2019 Packaging Knowledge Anthology EXPERTISE

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2019 Packaging Knowledge Anthology EXPERTISE. SOLUTIONS. TECHNOLOGY. POSSIBILITIES. EXCELLENCE. 2019 ADEPT GROUP: CLICK THE SECTION YOU'D LIKE TO VIEW Table of Contents

Cost Savings Infographic: Value Design Model...... 4 Article: A Holistic Approach to Cost Savings for the Packaging Industry...... 5 Article: Cutting Packaging Costs: What Life Sciences Can Learn from Consumer Packaged Goods ...... 7

Sustainability White Paper: Compostable Packaging: A Greener Approach to Packaging Materials...... 9 Learning Share: Compostable Packaging ...... 22 Learning Share: Innovation in Sustainability...... 23 Article: How Sustainable is your Holiday Packaging?...... 24 Infographic: Holiday Sustainable Packaging Checklist...... 26 Podcast: Thinking Outside the Cardboard Box with TerraCycle...... 27 Infographic: Sustainability Goals for 2025...... 28

E-commerce White Paper: The Intersection of E-commerce and Sustainable Packaging...... 30 Infographic: 8 Tips for Designing Sustainable E-commerce Packaging...... 40 Learning Share: Amazon APASS and E-commerce Packaging...... 41 Article: Damaged E-commerce Packaging...... 42

Staffing Infographic: Tips on How to Find Your Own Employees...... 47 Infographic: Benefits of Hiring a Packaging Engineer...... 48 White Paper: Leverage Contract Packaging Engineers to Supplement Your Team...... 49 Article: Leverage Contract Packaging Engineers to Supplement Your Team ...... 55 Article: The Cost of a Bad Hire in the Packaging Industry...... 57

Recruiting Article: Interview Guide for Packaging Engineers...... 62 Infographic: Interview Guide Checklist...... 66 Learning Share: Interview Guide for Packaging Engineers...... 68 Article: A Guide for the Interviewer: Asking the Right Questions...... 69 Article: Is Packaging Consulting Right for You?...... 72 Article: Advice from and for Women in Packaging Engineering...... 82 Infographic: W2 vs. 1099 Job Comparison...... 84 Infographic: Which Industry Suits You Best: Packaging in Life Sciences vs CPG Industries...... 85 Article: Best Practices for Different Methods of Interviewing...... 86

Digital Article: Improving Pharma Packaging Line Efficiency Through OEE...... 91 Learning Share: Overall Equipment Effectiveness...... 94 Podcast: Russian Serialization - Is Your Company Ready?...... 95 Learning Share: Are You Ready for Russian Serialization?...... 96

Regulatory Compliance Learning Share: Packaging for Terminally Sterilized Medical Devices - ISO 11607 Part 1...... 98 Learning Share: The New 2019 Revisions and Future Challenges - ISO 11607 Part 2...... 99 OPTIMIZING THE SUPPLY CHAIN Cost Savings

To learn more about our approach to cost savings, check out our website Value Design Model A Holistic Approach for Margin Improvement in the Packaging Industry

Packaging cost optimization utilizes a methodology that evaluates all sources of cost within the packaging process; including waste reduction, efficiency optimization and material cost analysis.

• Financial Analysis • Supplier Auditing

P rocur em • Material Analysis en t • Components Analysis

P • BOM (Bill of Materials) a c k • Design Analysis a g

i n Value Design Model g Packaging Margin Improvement

o i t • Production Costs a r e • Plant/Line Efficiency p O • Immobilized Capital in • Process Efficiency ha ly C Supp

• Distribution Costs • Shipping Efficiency

From procurement to packaging design, Adept Group's experts leverage our extensive experience and visibility into the packaging industry. Our Value Design Model will increase quality and reduce costs throughout your packaging department. A Holistic Approach to Cost Savings for the Packaging Industry

Margin improvement for packaging requires a methodology that identifies and evaluates all the sources of cost within the packaging process to reduce waste, optimize for efficiency and add value. Adept Packaging’s Value Design Model analyzes spend throughout your packaging program, from concept to commercialization. This methodology provides a holistic view of cost savings opportunities, while identifying and correcting inefficiencies.

Evaluate Your Package Design When designing a new package or remediating an existing design, there are many factors to consider to reduce cost. With new and innovative concepts being engineered every day, rethinking the material, components, and design of your packaging can significantly reduce cost.

When you engage a consultancy like Adept Packaging, companies gain access to incredibly diverse teams of packaging subject matter experts with a multitude of materials, components, processes, and technologies. Experience enables our team to identify the attributes of your preferred packaging design and offer suggestions to improve, amend, and adapt for cost savings.

Know the Drivers Impacting Packaging Another consideration when designing packaging is e-commerce market growth. Among other drivers in the packaging world, packaging for e-commerce demands attention. Considering the complexity introduced by the additional touchpoints throughout the distribution environment, packaging needs to be robust enough to protect the product and brand integrity. With experts in e-commerce and sustainability, our team can help to reduce the costs associated with damage and product loss.

Analyze Your Procurement Strategies In addition to packaging design, analyzing your packaging procurement strategies is an important focus area for margin improvement. Often companies use the same supplier for years without evaluating other options. Taking the time to do an analysis of, not only your suppliers but your purchasing schedule will give your procurement team a more transparent view of possible avenues to cost savings. Through our extensive experience and visibility into the packaging industry, Adept Packaging has developed a thorough benchmark of the capabilities, advantages, and drawbacks of packaging suppliers, original equipment manufacturers (OEM’s), contract packagers and other adjacent companies within the packaging industry. Being supplier and material agnostic, allows us to help you identify the best solution to fit your pricing, quantity and quality needs.

This process helps in identifying & utilizing new packaging technologies, accelerating project schedules, expediting sample/prototype deliveries, lowering package pricing and enhancing overall technical packaging support to provide you the lowest total landed cost.

Examine Operations Optimization Often, operations are an area that can be optimized significantly as well. Companies often overlook the maintenance of overall equipment effectiveness; only evaluating it when production volume dips significantly or they’re experiencing an uptick in failures.

Leveraging our operational equipment experts and best in class process efficiency tools, companies have been able to identify areas of improvement in OEE of up to 20%. From line and plant efficiencies to production and process effectiveness, our team will analyze your operations and make suggestions to improve overall productivity and reduce cost.

Increase Efficiency in Your Supply Chain Analyzing distribution costs and shipping efficiencies in your supply chain can be another area of margin improvement. From finding more efficient ways to package products for shipment, to examining shipping patterns, there are many different factors that can be reevaluated to reduce cost throughout the supply chain.

Our supply chain gurus have experience working with the most complex regulations, in the most demanding distribution environments in the packaging industry. With an aim to reduce risk, ensure compliance, and safeguard distribution qualification, our team will identify and mitigate any quality issues throughout your distribution environment.

Contact us to help you reduce cost, increase margins and add quality to your packaging supply chain today. Cutting Packaging Costs: What Life Sciences Can Learn from Consumer Packaged Goods

Reducing costs of goods has long been a high priority in sectors of the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) market, but there’s a lot the Life Sciences industry might be able to glean from the initiatives being enacted for cost savings in other industries. As such, David Foster, President of Adept Packaging put together a recently published article covering the different areas Life Sciences may be able to cut cost that they aren’t necessarily considering right now. Such areas include:

 Components and Material Tactics  Printing  Material  Production  Strategic Cost Savings  Increasing Efficiency and Reducing Damage  Consolidation and Standardization  Design for Efficiency  Strategy Implementation  Packaging Ownership

While the need to reduce packaging costs in life sciences may never be as heavy a factor as it is in the CPG industry, the need to cut costs is always relevant and will continue to increase. Increased generic drugs, consumer pressure on pricing, and the need to satisfy shareholders will drive a focus on packaging cost control. As seen with other drivers, learning from first movers and applying those lessons is an easier way to meet these new objectives. So why not examine the strategies used by CPG and see if they can be applied to help meet the pharmaceutical industry’s evolving goals and objectives?

Click here to view the full article. INCREASING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY Sustainability

To stay up to date, check out our library where we’ll be adding resources throughout 2020 Compostable Packaging A Greener Approach to Packaging Materials

More than ever, the environmental impact of In an effort to manage the problem, the plastics is making headlines. From garbage disposal methods have changed, but the patches twice the size of Texas, to the problem doesn’t stop at waste management. staggering statistic that the amount of plastic The plastic that finds its way into the will outnumber fish in the ocean by 2050, the environment has a significant impact on problem is front and center. wildlife through entanglement, ingestion and general interaction. In 1980, the production of plastic was around 70 million tons, with 100% of it being Given these detrimental statistics, companies discarded. But by 2015, production reached are looking to alternatives to combat this 381 million tons from which 55% was global problem through sustainable sourcing, discarded, 25% incinerated, and 20% recycled; design, production and disposal of packaging still leaving over 200 million tons of plastic through the following approaches: being thrown away each year. • Design for recycling From the article Plastic Pollution, Hannah • Design for reuse Ritchie and Max Roser outline the current • Replace plastics with bioplastics situation on global usage and wastage of (some of them compostable) plastic. In 2010, the global primary production • Replace plastics with paper of plastic reached 270 million tons and the • Reduce and remove packaging global wastage of plastic reached 275 tons; • Shift to mono-materials from which 31.9 million tons were mismanaged • Increase recycled content and had a high risk of leaking into the Specifically, this white paper will focus on the environment (8 million directly into the ocean). pros, cons, capabilities and alternatives of the compostable packaging solution. When companies begin to explore compostable packaging solutions for their products, some questions come up:

 What is compostable packaging?  What is the difference between biodegradable and compostable?  What makes a material compostable according to regulatory requirements?  What types of compostable materials exist and what are the advantages and disadvantages of those materials?  How are companies currently using compostable materials in the market?

With the market demanding a more sustainable approach to packaging, answering the above questions will offer your company a framework to decide if compostable packaging is a realistic approach for your products.

What Do We Consider as Compostable Packaging? Compostable packaging or more specifically compostable plastic is defined by the ASTM (American Society for Testing & Materials) as "capable of undergoing biological decomposition in a compost site as part of an available program, such that the plastic is not visually distinguishable and breaks down to carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass, at a rate consistent with known compostable materials (e.g. cellulose) and leaves no toxic residue."

According to World Centric, to be considered compostable plastic, there are three characteristics that must exist: it must be biodegrade, disintegrable and free of ecotoxicity.

1. Biodegradable – in order for a material to be considered biodegradable, it must break down into carbon dioxide, water, biomass at the same rate as cellulose (paper). 2. Disintegrable - the material is disintegrable if it is indistinguishable in compost; it must not be visible or needed to be screened out 3. Free of Eco-toxicity – a material is considered free of eco-toxicity if the biodegradation does not produce any toxic material and the compost can support plant growth.

Differences Between Biodegradable and Compostable One common confusion when dealing with compostable packaging is the ability to discern between biodegradable and compostable, which mean similar things but, practically, have significant differences.

