growing focus on sustainability and the use of green materials. Another major factor is business owners’ belief that AI can streamline their operations. Automation of the order management process is one such example.
To enhance customer service, manufacturing and packaging companies are using AI-powered customer support chatbots. These chatbots provide customized responses while reducing costs.
Considering all the aforementioned factors, greater efficiency in business processes is the primary driver of AI demand. The B2B industrial packaging industry has to be efficient to meet the increased demand for goods. Hence, they need to use AI to become more efficient and fulfill market demands. This blog analyzes the use of AI in B2B industrial packaging from all aspects.
3. HOW DOES AI IMPACT THE B2B INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING INDUSTRY?
You need to keep one thing in mind while analyzing the impact of AI on the B2B industrial packaging industry…
IT DOES NOT IMPACT JUST ONE SECTOR
AI impacts multiple sectors or departments of an organization. From operations to R&D and Customer relations, it does not spare any department.
AI has diverse and versatile applications in all processes of packaging and manufacturing companies. In this section, we shall analyze the impact on five aspects of the B2B industrial packaging industry. It shows how AI applications drive revenue and growth by impacting key processes of the packaging industry.
· Increase in Operational Efficiency
AI causing an increase in a business’s operational efficiency is a remarkable progression. AI is actually transforming the way a business operates. AI is the reason enterprises have an innovative, more efficient future.
AI impacts several aspects of corporate operations. Across the globe, companies and B2B industries, especially the B2B industrial packaging industry, are using AI to:
- Streamline business operations
- Improve and enhance the decision-making process.
- Unlock growth opportunities that nobody explored before
The main purpose is, of course, to increase profitability. The glass perfume bottle packaging industry is also using AI to make strategic decisions to increase profitability. Of course, along with the intention of optimizing operational efficiency.
PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE IN MANUFACTURING
AI improves the operational efficiency of the glass bottle perfume industry through predictive maintenance in manufacturing. AI helps in premature detection of machinery failure. This helps increase the production life span of the machinery. It also helps in reduction of costly downtime in case of machinery failure.
OPTIMIZING SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Supply chain management is essential to streamline operations. The same is the case with the glass perfume bottle manufacturing industry. With the help of machine learning algorithms companies can predict demand fluctuations.
AI helps B2B industrial packaging companies streamline logistics. By optimizing the inventory levels through AI companies can make sure that their deliveries are made on time without delays.
QUALITY CONTROL
The main purpose of B2B industrial packaging companies is to deliver flawless products. This helps in customer retention and a good market reputation. AI helps in this regard as well. It helps maintain strict quality control measures.
With a combination of AI and machine learning, manufacturing companies can detect flaws and errors beforehand. Automated AI inspection systems can help detect the tiniest packaging flaws.
By streamlining B2B industrial packaging operations, companies can achieve high customer satisfaction. Business operations become more efficient, and companies can operate more efficiently.
· Optimizing Sustainability and Waste Technology
The sustainability and water technology sector are no longer limited to the three R’s (recycle, reuse, and reduce) in the B2B industrial packaging sector. Optimizing supply chains and reducing the carbon footprint are also part of it.
Organizations nowadays are dealing with eco-conscious consumers. Sustainable packaging is the talk of the town. A reliable survey indicates that every 2 out of 3 consumers purchase a product because it has sustainable packaging. This is how important the use of sustainable ingredients in packaging is.
The question is: how does AI help optimize and manufacture sustainable packaging?
The answer is clear.
AI helps source sustainable raw materials. It also helps in evaluating recyclability.
· Efficient Customer Support
The modern manufacturing sector is paying a lot of attention to efficient customer support. The same is the case with the B2B industrial packaging industry. It knows that no growth and revenue is possible without making customers satisfied and happy. But how is AI helping it out in efficient customer support?
Let’s find out
Let’s take the example of bottle glass perfume packaging companies. Many roles previously performed by humans have now been automated. Customer support tops this list.
The present customers lack patience. If they have a query, they want the company to answer and address it asap. 24/7 customer support cannot be this efficient through humans. Therefore, they use automated chatbots. Some of the examples where AI supports customer support are:
- Interactive voice response systems
- Virtual customer assistants
- Automated follow-ups and updates
- Intelligent routing of customer questions
What took at least 24 hours for resolution before now can be resolved in minutes. All thanks to AI!
