Customer Expectations
Some called them “mandates”; others, “ultimatums”; still others, “commands,” or “orders,” and the more neutrally minded went with, “requests.” Causing all the anxiety and stress—nothing other than customer demands and a high propensity to change direction at a moment’s notice. As in every industry, in packaging circles like it or not, “The buyer is always right.”
Among pressure points noted: waste reduction, color management and digital as a complementary print process in a flexo shop.
Waste-reduction initiatives exert what impact?
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Fifty-two percent of the Flash Poll populace indicated waste reduction initiatives will be exerting a strong impact on business moving forward. Similarly, 38 percent described waste reduction’s influence as moderate; 9 percent, little; 1 percent said it will have no effect.
To no surprise, CPC insistence to trim costs, boost productivity and deliver more promptly were collectively rated a strong business driver by 51 percent of those surveyed. Thirty-five percent assigned a “moderate” label to CPC concerns, while 13 percent felt it carried little weight and 1 percent opted for giving it no consideration.
CPC expectations to trim costs, boost productivity and deliver more quickly are points of emphasis to what level?
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Color management was seen as a strong influencer by 39 percent of the sample audience; an identical 39 percent called it a “moderate” level trouble spot. Twenty-one percent believed they had color in control and the remaining 1 percent professed to have conquered the challenge.
Few flexographers looked at digital competition as a major pain point going into 2020. It generated little worries on the part of 44 percent of printers who answered the question. Similarly, 9 percent had no fear of digital. Sixteen percent said it was something that definitely had to be watched and contended with; 31 percent stood somewhere in the middle and opted to watch and wait out what happens.
Focal Points
Top priority, by consensus, with 100 percent in agreement: “Efficiency!” It’s the dominant criteria by which flexographers, who participated in the Flash Poll, said they forged their strategic plan. Other leading concerns that drew direct comment were best practices, automation and artificial intelligence, and, of course, posture and positioning—or, in other words, besting the competition.
To what degree do color management challenges drive daily decisions?
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Two-thirds of those (25 percent of survey takers) who stopped to detail the best practices and process control theories ascribed to, adhered to FTA’s Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications & Tolerances (FIRST), to one degree or another—including merely prescribing to the strategies it endorses, right through to following stringent flexo press operator training curriculums, or even acquiring expert level certification.
In brief, the consensus came down to this: “We are applying FIRST to the best of our capacity.” “FIRST specifications are included in our process implementation.” “Many employees have gone through FIRST training.” “We are currently in the process of moving toward FIRST methodologies.” “We don’t utilize FIRST at the moment, but it is discussed.” And, “I have taken the FIRST certification and intend to build a case to embrace it in our plant.”
To what extent is competition from digital measurable?
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Beyond FIRST, other programs mentioned, to a far lesser chorus of support: GMI (Grocery Marketing Institute) processes, G7 (Near Neutral Calibration), ISO (International Standards Organization) guidelines, SQF (Safe Quality Food) practices, Lean Manufacturing and Printing Performance Excellence Systems.
Rapid-fire responses collected on the series of questions that pertained to efficiencies, best practices, automation and artificial intelligence and competitive posture of the plant, played out as follows.
In essence, three out of every four printers (74 percent), told FLEXO ever-present calls for efficiency are so strong that they simply can’t be ignored and must be heeded. Another 24 percent assigned plant-wide efficiency a mid-level impact and just 2 percent chose “low.”
What level of impact do you assign to the ever-present calls for efficiency?
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In addressing best practices and process controls, 63 percent of survey takers identified the two as strong weights on internal decision making; another 29 percent gave them moderate consideration; 7 percent, passing thoughts; and 1 percent indicated the two didn’t even enter their mind.
A collective cadre of concerns, ranging from automation and interconnectivity, to artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT), caused little panic among 35 percent of the audience, a bit of trepidation for 32 percent, weighed heavy on the minds of 25 percent, and was dismissed as insignificant by 8 percent.
Audience members admitted that price pressures could be intrusive on operations. Forty-five percent identified its impact as, “strong”; 51 percent, “moderate”; just 4 percent, “minimal.”