 What is the difference between bioplastics, biobased plastics, biodegradable plastic and compostable plastics? As per the European Bioplastics organization, a bioplastic refers to a broad family of materials that can be either biobased, biodegradable or both. (see graphic below)

Biobased refers to the spectrum of materials that are wholly or partially derived from biomass (plants) such as corn, sugarcane or cellulose.

Biodegradable means that the material is capable of being decomposed by a chemical process in which microorganisms (disposables in the environment) convert those materials in natural substances as water, CO2 or compost. This process depends not only on the material itself, but on some environmental conditions such as location, temperature etc.

Compostable, as indicated in the above paragraph, refers to materials that can be decomposed in natural subproducts in a compost environment (compostable specific conditions) within a limited period of time and with no toxic impact on the soil.

In the graphic below, we can see the relationship between these defined terms. The materials are divided according to the two axes; Biodegradable vs Non-Biodegradable and Biobased vs Fossil- based. In this white paper, we will focus on materials that are specifically biodegradable or biobased (adding PCL), which have better compostable behavior.

Reference: https://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/ What Makes a Material Compostable According to Regulations? In order to determine that a material is compostable, there are certain tests that the material must pass. Some institutions that exist have defined either the standards or the methods to perform these tests, such as:

Region Standard

European Standardization Committee (CEN) EN13432 Europe German Institute for Standardization (DIN) DIN V49000 British Standard Institution BS EN 13432 America American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM-6400-99 Canada Standards Council of Canada (SCC) BNQ 9011-911 Japan Japan BioPlastics Association JBPA International International Standards Organization (ISO) ISO14855 (only for biodegradation)

The main characteristics that the compostable packaging has to achieve are biodegradability, disintegrability, no negative output within the process of composting, and very little existence of heavy metals or a bad effect on the quality of the compost.

In Europe, the CEN in the norm EN13432 determine that:

• 60% of the carbon in CO2 must be biodegraded within 180 days (6 months) for monopolymers and 90% for copolymers or mixed polymers. Disintegration is measured with less than 10% of the biodegraded elements with 2 mm of size after 120 days (4 months). • Eco-toxicity is evaluated by testing plant growth in a compost that is mixed with soil and a limit of heavy metals (set from standards) and is compared to the growth in a controlled compost. • Upper limits of heavy metals are (BS EN13432) in mg/kg of dry sample, are:

o zinc 150, copper 50, nickel 25, cadmium 0.5, lead 50, mercury 0.5, chromium 50, molybdenum 1, selenium 0.75, arsenic 5 and fluoride 100.

• It is also noted in the BS EN13432 that the compostable packaging must not negatively alter variables of the compost: nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and bulk density, salinity, volatile solid and pH.

Commonly, to receive the assessment and certification there are independent certification bodies that help on this process such as: • DIN Certco (German Institute of Standardization, Germany)

• AFOR (Association for Organics Recycling, UK)

• Keurmerkinstituut (Certification Institute, Netherlands)

• COBRO (Packaging Research Institute, Poland)

• ABA (Australasian Bioplastics Association, Australia)

• Vinçotte (Accredited Inspection and Certification Organization, Belgium)

• Jätelaito-syhdistys (Solid Waste Association, Finland)

• Certiquality/CIC (Composting and Biogas Association, Italy)

• Avfall Norge (Waste Management and Recycling Association, Norway)

• BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute, USA)

• BNQ (Bureau de Normalisation du Québec, Canada)

• JBPA (Japan BioPlastics Association, Japan).

Once all tests have been passed, a certification is awarded and then the compostable logo can be displayed on the packaging.

The certification has to be renewed every 3 years. Within this period, samples can be collected from the market for further testing. (e.g. Association of Organics Recycling in UK)

In the United States, this assessment is performed by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI). To receive the proper certification means that the product has been tested by a well-known lab and has met the standard of ASTM D6400 or ASTM D6868.

Once certified, the packaging will receive the BPI compostable logo. Types of Compostable Materials In addition to understanding what makes a material certified as compostable, having an overview of the different kinds of materials is also relevant to choosing the best compostable packaging design. The graphic below depicts common materials shown on a biodegradability/bio-based raw material scale.

Resource: https://www.asobiocom.es/plasticos-y-tecnologias/

These materials, which correspond to the graph above as being fully biobased and biodegradable, are the most common in the industry:

• PLA • PLA-PCL • TPS • PHA(PHB)

As they are the ones with biodegradable capabilities and better material solutions for home and/or industrial composting. Understanding the benefits and drawbacks of each of these materials allows packaging engineers to make an informed decision on which material would be best for each product.

PLA (Polylactic acid or polyactide)

“PLA is a polyester (polymer containing the ester group) made with two possible monomers or building blocks: lactic acid and lactide. Lactic acid can be produced by the bacterial fermentation of a carbohydrate source under controlled conditions. In the industrial scale production of lactic acid, the carbohydrate source of choice can be corn starch, cassava roots, or sugarcane, making the process sustainable and renewable.” (Joseph Flynt, 2017).

This material can replace fossil-based thermoplastics and has been introduced into the market as a renewable alternative that can be used as a fertilizer (after composting) once the packaging lifecycle has ended.

Although this is one of the bestselling biodegradable plastics on the market, it requires high temperatures for breakdown and is not home-compostable. However, when blended with PCL (polycrolactone), it is degraded completely to carbon dioxide, biomass and water under typical home- composting conditions. (American Chemical Society, 2018).

PLA has the following benefits:

• It is Eco-friendly because it is renewably sourced, biodegradable and compostable • It is considered biocompatible because if it is disposed of correctly in a compostable facility, it is considered not toxic • It is considered more processable than other materials as PHA or PCL

Properties of PLA: Some suppliers of PLA: • Similar properties such as PET, PVC • Bioware (Huhtamaki, Finland) • High performance, comparable with PS, • NaturalBox (Coopbox, Italy) PP and ABS • Earthfirts (Plastics Supplier Inc, US) • High mechanical strength • Leoplast (Italy) • Low toxic level • Naturpackaging • Good barrier for moisture and heat • BioTak (Berkshirelabels, UK) • UV resistant • Resistant to chemicals • Low flammability & smoke formation Disadvantages of PLA usage: Typical uses of PLA: • Breaks down in a specific environment at • Usually divided into three forms: Rigid 58ºC thermoform, biaxial oriented films and bottles • Difficult to dispose of because there are not • Food contact polymer for plastics (FDA enough appropriated composting facilities approval for short shelf life products) • If not disposed of properly, toxicity takes • Healthcare and Medical Industry: due to its place due to the emission of methane biocompatibility, biodegradability and • PLA is less suitable for high temperature versatility, there is a wide variety of areas due to the low glass transition at application in this industry, such as: approximately 55°C bioabsorbable medical implants, tissue • Low Ductility engineering, delivery system materials, • Poor impact strength covering membranes, medical devices, • Low crystallization rate that usually lead to dermatological treatments etc. See graphic amorphous products below: • More susceptible to chemical and biological • Fibers and fabrics: this is a good solution for hydrolysis carpets, mattress, sportswear due to the low • Poor gas barrier capabilities moisture absorption and good resistance to • Less flexibility that leads of higher mold cycles UV light. • Heat can cause deformities • PLA filaments for 3D printing • Limited shelf life • End segment applications: packaging, building, agriculture, transport, furniture, electronic appliances, household products etc.

PLA-PLC (Polylactic acid or polyactide) As mentioned above, neat PLA is not home compostable. Various studies have demonstrated that blends of PLA with PCL (Polycaprolactone) shows a better degradation under home conditions, as well as an improvement of other parameters as a percentage of elongation and impact strength.

Resource: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S175161611730022X TPS (Thermoplastic Starch) Starch is a very abundant, plant-based material which is biodegradable and presents physical and chemical properties that make it an interesting material to be developed. Typical sources of starches are corn, potatoes, rice, green peas etc.

In a more chemical description, starch is a crystalline material that under some conditions, when mixed with a certain amount of water, a homogenous melt known as thermoplastic starch (TPS) appears with thermoplastic features.

TPS is a biodegradable material that can be incorporated into the soil as fertilizer. Apart from that, TPS can be transformed in several thermoplastification processes just like injection molding, extrusion blow molding, injection compression molding and extrusion. (Itene, 2011)

Properties of TPS: Typical uses of TPS: • Second biopolymer more abundant • Flexible films • Good mechanical properties similar to • Household items LDPE and PS • Damping materials • Sealable and printable with no superficial • Thermoformed trays treatment • Bags • Can be a barrier against gases such as • Some closing systems CO2 and O2 and aromas • Bottles • Antistatic properties • Water soluble • Can be modified chemically

Disadvantages of TPS: Some suppliers of TPS: • High sensibility to humidity • Mater-BI (Novamont) • High Water Vapor Transmission Rate • Biplast (Biotec) • High Density • Biocaps (Wiedmer AG) • Fragility • Gaialene (Roquette Laisa S.A) • Difficulties on extrusion process

PHA (Polyhydroxyalkanoate) PHA is a unique bio-based and biodegradable material that comes from bacteria (such as Pseudomonas putida and Cupriavidus necator.) It is obtained from either microbial or sugar fermentation and can be decomposed if it is exposed to soil, compost, or marine sediments. Properties of PHA: (Itene, 2011) Typical uses of PHA (Creativemechanism staff, • Variety of properties depending on the 2017) composition • Single use packaging for foods, beverages, • Similar mechanical properties as other consumer products, etc. polyolefins (e.g. LDPE) • Medical applications like sutures, bone • Resistant to fats and solvents marrow scaffolds, bone plates, etc. • Good elongation ratio for blowing processes • Agricultural foils and films • Stability in front of hydrolysis • No scrap from catalysts

Disadvantages of PHA: (Itene, 2011) Some suppliers of PHA (Itene, 2011) • Sensitive to thermic degradation • Mirel (Metabolix-Telles, US) • Brittle • Very low viscosity within melting

By reviewing the properties of the compostable materials mentioned above, companies can make an educated decision to determine which, if any, would work for their products.

Examples of Compostable Packaging in the Markets

As compared previously, it is evident that biodegradable materials and particular compostable materials can offer opportunities to reduce waste, CO2 emission and general dependence of fossil sources. Below are examples of companies currently applying these materials to their packaging.

TIPA provides packaging for their specific Careli developed a complete range of household application, ranging from fresh produce and products that are completely biodegradable and snacks to magazines and apparel. They operate compostable. on a global scale and their compostable polymer technology is applicable worldwide. Level Ground Trading offers 100% compostable, Eco Products offers rectangular deli cold food BPI certified packaging for coffee. containers made from PLA and meet the ASTM standards for compostability.

Adept Packaging Compostable Recommendations The decision to use or not to use compostable packaging (or any other sustainable option) depends on several factors that must be evaluated.

First, there are clear demands from the market to change to a more sustainable packaging, which minimizes pollution and impact on the environment.

Next, companies need to evaluate the impact that they want to have, both on the customer experience with their products, as well as on their environmental footprint.

If compostable packaging seems like an avenue you want to explore for your products, consider the advantages and disadvantages of the materials discussed in this paper. If you need assistance, Adept Packaging engineers can be leveraged to evaluate options and make suggestions for the materials, components and design that would be best suitable for your products.