Especially in the B2B industrial packaging sector, Chatbots enable customers to access packaging-related information whenever and wherever they want. For example, B2B customers can know the MOQ for a particular glass perfume bottle design. They can get access to shipping information and the customization options they have.
· Improving Customer Experiences
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that AI is redefining customer experiences. For years, B2B industrial packaging companies have been struggling to resonate their services and products with consumers’ personal experiences. AI has made this even easier.
But how?
AI tailor’s customer experiences based on their behavior, preferences, and feedback. Take the example of getting personalized recommendations whenever you buy a particular product. It is AI that suggests what type of content you would like on Netflix and Amazon, or which product to pair with your purchase to enhance its looks. These personalized recommendations are all AI-generated.
Several AI-powered services have enhanced customer experiences. This further results in increased customer loyalty and customer satisfaction. The reason is that customers always appreciate and demand convenience and efficiency in services.
In the B2B industrial packaging sector, AI traces the entire customer interaction path with the company’s products or services. Its records customer feedback. This provides the company with an opportunity to create a product that fully meets consumers’ demands. Packaging companies can customize the design, size, shape, and even the color of their packaging according to consumer demands. This suits the packaging companies for perfume bottles best. They can create customized glass perfume bottles based on AI-generated data.
AI can harness consumer data to craft customized packaging solutions for both B2B and B2C customers.
Optimizing and Customizing Packaging Design and Labelling
Gone are the days of outdated labeling and packaging designs. B2B industrial packaging now demands creative, modern design and labelling. It demands a high level of sophistication, creativity, and precision.
AI integration in glass perfume bottle packaging and several other packaging websites lets consumers create AI mockups. They are given plenty of customization options. In this way, they get an idea of how their conceptualized design will look in reality.
Design Customization
AI integration lets consumers create their designs digitally in no time. Along with design automation, AI also enables label automation. Consumers can create digital labels. This allows them to quickly rectify any mistakes without wasting raw materials.
AI has shaped the future of B2B industrial packaging. One of the inventions of AI integration into packaging is smart packaging.
Smart Packaging
Smart packaging is packaging that is sensitive to temperature, humidity, pressure, and the contents of the medium within, i.e., the fragrance liquid. Smart packaging detects any changes and then depicts them by changing color. It also includes sending notifications to your mobile through an app. Notification about whether the fragrance is about to finish. The best quality of smart packaging is not just detecting content and temperature changes, but also adjusting itself to keep the contents inside safe.
4. THE OBSTACLES OF AI INTEGRATION FACED BY B2B INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING COMPANIES
The implementation of AI in the manufacturing and B2B industrial packaging sectors faces many limitations. The challenge is to first identify these limitations and then take effective measures to overcome them. In this section, we shall analyze the various obstacles B2B industrial packaging companies face to AI integration in their operations. We shall analyze them specifically with respect to the glass perfume bottle packaging companies.
Dependence on vast volumes of Data
What do AI and machine learning need for effective decision-making?
A huge amount of data
Yes, that’s true: data fuels AI. The more accurate the data, the better the decision-making. This dependence on large volumes of data is beneficial for companies but also a huge threat. A glass perfume bottle packaging company, for example, provides data about its customers and finances to a Software. What if there is a software glitch or it gets hacked?
This poses a huge threat to an organization’s data security. Although companies can ensure security through various measures, the threat remains intact. Most importantly, the company’s sensitive information is always at risk of data breaches and unauthorized access.
B2B industrial packaging companies, such as the glass perfume bottle companies, need to protect data related to:
- Production process
- Product semantics
- Customer Data
Cost
In the manufacturing and B2B industrial packaging sectors, cost remains a constant limitation. Although AI and machine learning integration is a highly transformative and efficient step, it comes with a significant financial burden.
You need to make a large upfront investment in software, training, integration, and equipment. Budget is the main reason why start-ups and small-scale organizations are unable to implement AI integration. It is because they don’t have enough resources to allocate. Keep in mind that the larger the organization, the higher the cost of implementing AI.
The integration cost is not the only cost you will have to face. Another major factor is the maintenance cost. You need to keep the system running, so you also need to pay the maintenance cost. Also, you might need to update the system periodically, which also adds to the total operational and maintenance cost.
Perceived Limits
A unique obstacle to using AI in business operations is that companies simply don’t feel the need for it. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that some B2B industrial packaging companies are hesitant about the changes AI will bring.
