The case shows that the type of packaging used will influence the retail
sales as well as the whole supply chain in different ways:
• Cost influence. A change in the packaging system will incur
increased costs in terms of new investments. However, these can
be balanced through either an increase in sales, fewer personnel or
less use of packaging material.
• Convenience influence. The proposed solutions enhance convenience
to the end consumer, which leads to an increase in sales. This
positive effect may, however, incur less convenience to other actors
in the value chain in terms of more complicated handling.
• Customer value influence. There is a perceived customer value for
the consumers and to some extent for the retailer. There is,
however, a trade-off in handling at the retail level.
• Communication influence. There is an increased possibility of more
efficient communication to the end consumer, and thus an increase
in sales.
The market need will easily be affected and turn into a higher supply
chain push when creating packaging solutions that will attract retail
outlets as well as consumers. The study shows that packaging has the
ability to change market position as well as market segment value.
However, in this case the supply chain packaging efficiency is questioned,
which indicates a need for changes in the supply handling to
get a completely positive picture.