If you have questions about compostable packaging or other sustainable options, our experts would be happy to assist. Contact us for assistance with your sustainable packaging. References: https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution https://www.thinkstep.com/blog/top-9-sustainable-packaging-trends-2019 http://www.worldcentric.org/biocompostables/bioplastics https://www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-bioplastics https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-319-48281-1_36-1 https://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/ https://www.heritagepaper.net/the-difference-between-biodegradable-and-compostable-packaging-materials/ https://knowledge.ulprospector.com/6216/new-developments-bioplastics/ https://www.scc.ca/en/standardsdb/standards/23461 http://www.jbpaweb.net/english/ https://ecozema.com/en/why/en13432/ https://www.bpf.co.uk/topics/standards_for_compostability.aspx https://tipa-corp.com/general/how-to-recognize-compostable-packaging-in-the-united-states/ https://www.asobiocom.es/plasticos-y-tecnologias/ https://phys.org/news/2018-08-biodegradable-plastic-blends-options-disposal.html https://3dinsider.com/what-is-pla/ https://fp-sustainability.eu/uncategorized/why-pla-is-not-the-answer/ https://www.plasticsinsight.com/resin-intelligence/resin-prices/polylactic-acid/ https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2018/august/biodegradable-plastic-blends-offer- new-options-for-disposal.html https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S175161611730022X https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211812814005665 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258211268_Thermoplastic_starches_Properties_challenges_and_pros pects/link/59e454e5aca2724cbfe78532/download https://www.easyfairs.com/uploads/tx_ef/m.gallur_itene.pdf

Shen L., Hafne J., Patel M.K. (2009). Product overview and market projection of emerging biobased plastics (PRO-BIP). Group Science Fuente, Technology and Society (STS, Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development and Innovation Utrecht University https://is.muni.cz/el/1431/podzim2013/C3804/Thermoplastic_starches__Properties__challenges__A_Review.pdf https://www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-pha-polyhydroxyalkanoates https://www.intechopen.com/books/integrated-waste-management-volume-i/environmental-friendly- biodegradable-polymers-and-composites https://www.plasticethics.com/home/2018/11/15/tipa-an-innovative-company-producing-compostable-flexible- packaging-could-save-the-world https://www.ecoproducts.com/rectangular_deli_containers.html http://www.biotaspringwater.com/ http://www.swedbrand-group.com/blog/biodegradable-vs-compostable-packaging-materials-4 http://www.interempresas.net/Envase/Articulos/233414-Envases-100-por-ciento-biodegradables-y- compostables-tambien-para-el-hogar.html https://www.packagingdigest.com/sustainable-packaging/breaking-down-the-value-of-compostable-packaging- 2016-10-19 https://www.oregon.gov/deq/FilterDocs/compostable.pdf https://www.newplasticseconomy.org/assets/doc/EllenMacArthurFoundation_TheNewPlasticsEconomy_Pages.p df https://www.astm.org/Standards/D6400.htm Learning Share: Compostable Packaging

Sustainability has never been as big of a driver in the packaging world as it is today. In our October Learning Share, our sustainability experts discussed the drivers, implications and options for designing for sustainability; as well as drilled down into the ins and outs of compostable packaging.

We looked at:  Advantages and disadvantages of compostable packaging  Types of compostable materials  Regulatory framework  Recommendations for compostable packaging

Click below to get the scoop on compostable packaging! Learning Share: Innovation in Sustainability

With most of the largest food, beverage and CPG brand owners taking on huge initiatives to combat packaging waste and increase recyclability, the importance of sustainable packaging continues to grow. For our August Learning Share, Adept Packaging founder, Prateek Lal teamed up with some of the companies at the forefront of sustainable packaging technology.

Click below to get the latest information on how technology is improving and evolving sustainable packaging. How Sustainable is Your Holiday Packaging?

Around the busy holiday season, there’s a good chance many of us will have quite a few boxes piled up in front of our door. With the drive for companies to create more sustainable, environmentally friendly packaging, this time of year presents a fantastic opportunity to see how well they’re doing.

With research showing that one of the greatest barriers to recycling is lack of consumer knowledge, we wanted to add some insight on how to tell how sustainable the packaging is that your products are being shipped in.

Sustainability Check We’ve created a checklist for a quick evaluation of the packaging you’re interacting with this holiday season. Give your packaging a point for each of these boxes you can check off.

 Overpackaging: there is no evidence of over packaging. The product fits well into the box it was shipped in. Examples of overpackaging: a box within a box, a disproportionately large box for a small item, excessive unnecessary packaging, etc.  Ships in Own Container: The product was shipped in its own container without an overbox.  Excess Padding: There is no evidence of additional, unnecessary padding. For example, foam peanuts, shredded paper, etc. Many of these materials can be recycled but developing packaging specifically for ecommerce that can ship without additional material is cost-effective and requires less work on the consumer end.  The packaging material is recyclable. For example, corrugate, PET, etc. If you’re not sure, check out this recycling guide.  Recyclability is communicated. Is there a label on your package that tells you how to recycle the packaging?  Reusability: the packaging can be reused for an additional purpose.  Styrofoam: there is no evidence of Styrofoam in the packaging. While some places can recycle it, most materials recovery facilities still do not accept it as part of their recycling program.  Mixed-materials: the package is not made of mixed materials. Examples, plastic mixed with paper, foam envelope, foam on corrugate. Since materials need to be easily separated to be recycled, packaging that has mixed materials are much more difficult to recycle.  Label: the label is not shrink-wrapped to the package. Materials need to be separated easily, and PVC shrink labels impede that separation.  Returnable: Can I use the packaging to return the item if I need to?

The higher the score, the more sustainable the package. As companies continue to narrow in their focus on sustainability, these numbers will continue to increase. With increased awareness, new regulations and consumer pressure, most of the large brand owners have already set aggressive goals for 2025 and beyond.

E-commerce giant, Amazon, has developed requirements vendors must meet to ship through Amazon, with an aim to reduce waste and increase customer satisfaction. As a member of the Amazon Support and Supplier network, Adept Packaging works side-by-side with some of the major E-commerce retailers, designing sustainable packaging for the most complex, custom supply chains.

If you’re in the ecommerce market and notice your packaging is scoring lower than you’d like, contact us! We hope this holiday season, you’ll recycle responsibly. Have a safe and sustainable holiday! Holiday Sustainable Packaging Checklist

 Overpackaging: there is no evidence of over packaging. The product fits well into the box it was shipped in. Examples of overpackaging: a box within a box, a disproportionately large box for a small item, excessive unnecessary packaging, etc.  Ships in Own Container: The product was shipped in its own container without an overbox.  Excess Padding: There is no evidence of additional, unnecessary padding. For example, foam peanuts, shredded paper, etc. Many of these materials can be recycled but developing packaging specifically for E-commerce that can ship without additional material is cost-effective and requires less work on the consumer end.  The packaging material is recyclable. For example, corrugate, PET, etc. If you’re not sure, check out this recycling guide.  Recyclability is communicated. Is there a label on your package that tells you how to recycle the packaging?  Reusability: the packaging can be reused for an additional purpose.  Styrofoam: there is no evidence of Styrofoam in the packaging. While some places can recycle it, most materials recovery facilities still do not accept it as part of their recycling program. Podcast: Sustainability Thinking Outside the Cardboard Box

Sustainability and circular packaging are two of the hottest trends in packaging right now. Listen to our Inside the Box podcast, where we talk with TerraCycle Chief Design Junkie, Tiffany Threadgould, about how to think outside the cardboard box and create durable and circular packaging.

Click below to listen to the evolving trends in sustainable packaging and how to think outside the cardboard box. Global Brands Aim High for Packaging Sustainability Plastic Reduction Objectives for 2025

PepsiCo Inc. Unilever

“PepsiCo's sustainable plastics vision is to build a “Our plastic packaging plays a critical role in PepsiCo where plastics need never become making our products appealing, safe and waste. We intend to achieve that vision by enjoyable for our consumers. Yet it is clear reducing, recycling and reusing, and reinventing that if we want to continue to reap the bene- our plastic packaging...” fits of this versatile material, we need to do much more as an industry to help ensure it is -Mehmood Khan, Vice Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer managed responsibly and efficiently [after]

Source: https://www.plasticsnews.com/artile/20181026/NEWS/181029931/- consumer use.” pepsico-sets-recycled-content-goals -Paul Polman, Unilever CEO

INCREASE RECYCLED-CONTENT PLASTIC IN PACKAGING ...... 25% INCREASE AMOUNT OF 25% 33% PLASTIC PACKAGING ABLE RECYCLED RECYCLED TO BE REUSED, RECYCLED CONTENT CONTENT OR COMPOSTED TO...... IN PLASTIC IN PET 100% PACKAGING BOTTLES

Source: https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/unilever-plastic-recycling-commitment/

If no actions are taken, oceans are expected to contain more plastic than ﬁsh by 2050.

Source: https://www.industryweek.com/companies-executives/mondelez-joins-pg-colgate-palmolive-make-packaging-recyclable

Kraft Heinz Mondelez International pledged to “aggressively pursue innovative alternatives committed to making all of its packaging to virgin plastics in a bid to meet the new aim,” which is recyclable by 2025. to make all packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. 100% RECYCLABLE

ALL Source: https://www.industryweek.com/companies-executives/mondelez-joins-pg-colgate- PACKAGING palmolive-make-packaging-recyclable BY 2025

McCormick & Co. Inc. set a 2025 goal to make all packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. In addition, their goals include reducing their packaging carbon footprint by 25%. “Our collective industry has a massive challenge ahead of us with respect to packaging recyclability, end-of-life recovery and single-use plastics, Even though we don’t yet have all the answers, we owe it to current and future generations who call this planet home to ﬁnd better packaging solutions and actively progress efforts to improve recycling rates.”

CHIEF EXECUTIVE, BERNARDO HEES

Source: https://www.edie.net/news/5/Kraft-Heinz-unveils-new-circular-packaging-strategy-in-plastic-reduction-drive/

Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2018/10/30/mccormick-says- all-packaging-will-be-recyclable.html

Diageo has set multiple sustainability goals including that that 100% of plastics used should be widely recyclable by 2025 and plastic bottles should be made of 100% recycled content by 2030.

OF PLASTICS WIDELY RECYCLABLE BY 2025 1100%00% RECYCLED CONTENT IN PLASTIC BOTTLES BY 2030 Source: https://www.diageo.com/en/news-and-media/features/diageo-launches-new-plastics-targets-for-2025-and-beyond/

Plastic waste is one of the biggest sustainability issues the world is facing today. Tackling it requires a collective approach.