Sometimes the workers themselves are too comfortable with traditional manufacturing and packaging processes that they resist any change brought by AI. This is a major reason for workforce resistance to AI integration in B2B industrial packaging. However, companies can manage this obstacle by:
- Maintaining open communication with the employees. Companies should help employees understand how they can benefit from AI integration.
- Companies should provide proper training to their employees. They should get used to AI systems.
- Instead of sudden implementation, companies should implement AI gradually, step by step. This would provide ample time for employees to adjust and understand the changes.
5. A COMPARISON BETWEEN TRADITIONAL PACKAGING AND AI – POWERED PACKAGING
To better understand the difference between traditional packaging and AI-Powered packaging, you need a concise explanation. Here is a table that identifies and explains the key differences between the two concepts. It would help you better understand how AI integration is transforming the traditional packaging landscape.
| SR NO | FACTOR | TRADITIONAL PACKAGING | AI-POWERED PACKAGING |
| 1 | Operational Efficiency | Traditional packaging involves manual work. Manual work is labor intensive and hence time consuming. This reduces operational efficiency of the B2B industrial packaging sector. It becomes difficult to meet the increased demand for glass perfume bottles. | As mentioned before AI has streamlined the operational processes. This has made the production more efficient and less time consuming. Process automation helps meet the increased demand in less time. |
| 2 | Design and Labelling | Manual labelling cannot produce a lot of variations. Glass perfume bottle packaging companies were stuck with few labelling designs. Also, manual design and labeling takes more time. Creating intricate details is not easy. | AI has completely transformed the design and labelling sector in B2B industrial packaging. The glass perfume bottle industry has a variety of design and labelling options. From perfume caps to bottle shapes, colors and sizes everything has diversity. The integration of CNC machining is another milestone of AI use in the glass perfume packaging industry. |
| 3 | Customer Experience | In the traditional packaging industries customer support was limited to customer helplines only. Every company would give a helpline number to contact and the queries would take a long time to answer. | The AI powered customer support system has changed. It is aimed at providing on time assistance to customers. This is done through AI powered chatbots and virtual agents.AI powered customer support is aimed at providing 24/7 response. This makes the process more customer friendly and efficient of course. |
| 4 | Sustainability | The traditional packaging landscape lacked focus on sustainability.B2B industrial packaging companies did not pay much attention to using recyclable raw materials. This resulted in environmental damage through improper waste management. | AI powered packaging has more focus towards eco-sourcing of materials. Automated processes help in waste reduction leading to less carbon footprint. AI powered packaging focusses on sustainability and environmentally friendly packaging materials and processes. |
| 5 | Quality Control | The traditional packaging used to rely on human inspection. Human inspection always leaves room for errors. This causes loose quality control measures which might lead to defected packaging. | An advantage of AI powered packaging is automated defect detection. Automated defect detection leaves almost no room for defects in packaging. This leads to adherence to strict quality control measures. Use of machine vision in AI powered packaging causes increased accuracy and less defects. |
| 6 | Cost Efficiency | In comparison to AI powered packaging traditional packaging is costly. Quality defects and production inefficiencies increase the overall business operational cost. Also it is a labor-intensive process and labor cost is also high. |
Automations saves costs, especially the cost of labor. It optimizes the inventory management system. Optimization of inventory causes reduction in the wastage of raw materials. It balances the overall supply chain system. |
| 7 | Data Analytics | Traditional packaging had access to limited data. Therefore, limited data means limited insights. Manual data collection cannot provide enough business insights through data analytics. That is why traditional packaging had limited to no reliance on data analytics. | AI powered packaging relies solely on data collection. It has access to a huge volume of data.
It provides enhanced decision making to B2B industrial packaging companies through: Ø Predictive analytics Ø Real-time data tracking Ø Demand forecasting |
| 8 | Innovation | Market trends keep on changing. With traditional packaging it is very difficult to keep pace with the market demand changes. The adaptation to marketing trends is slower. The reason is that it is not easy to change everything from the raw materials to production and logistics at once. It is time consuming and complicated. | The best thing about AI powered packaging is that it is easier to keep pace with changing market trends. Since the processes are automated therefore making any customization changes is easier. The innovation cycles and response to the market are both rapid. |
| 9 | Competitive Edge | With traditional packaging the time-to-market is slower. Therefore, B2B industrial packaging companies do not invest in product differentiation much. This causes lack of competition in the market. | AI powered packaging causes an increase in competitive edge. It is because product differentiation is easier. The time-to-market is quicker. Companies invest in quicker product launches to gain competitive edge over one another. |
6. THE BENEFITS OF AI INTEGRATION IN B2B INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING- EXAMPLE OF GLASS PERFUME BOTTLE INDUSTRY
The impact of AI on B2B industrial packaging companies is immense. AI is automating repetitive tasks, therefore reducing time and improving quality. In this section, we shall analyze the various advantages of AI in B2B industrial packaging.