Source: https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/nestle-2025-packaging-commitments/ -Mark Schneider, CEO, Nestlé

Lidl Nestle will reduce plastic consumption by at least has set a goal to make 100 percent of its packaging 20 percent, as well as increase recyclability of all recyclable or reusable by 2025. its own plastic packaging for its own products to 100% by 2025. L YCLAB 20% REDUCTION C L E EE

IN PLASTIC USE R

| | 100%

BY 2025 R

E E

L L U

BY 2025 U

B S B S A Source: https://www.potatopro.com/news/2018/lidl-reduces-plastic-use-germany-least-20-percent-2025 A

Source: https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/nestle-2025-packaging-commitments/

Partner with Adept Packaging Achieving goals as tremendous as these takes experience, expertise and drive to get the job done quickly and cost effectively. Rely on the experts at Adept Packaging to help you achieve your sustainability vision for a better future.

www.adeptpackaging.com [email protected] +1.484.373.2504

To stay up to date, check out our library where we’ll be adding resources throughout 2020 The Intersection of E-commerce and Sustainable

Packaging Designing with a Sustainable Mindset

With the continuous and exponential increase Why is E-commerce developing so in E-commerce sales within the last several rapidly? years, it is apparent that any business that There are multiple reasons for the exponential wishes to perform globally, needs to be and explosive growth of E-commerce such as: optimized for it. In order to do so, brands need • Mobile adaptivity: with the overwhelming to ask; what is E-commerce, why is it penetration of mobile devices; people important, and how are companies preparing spend more time on their phones than for such a shift in distribution? ever, especially millennials and What is E-commerce? Generation Z. E-commerce allows for E-commerce refers to any commercial mobile purchasing through internet sales transaction that is facilitated through the whenever the drive to shop strikes. internet1, specifically referring to goods and • Omnichannel: is related to the multiple services. channels through which a business interacts with their customers. Websites, E-commerce allows the buying and selling of email, social media, physical stores etc. products on a global scale, 24 hours a day, allow for a more integrated purchasing without the consequent overhead costs that experience. are related to traditional commerce2. E- • Greater Range of Offerings: E-commerce commerce not only includes the well know B2C allows brands to offer many more sales model (business to consumers) but B2B products without incrementing overheads, (business to business), C2B (consumer to giving the consumer the capability to buy business) and C2C (consumer to consumer) anything, at any time, models as well.

1 https://www.shopify.com/encyclopedia/what-is-E- 2 https://E-commerce-platforms.com/glossary/E- commerce commerce from anywhere. Most companies outsource backend operations to specialist support services providers that can be located virtually anywhere in the world3.

• Individualized Products and services: Increasing advancement in algorithms enable companies more customized recommendations, not only based on their habitual purchasing, but on consumers’ particular preferences.

Worldwide Facts and Figures of E-commerce Global online retail sales are growing at a tremendous speed. The graphic below shows that E- commerce is expected to grow from 14.1% in 2019 of total sales worldwide to 22% by 2023.

Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/534123/E-commerce-share-of-retail-sales-worldwide/

Other interesting statistics that provide an overview of E-commerce health are:

• Cross border E-commerce4: It is predicted that, in 2020, cross border E-commerce will be growing 25% per year, twice as fast as domestic E-commerce

3 https://ideasunlimitedonline.com/five-reasons-why-E-commerce-is-growing/ 4 https://www.ipc.be/services/markets-and-regulations/E-commerce-market-insights/E-commerce- articles/global-E-commerce-figures-2017 • Mobile strategy5: Results of Q2 2018 showed that 62% of E- commerce is mobile generated. This indicates that, in order to grow in E-commerce, mobile friendly shopping platforms for these types of purchases are indispensable. While the growth of E-commerce is undeniable, there are certain disadvantages to it that are becoming apparent. Damage of goods, delays in delivery, and potential fraud, are among the issues that companies are looking for solutions for. Minimization of these problems will be the differentiator between successful and unsuccessful E-commerce competitors.

Packaging and E-commerce As E-commerce expands and growth expounds, the need to Additional E-commerce understand and address the different supply chain and sales since 2014 result in: packaging requirements magnifies. There is still no clear data of the total increase of packaging 7,500,000 million waste due to E-commerce, but there are some figures out there additional plastic bags to consider. Publications such as “China Daily” and “South China Morning post”6 relate a 48% increase of parcels sold 10,000,000 million online since 2014. This implies an additional 7.5 million additional cardboard additional plastic bags and 10 million additional cardboard boxes. boxes As most companies have not optimized packaging for E- commerce, overpacking is common when shipping products from a warehouse to consumer. This not only causes additional waste, but energy consumption and pollution due to the increasing complexity of this new retail chain.

Traditional retail and E-commerce delivery channels differ in several attributes. Through exploring the differences between traditional and E-commerce distribution environments, the need for packaging redesign becomes apparent.

An example of a traditional retail environment:

5 https://www.nationmaster.com/E-commerce 6 https://www.larazon.es/atusalud/medioambiente/el-comercio- electronico-dispara-el-consumo-de-carton-JI12384591 Figure 1: Traditional Commerce Distribution Environment

As we can see, traditional retail follows a direct and linear flow. In this distribution environment, transportation is concentrated between supplier, warehouse and retailer. With this model, and limited touch points, the standard primary, secondary and tertiary packaging is enough to transport and deliver a given product in a safe and efficient way to be displayed in stores.

However, with the new framework of E-commerce, packaging requirements differ. The E-commerce distribution environment has up to as many as 20 touch points, compared to 5-6 in a traditional packaging distribution environment, which reinforces the need for more robust packaging. In addition to protection, primary packaging can be less promotional and more functional. Secondary packaging can play the role of protection and tertiary can be non-existent.

Though this is true for E-commerce, Omnichannel which integrate both systems, makes distribution and packaging design even more challenging.

Figure 2: E-commerce Distribution E nvironment In the next matrix, we can see the main differences between the two systems compared to omnichannel.

Traditional Retail E-commerce Omni-Channel Logistics System Logistics System Logistics System

“Brick and mortar” storefront Retailer is anyone who can set Both “brick and mortar” up an online storefront. May be storefronts and online. Retail Types a manufacturer, retailer or a Storefronts may also serve as third-party facilitator/ fulfillment centers aggregator Secondary and tertiary Direct to consumer. Consumer Responsible for secondary and packaging is collected for must handle disposal or tertiary as required by bricks Transportation Package disposal or recovery at retail recovery for all primary and and mortar storefront. If End Point level. Consumer responsible for secondary packaging shipping direct to consumer, transport of primary package additional transport packaging is required and will be the consumer’s end responsibility Purposes of Primary Containment protection, shelf Containment product Can be both, depending on the Packaging impact, communication vehicle, protection final distribution channel merchandising Consumer Engagement Engagement occurs at point of Engagement occurs after point Engagement may occur at a with Packaging purchase. Packaging plays a of purchase. Packaging plays a variety of points role of finalizing sale role in purchase reinforcement. Primary high-density freight A wide range of transportation Depending on the final carriers, forklifts and pallets. methods, from freight carriers distribution channel it may to UBER drivers, and potentially include all formats Transportation Format drones. More touchpoints, handlers, and manual interactions to deliver direct to the consumer 9% 20-30% Requires investment Unknown Return Rate into more complex reverse logistics and reusable packaging

Source: https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.ameripen.org/resource/resmgr/PDFs/White-Paper-Optimizing- Packa.pdf

These new channels have contributed to a rise in expectations from consumers such as:7

• Rapid delivery • Ease of return • Packaging that protects • Ease of disposal and recovery • No damage • Food safety

7 https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.ameripen.org/resource/resmgr/PDFs/White-Paper-Optimizing-Packa.pdf These attributes have a direct impact on packaging design8:

• The need for very fast deliveries and multiple channels can make it difficult to optimize packaging or aggregate deliveries, because the same products are being shipped from multiple facilities to meet the expected delivery speed of the consumer. • Companies often increase or change packaging materials in order to protect the product, which can lead to less recyclability. • Sometimes the cost of a damaged delivery is higher than over packing it to avoid returns, reimbursements, or brand integrity damage. • Due to high rate of devolutions, companies have started including devolution labels in the parcels. • Food delivery requires special materials and package designs to ensure freshness and quality from manufacturer to consumer.

As companies start to consider packaging design for E-commerce, sustainability plays a significant role and is in more demand than ever.

Design Ideas for Sustainable E-commerce Packaging More and more consumers are demanding products that are environmentally friendly.

There is an international study performed by Unilever1 that reveals that one out of 3 consumers feel that sustainability and positive social impact are drivers for their purchase decisions, noting that these consumers would pay a little bit more for their preferred products if they are recyclable.

This is not only a matter of taste and trends; a sustainable approach to packaging is becoming increasingly regulated. Stakeholders, such as consumers, institutions, municipalities, and NGO’s, are pushing to develop a circular economy, examining sustainability throughout the packaging lifecycle, which has a significant impact on E-commerce.

For example, these guidelines from the Sustainable Packaging Coalition were established to cover all phases of a life cycle analysis, setting standards for packaging:

1. Is beneficial, safe, and healthy for individuals and communities throughout its life cycle 2. Meets market criteria for performance and cost 3. Is sourced, manufactured, transported, and recycled using renewable energy 4. Optimizes the use of renewable or recycled source materials 5. Is manufactured using clean production technologies and best practices 6. Is made from materials that retain quality of health throughout the life cycle 7. Is physically designed to optimize materials and energy 8. Is effectively recovered and utilized in biological and/or industrial closed loop cycles

8 https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.ameripen.org/resource/resmgr/PDFs/White-Paper-Optimizing-Packa.pdf For more detailed information on designing packaging for the E-commerce market, check out our white paper: Evolving Packaging for the E-commerce Market.

Designing E-commerce Packaging for Sustainability When designing E-commerce packaging for a more sustainable result consider these tips:9

• Align your sustainable strategy with your stakeholders (suppliers etc.) and align priorities and actions. • Avoid over designing with special inks, coats, or laminations that can reduce the recyclability and sustainability of the packaging. • Try to not over-pack. Minimize the amount of material included in your packaging. Not only does it reduce material waste, but it reduces material cost, inventory, transportation weight and storage cost. • Explore shipping options outside of the standard cardboard box. Understand your product needs, to determine if your packaging must be water resistant/flexible/soft etc. and redesign with a sustainable mindset. • Remove foam peanuts, shredded paper etc. and utilize inserts instead if necessary. • Avoid paper-out, poly bubble lined mailer envelopes. The mixed material composition makes it difficult to separate and prevent them from being recyclable. • Choose sustainable materials when possible. • Inform your customers on how to recycle, reuse or return packaging (can be helpful as a marketing opportunity)10 One of the biggest issues in waste reduction are consumers. Educating and communicating the end of life options for your packaging is necessary so consumers understand how to close the loop. Some companies have successfully made the transition between traditional and E-commerce packaging. Below are a few examples.

Successful Examples There are several companies that are playing a big role introducing a sustainable mindset in their E- commerce activities.

Here some examples:

9 https://www.environmentalleader.com/2019/04/6-tips-for-eco-friendly-dtc-E-commerce-packaging/ 10 https://www.zaproo.com/sustainable-E-commerce-packaging/ Sealed Air: StealthWrap This is a solution that avoids the common use of a box within a box. They utilize a thin film to conceal and protect the product which can be labeled with the proper shipment information and allows a large reduction of space and a significant reduction of material waste. The process of wrapping is almost 20 times faster so there is a cost reduction in productivity and labor.

Source: https://sustainablepackaging.org/sealed-air-stealthwraptm/ Frustration Free Packaging (FFP) Amazon has launched a very successful initiative aimed at reducing waste and increasing recyclability. This year, they’ve taken it a step further and mandated that, for people to sell through Amazon, they had to be a member of the Amazon Support and Supplier network. Their requirements are outlined below:

This initiative was enacted in 2008 and has expanded to an impressive figure of around 750,000 products included in the FFP program.

To obtain this certification Amazon works closely with sellers to achieve an optimal packaging and helps them with proper testing. This new packaging ensures several benefits to customers such as an improved customer experience, reduced waste, increased recyclability, reduced damage, and increased safety.

Recommendations As discussed, E-commerce needs a new packaging approach to withstand the rigors of a more complex distribution environment. This approach should include sustainability as a consideration.

To maximize value, partnering with a company with expertise in packaging development, distribution qualification, E-commerce and sustainable packaging design is an excellent way to reduce cost, increase sustainability and reduce risk of damage throughout the product’s journey to the consumer.

Adept Packaging, a member of the Amazon Support and Supplier Network, is Loop certified and employs a wide array of expertise. We work with 70% of the top iconic brands in the Food, Beverage and CPG industries and 80% of the top iconic brands in the Life Sciences industries. When preparing to redesign your packaging for the E-commerce market, contact our experts to increase your speed to market and reduce your costs today. References https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/global-E-commerce-statistics https://www.shopify.com/encyclopedia/what-is-E-commerce https://E-commerce-platforms.com/glossary/E-commerce https://ideasunlimitedonline.com/five-reasons-why-E-commerce-is-growing/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/534123/E-commerce-share-of-retail-sales-worldwide/ https://www.nationmaster.com/E-commerce https://www.larazon.es/atusalud/medioambiente/el-comercio-electronico-dispara-el-consumo-de- carton-JI12384591 https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.ameripen.org/resource/resmgr/PDFs/White-Paper-Optimizing-Packa.pdf https://www.zaproo.com/sustainable-E-commerce-packaging/ https://sustainablepackaging.org/sealed-air-stealthwraptm/ https://www.pfscommerce.com/blog/sustainability-E-commerce-packaging/ https://www.aboutamazon.com/sustainability/packaging/frustration-free-packaging https://sellernexus.com/frustration-free-packaging Tips for Designing E-commerce Packaging for Sustainability

Align Your Goals Avoid Excess Padding

Make sure you align your Remove foam peanuts, sustainability strategies, priorities shredded paper etc. and utilize and actions with your inserts instead if necessary. stakeholders (suppliers etc.).

Design for Recyclability Avoid Mixed-Materials

Avoid over designing with Avoid paper-out, poly bubble special inks, coatings, or lined mailer envelopes. The mixed lamination that can reduce material composition makes it the recyclability and difficult to separate and prevent sustainability of the packaging. them from being recyclable.

Avoid Over-Packing Choose Sustainable Materials Tips for Designing Minimize the amount of material included in your packaging. Not E-commerce Packaging When deciding on material only does it reduce material for Sustainability options, consider biodegradable, waste, but it reduces material compostable and recyclable cost, inventory, transportation options. weight and storage cost.

Know Your Product Communicate Recyclability

Explore shipping options One of the biggest issues in outside of the standard waste reduction are consumers. cardboard box. Understand Educating and communicating your product needs to the end of life options for your determine if your packaging packaging is necessary so must be water resistant, flexible, consumers understand how to soft etc. and redesign with a close the loop. sustainable mindset.

Sources: https://www.environmentalleader.com/2019/04/6-tips-for-eco-friendly-dtc-e-commerce-packaging/ https://www.zaproo.com/sustainable-ecommerce-packaging/ Click Here to View the Full White Paper Learning Share: Amazon APASS and E-commerce Packaging

With upwards of 1.92 billion ecommerce buyers in 2019, it’s no surprise that ecommerce packaging is under the spotlight; with Amazon driving expectation. Adept Packaging’s E-commerce experts, Cindy Diamse and Michael Heath presented our July Learning Share on Ecommerce and Amazon Packaging Certification. As the goals of ecommerce packaging differ than that of traditional packaging, it's important to work with a team of experts who understands and accounts for those differences when developing and testing packaging.

Click below to get more information on Amazon’s Frustration Free Packaging Program and how to properly package for the E-commerce market! E-Commerce Damage: Why Packaging Matters

Designing packaging specifically for the booming E-commerce market is essential. With up to 15 additional touchpoints in the distribution environment, E-commerce packaging requires more robust, tailored packaging than that which sits on the shelves at your local Walmart.

Understanding the requirements of your product when experiencing hazards like compression, shock, vibration, and atmospheric conditions are paramount to design a package that ensures the product arrives without damage.

Overlooking the additional touchpoints, methods of transport, packaging handlers, storage, etc. when moving from a traditional distribution environment to E-commerce will often leave the product and brand reputation damaged.

Holiday E-commerce Challenges With the increase in E-commerce sales due to the holidays, trucks are packed with boxes en route to the doorsteps of anxiously awaiting shoppers. During 2018, holiday E-commerce shoppers spent $126 billion, up 16.5% from 2017. With 55% of all sales taking place online, package handlers experience a much higher volume of deliveries.

Between trying to fit as many packages on a truck as possible and rushing to get them all delivered on time, it’s no surprise that damage rates increase as well, especially in packaging not designed for the E- commerce distribution environment.

E-commerce Nightmare For example, at Adept Group, we ordered tumblers for our associates from a promotional merchandiser for holiday gifts. (Pictured below) To give you an idea of the product composition, these tumblers have a stainless-steel exterior; glass insert and plastic top.

What would have been a beautiful gift for our associates turned into four boxes of shattered glass, a panicked phone call, an extremely compressed shipping timeline and a lot of rework for the promotional company.

The Damage Our products arrived in four double-walled corrugated boxes with obvious compression damage. When we picked them up to move them, the sound of shattered glass was evident. Separated by single- walled corrugated dividers, the glass insert of 56 of 100 tumblers was in pieces at the bottom of the box, rendering them unusable.

Without the dividers being strong enough to keep the box from compressing, and no padding to absorb any of that pressure, the force of whatever packages were piled on top of the box crushed all of the glass that stuck out above the stainless-steel exterior. This presented several problems: • We’ve been forced to delay shipping gifts to our associates, as we wait for the new shipment to arrive • The opportunity for shipping gifts to our associates across the globe in Italy before the holidays is quickly closing. • This compressed timeline increases shipping costs for us to attempt to get gifts to associates before the holidays. • The damaged products caused a production loss of four associates for 2 hours, as we went through the boxes to determine the number of broken tumblers, cleaned up the broken glass and washed the products that were not broken to ensure our associates do not consume glass particles once they receive their gifts. • We were covered in piercing glass particle and had to move and dispose of four boxes littered in shards of glass. There were more than a few minor cuts and pokes. • Correspondence with the promotional company involved their quality assurance department, resolutions team, our direct contact, and 3 other people; as well as 2 calls and 29 emails to get this rectified. When the cost is calculated, the price of a damaged brand reputation is the highest. Due to this experience, there’s a high likelihood that we won’t be ordering from this particular company in the future.

Suggestions for a Redesign This mishap could have been avoided had they used packaging that was designed for their specific distribution environment and considered the rigors the products must withstand during E-commerce shipping. We enlisted our design expert to provide some suggestions that he would make to decrease the likelihood of damage for these products:

Outer Carton: Upgrade the material specification for the corrugated to 44ect BC flute with specific liner and medium specifications that can withstand a single parcel shipment.

Interior partitions: • Upgrade the material specification for the corrugated to 44ect C flute with specific liner and medium specifications that can withstand a single parcel shipment. This will add the correct buffer between cups and eliminate glass to glass contact. • It’s important to maintain the caliper thickness on the partitions between glasses to keep a snug fit and isolate movement. • Raise the height of the partitions slightly to reach the top of the glass lip. • Eliminate any chance for the glass portion of the cup to make glass to glass contact. Improved partitions will help with this.

Add an interior top pad: This will allow the glass to compress into the pad, both restricting movement and reducing or eliminating impact and compression damage.

Negative Impacts When damage occurs in E-commerce, it presents unique challenges. With the shipping package being the first point of contact with a consumer, a damaged package can impact brand perception; whereas a damaged product will. Not only does it harm the brand reputation, but it causes frustration, time loss, extra effort, additional spend and frequently, loss of business. Designing for E-commerce If your company has a high damage rate or is just getting into the E-commerce market, consider leveraging an expert to design packaging to avoid these pitfalls.

Understanding the product needs, having visibility into the distribution environment, and having access to the materials and expertise needed to develop packaging that protects the product is pertinent for success in the E-commerce market.

For any questions regarding quality remediation or new package development for E-commerce, contact us. Our experts are happy to help.

For additional tips for designing E-commerce packaging, check out our white paper: Evolving Packaging for the Ecommerce Market in our resource library.

Follow-up (second shipment):

If you’re thinking, perhaps this shipping experience was an anomaly, you’d be wrong. The same company, shipped the same product, in the same packaging, through the same distribution environment, and guess what? We got the same result. Half of the tumblers in the second shipment were also damaged and unusable.

Long story short: Packaging matters. Design packaging for the E-commerce market with your product and distribution environment in mind to avoid loss of business and a destroyed brand reputation. Contact us for assistance! ENHANCING YOUR SKILLSET Staffing

To stay up to date, check out our library where we’ll be adding resources throughout 2020 Tips on How to Find Your Own Employees

At a time when unemployment is low and competition for talented employees is high, hiring can be diﬃcult. But the cost of a bad hire is greater than waiting for the right one. Here are some ideas on how to ﬁnd the people who align with your plans to grow and share your vision.

Ask Your Own Network of Industry Professionals People you have worked with over the years will know what traits you value in an employee, what skills are most important and what qualities drive you crazy and you wouldn’t hire. Your network will be able to speak to the kind of leader you are and how you manage. Hang Out with Candidates Online One of the best places to ﬁnd future employees is using the same resources as they do. Join blogs, forums and LinkedIn groups speciﬁc to the types of talent you are trying to attract. Look for user groups on Twitter or Facebook groups that appeal to your target audience.

Leverage Your Connections Ask your employees, customers and former colleagues for referrals. When appropriate, offer referral bonuses. Many times, this is less expensive and more targeted than a job board. Leverage Your Website Create a career page on your website to make jobs easily accessible and create an easy process to apply. Make certain your website is optimized for mobile since more and more candidates are viewing opportunities on their phones. Get the Word Out Never underestimate the power of networking. If you are hiring locally, talk to other local business owners and let them know you are hiring. They also have a network of contacts they can leverage on your behalf. Use Industry Specific Job Boards Increase your visibility by posting jobs in places where your target talent will see it. Many industries have industry or job specific posting sites that allow you to focus your search in specific areas. Use Social Media Social media is another way to not only get the word out to your network of contacts, but reach their contacts. Look at local Facebook groups, industry LinkedIn pages or just ask your friends and connections to share your posts with their connections. Grow Your Own Talent Consider creating internship programs as a way to add to your recruiting pipeline and invest in your company’s future. Many seniors and graduate students from colleges and universities welcome the opportunity to get real world experience and get an extra advantage over other graduates when entering the workforce. Go Back to College Many graduates stay connected to their college and university alumni centers and former professors and classmates. Build relationships with the professors and staff at local schools (or schools specific to your needs) to help identify up and coming talent. Participate in Career Fairs School or community career fairs are a great way to network and meet active job seekers. Almost like speed dating, career fairs allow you to interview multiple candidates in a short period of time. Use a Recruiter A truly skilled recruiter knows to ask about more than a college degree and years of The Adept Talent Team experience. They know to ask about what you Owned, operated and recruited by want that we won’t see on a resume. We know engineers, the agile team at Adept what drives and motivates candidates to make Talent will leverage our global a change and how you and your company can packaging pipeline to quickly help you align to meet those qualities. find the talent you’re looking for.