Enhanced Efficiency:
Automation of repetitive tasks enables employees to focus on other, more important tasks. This increases efficiency and reduces the effort and resources required for repetitive tasks. The result is enhanced efficiency. Research indicates that AI integration in factories can increase productivity by 30 percent. It also reduces defects caused by manual error by 25 percent. The same is the case with the glass bottle perfume packaging industry.
As mentioned before, machine learning enables predictive modeling to anticipate equipment failure. This reduces downtime and makes the overall operations more efficient.
Data analytics through AI can help glass perfume bottle packaging companies adapt to market trends more quickly. Enhanced efficiency will reduce the time-to-market.
Reduced Cost:
AI reduces several business costs by making production more efficient. Just like other B2B industrial packaging companies, AI integration in the glass perfume bottle company reduces cost by:
- Decreasing the cost of labor
- Minimizing waste
- Reducing maintenance cost
- Improving energy efficiency
- Improving quality control and reducing the cost of covering up losses from defective production.
The cost savings from AI integration can be invested in other areas, such as marketing and inventory.
Better Customer Service:
Through data analytics and AI, B2B industrial packaging companies can better understand customer needs. A glass perfume bottle manufacturing company gathers data on which types of glass perfume bottles are in demand among its customers. Therefore, it fine-tunes its production process according to the customer’s demands. This AI integration helps a manufacturing and packaging company provide better customer service to its consumers.
AI integration provides better analysis of customer feedback through emails, chatbots, and social media.
Workplace Safety:
The survey indicates that the 10 percent increase in robot use in the manufacturing sector has reduced workplace deaths by 0.066 percent. There has also been a 1.96 percent drop in workplace injuries.
Installments of AI sensors at workplaces detect the accumulation of harmful gases and hazardous substances in advance. This protects workers’ health and prevents workplace accidents.
Installing AI checks in the production unit of a glass perfume bottle packaging company can ensure that workers are wearing the proper protective gear. It also checks if the workers are following the necessary safety guidelines.
7. HOW TO GET STARTED WITH AI INTEGRATION IN AN ORGANIZATION?
Now that you know the advantages of AI-powered packaging for B2B industrial packaging, you must be thinking about AI integration in your organization. One thing you should know as a B2B industrial packaging company is that AI integration is for sure the key to growth and a competitive edge.
But the question is: how do you get started with AI integration in a manufacturing or packaging organization?
Here are a few steps that might help you decide how to get started with AI integration:
- The first step is to develop an AI strategy that aligns with the organization’s overall technology strategy.
- The next step is setting up the infrastructure that supports the AI solutions. This includes necessary equipment, software, hardware, etc.
- The third step is building a strong data foundation. This strong data foundation scales AI integration across the organization.
- The fourth step includes the definition of an operating model that brings all three sectors together, i.e., business, operations, and technology.
- The next step concerns Human Resource Management. You have to identify the right talent and retain it. The right talent is the one required for the implementation and advancement of AI in B2B industrial Packaging companies.
- The final step is important. You have to update, advance, and manage risk simultaneously. It is therefore advisable to implement the AI strategy in a step-by-step manner.
AI integration goes hand in hand with effective change management. As a B2B industrial packaging company, ensure you deploy AI solutions safely and ethically. Your people should trust your intention and ability. Maintaining transparency and explain ability is also important.
CONCLUSION
The impact of AI integration on B2B industrial Packaging is huge. AI integration and machine learning have enhanced operational efficiency and improved customer experience. An AI order management system has led to supply chain optimization. Strict quality control is also the outcome of AI integration and machine learning.
AI has several advantages for the B2B industrial packaging sector. It provides a safer workplace environment and increased customer satisfaction. Nevertheless, you cannot ignore the challenges and obstacles that come with it. Most important of all is managing change inside the organization. Next is managing costs through integration, updates, and maintenance of the systems.
However, in the coming years, we hope that more organizations will realize the importance of AI integration in systems. Integration of AI systems will become a common phenomenon. The packaging and manufacturing sector can gain the greatest benefit from AI integration.