Whether you require knowledge of packaging materials or business processes, our recruiters can provide additional resources, speciﬁc expertise, or a complete packaging department, right when you need it.

While there are many approaches to finding your own employees, the best solution is to try multiple avenues to see what works best for you and your company’s needs. If all else fails, our team at Adept Talent sources packaging experts for the most iconic brands in the Food, Beverage, CPG and Life Sciences industries.

Contact us for assistance with ﬁnding the packaging talent you need: AdeptTalent www.adeptpackaging.com [email protected] +1.484.373.2504 ENGINEERING PACKAGING EXPERTISE INCREASE RESOURCE FLEXIBILTY: UTILIZE CONTRACT PACKAGING ENGINEERS

When it comes to department objectives, companies generally find themselves struggling with the same basic challenges: insufficient resources, lack of specific expertise or finding the right fit for the open position. Packaging engineering, among other professional occupations, is recognizing the advantages of temporary help to right size their departments, leverage expertise and maintain budgets while increasing productivity. Consider utilizing contract packaging engineers to:

Build a Variable Workforce Hiring contract packaging engineers allows companies to: Increase productivity for a defined duration Hire per project need Expand workforce as business increases

Minimize Risk Companies that specialize in providing contract packaging engineers have a number of internal programs and systems in place to lower and manage the risk of a placement not meeting expectations. A basic service delivery model for specialized staffing includes: Managerial oversight Recruitment and candidate selection Technical support Performance management A training program Using experienced service providers minimizes the risk of breaching co-employment laws.

Rightsize Cost Commitment Since there is no obligation to renew once the contract is completed, companies can keep a lean workforce when the budget is tight and hire when there is an influx in work or to meet a tight deadline. Not to mention, with contract packaging engineers, companies avoid paying for sick time, holidays, benefits and PTO.

Achieve Immediate Productivity Since most companies hire contract packaging engineers to engage a specific skill-set, these individuals require little training and are highly skilled in their area of expertise. Where an internal hire may need a few weeks or months of training to become productive, a contract employee allows for productivity to start immediately and often benefits the company by expanding the knowledge of the internal team.

Build an SME Repository Different projects require different levels, areas and depths of expertise. Hiring contract packaging engineers allows companies to build a repository of subject matter experts with different specialties and experience. As different projects arise, companies can hire those contractors from their repository to supplement the internal expertise. BENEFITS OF HIRING CONTRACT PACKAGING ENGINEERS PACKAGING HIRING CONTRACT BENEFITS OF Manage Resource Shortages and Increase Flexibility

Contract Packaging Engineers

Definition: With the volatility packaging departments A Contract Packaging Engineer is a professional experience as a result of new product launches, updated regulations, or new employed by an agency and contracted to a client. company initiatives, finding and maintaining They carry out the general responsibilities of a the right packaging resources is always a Packaging Engineer on behalf of, and under the challenge. supervision of the client.

Three important attributes of a Contract Often as challenges arise, ranging from Packaging Engineer are expertise, education insufficient resources, to limited skill set or and experience. time constraint, team leads will need to evaluate options to overcome their specific Expertise- proficiency in a range of packaging obstacles. Since often the resource needs will materials, components, processes and technologies. depend on the volume and expertise needed Education- degrees in Packaging Science, Packaging per project, hiring additional full time Engineering or related technical disciplines like associates isn’t an adequate solution. Material Science or Mechanical Engineering. Many companies are relying on the expertise and manpower of contract packaging engineers to increase productivity for a PRINCIPAL ENGINEER defined duration. SENIOR ntractors: A ENGINEER ENGINEER 1-4 5-12 12+ EXPERIENCE Contractors: A Credible Option In a 2018 poll, NPR noted that to date, 1 in 5 jobs in America is held by a contract worker, a number which may reach 50% in the next decade.

This number is expected to continue to rise due to the millennial preference for flexibility and the obvious benefit to employers. Driven by a confluence of economic, demographic and talent management strategies, the use of contractors is expanding to job functions where it was not used previously. Many professional technical jobs like Packaging Engineering are leveraging a contract workforce as a standard tool for talent management.

Employers have the flexibility to manage the available skill set and size of workforce to match the changing demands. In a dynamic field, contractors provide the adaptability necessary to bend and flex their workforce wherever the need arises.

Benefits of Partnering with a Company Specializing in Contract Packaging Engineers

As this trend continues and companies turn to staffing agencies to fulfill unique needs, they have the option of choosing a general staffing agency or a company that specializes in staffing for their specific industry.

In high-demand specialties such as Packaging Engineering, general or blended staffing agencies produce a large pool of applicants with a less refined skill set. This may work to fill general resource gaps, but often results in poor results when searching for a specific skillset. Without domain knowledge, general staffing companies are ill- equipped to assess a candidate’s capability beyond the presence of keywords in their profiles and resumes. This often results in subpar project results, dissatisfied clients and unmet goals.

Utilizing a company that specializes in Packaging Engineering has unique benefits. Empowered with domain knowledge and a broad and vetted network of professionals, the contractors recommended to clients tend to be well aligned with the technical requirements, organizational navigation proficiency and cultural fit of the hiring company. These candidates with well-matched technical and soft skills not only contribute to meeting the client’s goals and objectives, but also often transfer valuable knowledge. Utilizing a company that specializes in Contracting Packaging Engineers provides:

Domain Expertise Knowledge Transfer Reliable, Quick Results • Technical • A learning • Previously vetted Understanding of: environment for pool of contract o Function hiring company packaging engineers o Material • Varied areas of • Broad network of o Components domain expertise packaging engineers o Processes • Wealth/Depth of o Cultural knowledge and expectations experience • Ability to screen capabilities

These benefits position companies that specialize in staffing for packaging positions to provide better quality candidates, resulting in reduced risk and a higher probability of a successful placement.

Minimize Risk

Hiring a packaging engineer from a specialized Packaging Engineering company comes with the additional benefit of risk minimization. Companies that specialize in providing packaging engineers have a number of internal programs and systems in place to lower and manage the risk of a placement not meeting expectations. These individual elements aggregate into a larger service delivery framework that enables the staffing agency to consistently deliver a quality experience for their clients. A basic service delivery model for specialized staffing includes managerial oversight, technical support, a training program and performance management. These elements empower the client and the contract employee with the fundamental tools and support to fulfill their professional, technical and personal needs.

Flexibility is another key benefit of hiring Contract Packaging Engineers that considerably reduces risk. As budgets tend to shift during the course of a company’s commitment to a contractor, a specialized staffing company has the ability to Absorb client support these unforeseen decreases or increases in staffing budget levels. A general staffing company Risk volatility by cannot support a client’s aggregating changing budget needs mid- contract without adversely risk affecting the Contract Packaging Engineer. A Packaging Engineering company can absorb the volatility of individual clients by aggregating individual fluctuations across a multitude of clients and across a team of 50 or more Packaging Engineers. Lowering Client Obligations

Utilizing a Packaging Engineering staffing company can also help to rightsize the Clients financial obligation to match their needs and enabling the company to extract the most value out of every dollar spent.

Right Sizing Resource Demands

Time In the Packaging Engineering field, many demands that arise are project- based and require intermittent support of a specialized skill set and an ebb and flow of team size for the different project phases. As projects are time- sensitive and time-limited, a temporary team with capabilities tailored to the project phases reduces training time, increases flexibility and reduces overall financial commitment.

Partnering with Packaging Engineering Specialists All companies that have a hand in staffing will work to provide substantial results for their clients. The critical element that determines whether a placement is successful is the satisfaction of the client. Adept Talent is uniquely positioned, being owned, operated and recruited by packaging engineers. Our deep technical competence, expansive global network and pipeline of subject matter experts allows us to source the right candidate, quickly.

We’ve built a packaging pipeline of resources throughout the US and in Europe with skill sets designed to facilitate growth, spearhead new technology, enable compliance, and conquer complications throughout your packaging department. Whether you require knowledge of packaging materials or business processes, our agile team can provide additional resources, specific expertise, or a complete packaging department, right when you need it.

Discover why 8 of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies and 7 of the top 10 food, beverage, and CPG companies trust us to find the right talent for their teams.

As the need arises, depend on Adept Talent’s expertise to understand your needs and provide pertinent and timely resources to achieve your goals. https://adeptpackaging.com/adept-talent/ Sources:

Grasz, J. (2015). 2015 U.S Job Forecast. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://careerbuildercommunications.com/pdf/careerbuilder-q1-2015- forecast.pdf

Nicholson, J. R. (2015, July 1). Temporary Help Workers in the U.S. Labor Market. Retrieved July 26, 2016, from http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/temporary-help-workers-in-the-us-labor- market.pdf Leverage Contract Packaging Engineers to Supplement Your Team

With the volatility packaging departments experience as a result of new product launches, updated regulations, or new company initiatives, finding and maintaining the right packaging resources is always a challenge.

Achieving Year-End Objectives and Allocating Resources for Next Year As the 4th quarter approaches, we’ve noticed that many of our clients need additional help to complete their projects to hit their year-end objectives. Other clients are currently allocating resources for 2020 and noting that they may need additional bodies or expertise for their 2020 projects.

As these challenges arise, ranging from insufficient resources to limited skill set or time constraint, team leads are evaluating options to overcome their specific obstacles. Often the resource needs will depend on the volume and expertise needed for a specific project, so hiring additional full-time associates isn’t an adequate solution.

Most of the leading global companies in the Food, Beverage, CPG and Life Sciences industries are solving this problem in packaging by relying on the expertise and manpower of contract packaging engineers.

Benefits of Hiring Contract Packaging Engineers By hiring contract employees for a defined duration, they are able to minimize risk, add resources when their internal teams are at maximum capacity, and hire based on the expertise needed per project.

Usually when hiring for a highly focused industry, such as packaging engineering, utilizing a company that specializes in packaging engineering, rather than a general staffing company, produces much better results. Using a Company that Specializes in Staffing Packaging Engineers Adept Talent, which is owned, operated and recruited by packaging engineers, is able to provide deep technical competence, an expansive global network and a pipeline of subject matter experts, which allows us to source the right candidate, quickly.

Our global packaging pipeline has a diversity of skill sets designed to facilitate growth, spearhead new technology, enable compliance, and conquer complications throughout your packaging department.

If you’d like more information on leveraging contract packaging engineers to manage resource shortages and add flexibility, check out our white paper.

Owned, Operated and Recruited by Packaging Engineers If your packaging department requires additional knowledge of packaging materials or business processes, our agile team can provide additional resources, specific expertise, or a complete packaging department, right when you need it.

Contact our recruiting experts today! The Cost of a Bad Hire in the Packaging Industry

When looking to hire new talent, companies strive to find the best-suited candidates to fill their open positions, but unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes employees get hired who fail to perform, don’t meet expectations, or don’t fit into the company culture they’re being placed. When that happens, the cost of a bad hire can be staggering.

In specialized industries where expertise is in high demand, finding the right talent can be a challenge for recruiters; timelines are short, and qualified candidates are scarce. Often, finding someone in the packaging engineering industry that meets the educational and experiential requirements is only half the battle. The job type, location, travel requirements, and employer expectations also play a role in determining if the candidate is a good fit.

Calculating the Cost There are many different costs associated with hiring a new employee, from recruiting, to onboarding, to training. In each industry, costs pile up quickly, but in technical industries with high salary ranges, the cost of a new employee generally exceeds the average.

Consider the following variables:

 Number of days spent to fill the position  Hours spent to write and post job descriptions  Hours spent reviewing candidate resumes  Cost of advertisements and job boards  Cost of drug screening, assessment testing, and background checks  Amount of time spent onboarding  Cost of lost productivity  Days spent training the new employee  Benefits  Unemployment These costs increase if it’s a specifically difficult position to fill, if productivity losses are high, or if the hiring company spends a long time reviewing numerous resumes of less than qualified candidates.

The Cost of a Bad Hire in the Packaging Engineering Industry The Real Loss The real cost of a bad hire extends beyond money. While money is easy enough to make back, mending a tarnished brand reputation, recovering associated lost business, or rectifying a ruined client relationship is much harder to regain.

In addition to the impact on your clients, bad hires can have a detrimental effect on your team. When employees are part of a team that is driven to learn, collaborate and take pride in their work, their efficiency increases. The opposite is also true. Hiring an employee that can’t carry their weight and doesn’t mesh with your current team will decrease morale, which in turn leads to decreased productivity. Essentially, one bad hire can derail an entire project.

Why do bad hires happen? The number one cause of a bad hire is when companies are trying to fill a position quickly. Rather than spending the time vetting the candidates until they find someone qualified, they look to fill the position as fast as possible and end up with an employee that isn’t a good fit for that role.

Similarly, another main reason for a failed hire is that the recruiters or hiring company didn’t understand the employee’s skill set well enough. In a highly technical field like packaging engineering, this happens frequently to recruiters without a background in the packaging industry.

Leveraging the Right Recruiter Often when staffing for packaging engineering roles, general recruiting companies lack the industry- specific knowledge to be able to determine if the candidate is well suited for the position they are hiring for. They often produce a large pool of candidates that have few of the skills needed to succeed in the position. This prolongs the process, having companies weed through a large pile of partially qualified candidates, which ends up increasing the cost in the long run.

In specialized industries like packaging engineering, it’s exceedingly important to be able to do more than just check off boxes on a list to see if the candidate meets requirements. With the multitude of materials, components, processes, regulations, and industries within packaging engineering, it takes a recruiter that has experience with the industry to understand both the project requirements and the engineer’s capabilities.

In contrast, working with recruiters with a background in engineering will result in a small pool of highly qualified candidates; generating a much quicker process and much more aligned results candidate for the hiring company.

Importance of Hiring the Right Talent When you find an engineer that aligns to your project needs, it adds tremendous value to your packaging department, beyond that of the performance of that individual. Placing a candidate that fits into the culture you value and has the expertise your team was missing can increase morale, enable knowledge sharing and increase overall team productivity. Avoiding the Cost of a Bad Hire In order to avoid the high cost of hiring the wrong talent, consider using a recruiting company that knows the packaging industry. Recruiters, like ours at Adept Talent, have a background in engineering, so they’re familiar with the array of projects, skillsets and unique challenges encountered within the industry. They have a vetted pipeline of candidates with a diversity of expertise, which allows them to provide a concise pool of qualified candidates, quickly, significantly increasing the likelihood of a successful placement. Whether you’re in need of specific expertise or a complete packaging department, our team can provide the right resources, right when you need them. WORKING WITH THE BEST Recruiting

To stay up to date, check out our library where we’ll be adding resources throughout 2020 Interview Guide for Packaging Engineers

Whether you are actively or passively exploring new job opportunities, knowing how to prepare for an interview is a skill worth having. We have created a guide on how to prepare for your next interview; to ensure you walk in confident, prepared and ready to land that job.

The guideline and tips below are an effort to assist you with the process and help you effectively prepare for your interview. Remember interviewing is a skill and to do it well takes time and preparation.

1. Before the interview, spend some time on the employer’s website and research the company Before you go to the interview, make sure that you find out as much about the company as you can. Take the time to check out the company’s website, LinkedIn profile, and other social media channels. Read about the company, their clients, and their products or services. Your goal here isn’t just to learn about what they do, but learn about how they see themselves.

Understanding a company’s culture is important to know what they value, how they work, and how well you’ll fit into it. The information gathered from the website is useful to know, because if that understanding is reflected in your conversation in the interview, you’ll come across as if you “get” them.

The more you understand about the context they work in, the better you’ll be able to tailor your answers in a way that will be relevant to them.

2. Dig into the job description The job description usually contains a lot of useful information; therefore it is very important to spend time going through it line by line and thinking about how your experience and skills are needed to excel at the job. In particular, for each responsibility or qualification listed, try to come up with concrete examples from your past that you can point to as supporting evidence that you’d be great at the job.

For example, similar challenges that you’ve faced and how you tackled them, as well as particular successes you’ve had that you can tie back to what it will take to succeed in this role.

3. Practice your “About Me” Overview The question, “So tell me about yourself” is inevitable. When putting together your answer to this question, think about your top three professional strengths and form your overview around those. Make sure to include highlights from your previous positions, why you are interested in a new opportunity and the skills you can provide an employer.

As a rule, this is generally about two minutes long. Don’t only think about professional strengths, but who are you as a person and what values do you hold that make you a strong candidate?

Since expertise is so highly valued in the Packaging industry, come up with a list of materials, components, processes, and technologies you have experience with. Check out our hiring checklist for a useful list of areas of expertise to help you build out yours.

4. Write down the questions you’re likely to be asked, and practice saying your answers out loud One of the best ways to prepare for your interview is to practice. Try to answer some common interview questions such as: Why are you thinking about leaving your current job? What interests you about this opening? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What experience do you have?

Specifically, for the packaging industry, employers will want to know what industries you have worked within, what materials you have experience working with and the role you played in the different projects you’ve worked on.

Figure out how you’ll answer and practice saying those answers out loud. Doing this kind of reflection and practice ahead of time should make a significant difference in how polished and confident you appear when you’re talking to your interviewer.

5. STAR Interview Format In preparation for your interview, research the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) interviewing technique to help assist with the interview process. Have 3 to 4 projects that you can quickly talk about to showcase your experience. Think of a situation similar to what the interviewer is asking you about that had a successful outcome.

Remember to give a concise description of what the situation was you were working on solving. Explain the specific challenges you faced in completing the task. Give highlights on the action steps you specifically needed to take to get the job done. Finally, give a summary of the results you achieved. Often in interviews, the interviewer will question you about a project you felt could have been improved upon or failed. This is a great time to reevaluate projects you’d do differently if you had another chance at them. Approach this thought process the same way you think about your success stories.

6. Find out the type of Interview you will be going on There are several common types of interviews such as one-on-one, group and behavioral. You shouldn’t assume you will get a certain one. Don’t be afraid to ask, so you can be prepared.

7. Prepare several questions for the Interviewer Develop questions that you really want to know when you imagine going to work at this job every day. Asking questions during an interview shows your interest in learning more about the company and you want as much information as possible before making a decision to accept an offer.

Examples of questions you might ask: What are the biggest challenges the person in this position will face? Can you describe a typical day or week in the position? What would a successful first year in the position look like? How will the success of the person in this position be measured? What kind of packaging projects will I be exposed to? What is the opportunity for expanding my expertise?

Since there are different types of employment options within the packaging industry, (project-based vs full-time employment, on-site vs remote) make sure you understand the type of engagement you’re interviewing for and what that entails.

It’s normal for job candidates to write out these questions and take them to the interview to reference.

8. Prep for Your Interview If you get nervous before interviews, it can help to remember that the employer almost certainly thinks you’re qualified for the role, or they would not be interviewing you. The goal is to give a good interview that shows why you’d excel at the job and what you’d be like to work with every day.

Prep Your Outfit Get your interview outfit ready as early as possible, so you can concentrate on the interview and not on your outfit. Wear something that is professional and makes you feel your best. Make sure you try it on ahead of time, just to make sure everything fits.

Come Prepared and Know Where You’re Going Print and bring with you some extra copies of your resume and a list of your references, just in case the interviewer asks for it. Bring a notepad and two pens so you’re ready to complete paperwork or take notes. Allow enough time to get there and anticipate traffic.

Bring the phone number of your interviewer just in case you get lost or are going to be late. It’s also a good idea to go for a visit before the interview so that you are familiar with your route and how long you need to give yourself to get there. Check out parking, as you don’t want to arrive and find out there is no place to park your car. Agenda You should have an agenda and hopefully the names of those who you will be interviewing with. Perform some due diligence. Dig into each of the interviewer’s profiles on LinkedIn. Get to know them to the best of your ability.

Avoid Distractions Mute your phone or other technology. Turn off alarms that may be on your watch. Leave food, cigarettes and other items not necessary for the interview in your car or at home.

9. Follow Up with a Thank You Note Follow up a job interview with a thank you note reiterating your interest in the job. Restate why you want the job, what your qualifications are and how you might make significant contributions. Email is an acceptable way to send a thank-you note but make certain each person you engage with receives their own.

At Adept Talent, our recruiters have interviewed hundreds of candidates for the packaging industry and had the pleasure of placing engineers at some of the most renowned Food, Beverage, CPG and Life Sciences companies in the world. If you’re interested in working on packaging that has a big impact, check out our open positions. Interview Guide for Packaging Engineers Checklist

About the Company:

 Research the company. Check out the employer’s website, LinkedIn profile, and other social media channels.  Read about their company, clients, products and services.  Learn about how they see themselves and their company culture  Dig into the job description and think about how your skills align with that of the position About the Candidate (You):

 Practice your “About Me” Overview. Think about your top three professional strengths and form your overview around those.  Don’t only think about professional strengths, but who are you as a person and what values do you hold that make you a strong candidate?  Come up with a list of materials, components, processes and technologies you have experience with  Use the STAR technique. When preparing for the interview, have 3-4 projects that you can quickly talk about to showcase your experience. o Situation- give a concise explanation of the problem you were trying to solve. o Task- explain the specific challenges you faced in completing the task. o Action- give highlights on the action steps you took to get the job done. o Results- give a summary of the results you achieved. About the Interview:

 Write down the questions you’re likely to be asked, and practice saying your answers out loud. o Why are you leaving your current job? o What interests you about this position? o What are your strengths and weaknesses? o What experience do you have? o What industries have you worked in? o What materials do you have experience with? o What role did you play in the projects you’ve worked on? o What’s your greatest achievement? o How do you handle stress? o Why should we hire you?  Find out the type of interview you’ll be going on, such as one-on-one, group, or behavioral.  Prepare several questions for the interviewer. o What are the biggest challenges the person in this position will face? o Can you describe a typical day or week in the position? o What would a successful first year in the position look like? o How will the success of the person in this position be measured? o What kind of packaging projects will I be exposed to? o What is the opportunity for expanding my expertise?  Understand the type of employment this position entails. (project-based, on-side, remote) During the Interview:

 Come prepared and know where you’re going. Print out and bring extra copies of your resume and a list of references.  Bring a notepad and 2 pens so you’re ready to complete paperwork or take notes.  Bring the phone number of your interviewer in case you get lost or will be late.  Prepare your outfit. Dress one step above the atmosphere in the office.  Avoid distractions. Mute your phone. Turn off alarms that may be on your watch. Leave food, cigarettes, and other items that aren’t necessary for the interview in your car.  Follow up with a thank you note  PACE Yourself o Pause to think about the question o Acknowledge the question by saying something like “that’s an interesting question” o Clarify the question if you aren’t sure o Engage in an answer by giving your response Remember:

The employer almost certainly thinks you’re qualified for this role or they wouldn’t be interviewing you. The goal is to give a good interview that shows why you’d excel at the job and what you’d be like to work with every day.

Adept Talent Owned, operated and recruited by engineers, our team has placed hundreds of engineers, helping to build the packaging teams of some of the most iconic brand owners in the Food, Beverage, CPG and Life Sciences industries. If you’re looking to change job roles, or need assistance staffing the top talent. Contact our talent team today!

www.adeptpackaging.com | +1.484.373.2504 | [email protected] Learning Share: Interview Guide for Packaging Engineers

No matter what level you're at in your career, interviewing can be a nerve-racking process. Whether you're being interviewed or doing the interviewing, it helps to be prepared for the tough questions. Adept Talent’s recruiting expert, Alicia Sinay presented on How to Handle Tough Questions While Interviewing during our November Learning Share.

Click below to get more insight on handling tough interview questions! A Guide for the Interviewer: Asking the Right Questions

For most corporate employees, interviewing job candidates is not part of their job description. For those who are tasked with that job, it is usually a very small and infrequent portion of their job responsibilities. Because of that, most people do not know how to conduct good interviews or how to ask questions to solicit the information they need to make an informed hiring decision. This guide, designed for the interviewer, offers tips to help you ask the questions to get the answers you’re looking for.

Preparation First and foremost, you need to prepare for the interview. Ideally, before you reach the interview phase of the hiring process, your potential candidates have been vetted for the minimum job qualifications and education. The purpose of the interview is to further qualify the candidate against the job performance expectations, the requirements of the role and the suitability of the candidate to fit the team and company’s culture and environment.

Be Aware of Restrictions Begin by making certain you are aware of any legal or company restrictions. Check with your Human Resources or Legal department to help avoid any questions related to topics that could be discriminatory in nature such as questions of race, sex, color, national origin or religion. Make yourself aware of any company or industry-specific policies or state and city laws to avoid.

Inform the Candidate about You & The Company Remember that the candidate is making a decision about whether they want to work for you as well. Take time to write out a brief pitch about you, the team, the company and the role you are looking to fill. This will not only serve to help break the ice and put the applicant at ease but help them to get more interested in the job opportunity.

Set an Agenda Set an agenda to help you stay on schedule and cover all of the information both you and the applicant are hoping to during the interview. Prior to the interview, clearly communicate the date and time of the interview, who will be involved and the format of the interview so the candidate can prepare.

Prepare Your Questions Next prepare a written list of questions. It is vitally important that you ask your questions of each candidate in the same order and format. This will not only allow you to give an apples to apples comparison of each candidate but will limit potential conflicts or impropriety.

To help structure your questions, start by determining the top 5 or 6 key requirements of the role such as knowledge of specific technology, equipment or methodology.

Craft Open-Ended Questions Create open-ended questions such as ones that begin with “why”, “how”, “what” or “describe.” This will yield more detailed answers than closed-ended questions. Your purpose is to obtain a balanced picture of the applicant’s qualifications and job motivation without prompting applicants to produce responses that they think you want to hear.

Phrase Questions to Gain Insight A good way to phrase a question about a specific skillset is to say, “How does your experience qualify you for this job?” This will not only test that the candidate has done their homework, but give them the opportunity to share their skillset. You might also ask a question such as “Describe your experience with ____ software.”

Think Beyond Their Insight In addition to job requirements, you might need to learn more about how a candidate will respond to your culture. Ask open-ended questions such as “How did you handle meeting a tight deadline?” Or “Give us some examples demonstrating how you’ve reacted to pressure situations.”

Track Their Answers Finally, develop a form to help take notes and keep track of the candidate responses to each question. Having this ready ahead of time will allow you to focus on the answers, and to go back and compare them to other candidates if you have a difficult decision to make.

Conducting the Interview Make sure you are on time and have reviewed the candidate’s resume and any additional notes before the interview. This not only demonstrates your interest in them but will help keep everyone on schedule. Start the interview by building rapport to help put the candidates at ease and feel confident before asking your questions.

Prompt the Questions After you have asked your questions, allow the candidate to ask questions of you. This will not only give you additional opportunities to sell the candidates on your job opening, but allow you to evaluate their listening and questioning skills. Inform about Next Steps Finally, inform the candidate that the interview is over and what the next steps will be in the process, including any additional steps you need the candidate to take, such as providing references or completing any assessment testing.

Your Most Valuable Resource In any company, success or failure depends almost entirely on the quality of the team. Remember that when as you conduct your interviews. Someone with less experience, but a tenacity to learn might add more value than someone with a robust resume that seems resistant to new ideas.

If you need any assistance finding quality candidates, building your packaging team, or have an especially difficult to fill position, don’t hesitate to contact our recruiters. Is Packaging Consulting Right for You?

Insights into what Keeps Packaging Consultants Happy with Their Career Choice Often in the media, independent consulting and full-time employment are compared on a technical basis, outlining risks and benefits of each job type, but it is never considered what it is about independent consulting at an intrinsic level that moves people towards it.

What is it about consulting that allows consultants to satisfy their needs and motivates them? We have found that independent consultants almost unanimously value flexibility above all other factors when considering a position. They have a strong preference toward control over their own schedules, working only on projects they are passionate about and prefer to be in roles where they are hands-on, leveraging their expertise.

Where traditional full-time roles don’t generally meet those criteria, there is a third option. Becoming a subcontractor allows for a merging of both the security and benefits of a full time, permanent position, with the flexibility and control of an independent consultant position.

Subcontracting as a packaging consultant allows experts to become a permanent part of a team; gaining the training, collaboration and steady project pipeline a regular employee would enjoy, yet still giving them the freedom to work on the projects they’re passionate about, explore diverse challenges in different industries, maintain their desired work-life balance and leverage the same flexibility independent consultants value so tremendously.

In order to determine if consulting and subcontracting satiates the values of packaging engineers, Adept Packaging has interviewed our extensive network of packaging consultants and subcontractors, many of whom have transitioned from being full-time employees at corporations to consultancy, to see what motivates and satisfies them. These results can be leveraged to:

 Determine whether being a packaging consultant is a good fit for your personality and preferences  Help drive the best service from a consultant if you use them in your packaging department  Decide whether you are better suited to joining a larger consultancy company as a subcontractor or staying independent

The data contained in this report identifies what motivates a packaging consultant, keeps them satisfied in their position, and what they look for in business relationships and client engagements. If you’re interested in joining a packaging consultancy, compare how you’d respond to the upcoming questions to see if this is a good opportunity for you.

How do you describe your working style? Often in the media, independent consulting and full-time employment are compared on a technical basis, outlining risks and benefits of each job type, but it is never considered what it is about independent consulting at an intrinsic level that moves people towards it. Packaging consultants are predominately doers. Doers execute. They are detail oriented and are focused on tackling issues and executing projects. This can be exactly the quality that a client is looking for when hiring a consultant. They want someone to come in and focus on driving project results. Sometimes though, doers have to remember to look up once in a while to communicate with their team and stakeholders.

Packaging consultants are also leaders. They are able to create a vision and inspire others. This is a critical quality for packaging consultants that are helping leading teams to accomplish the tremendous initiatives driving packaging today; such as sustainability, eCommerce and connected packaging strategies. These strategies require forward, innovative thinkers that are able to showcase the importance and relevance of these topics to their team members for buy-in.

What amount of experience do consultants generally have?

Consultancy in the packaging industry is often seen as a role for experts towards the end of their career. Our survey shows that is not always the case. The largest represented age group is 35 to 44-year-olds. These are people that have gained valuable experience in a specific subject matter over 12 years of their career and have made the move to consultancy. The more experienced age bracket is well represented in our survey, and a significantly younger age bracket is also well represented. This 21 – 34-year-old age group has recognized the benefits of consultancy earlier in their career, normally through an agency rather than as an independent consultant. How much can a packaging consultant earn?

As we will see in our survey, monetary compensation is not the biggest driver for a packaging consultant. That is not to say that compensation isn’t an important factor. 25% of our respondents reported earning over $150,000 in a year which is a little higher than the average compensation for a Principal Packaging Engineer. A large percentage of respondents were on the lower end of the pay spectrum which is reflective of the high number of consultants that are still in the earlier stages of their career. What inspires consultants to continually drive for success?

Being a consultant allows for freedom and flexibility that can’t often be obtained when working for an organization such as a supplier or a brand owner where typical business times are important drivers for daily activities. In contrast, consultants are assigned objectives and have expectations for deliverables. How those objectives and deliverables are achieved is up to the consultant. Therefore, within obvious limitations, work hours and engagements can be whenever is convenient. Eliminating a daily drive to an office is also a huge bonus for those looking to maximize their productivity and efficiency.

Learning is also a huge driver for consultants. Unsurprisingly, packaging consultants are a curious bunch. Continuous learning is equally important to them as flexibility. In contrast to independent consultants, who need to find their own avenues to continued learning, consultants are provided numerous knowledge-building opportunities through project variety, training, and knowledge sharing with a team of experts, as well as exposure to a diversity of materials, processes, components, procedures, and industries. What Makes a Consultant Happy?

Similar to the previous question, consultants also derive satisfaction from the same elements that drive them toward success. The flexibility of work allows for a good work/life balance and continual learning is stimulating and allows for continued growth.

In addition to those two factors, it is important for a consultant to have a steady pipeline of projects. For independent consultants, engagements and opportunities are limited, so being able to develop a pipeline of business brings a high level of comfort. When acting as a consultant, our recruiting team does a lot of the relationship building and opportunity identifying that would generally fall on an independent consultant, to ensure for a steady workflow of projects. What aspects of work assignments are most important to you?

Consultants are, by definition, experienced, knowledgeable and analytical people who are called upon to leverage their expertise to solve problems others cannot, which makes it no surprise that this aspect of a job assignment has proven to be the most important, overall.

Another factor when viewing a work assignment that rates high in importance is available learning opportunities. Though this area isn’t something independent contractors are guaranteed, it shows to be very important when considering, work assignments, drive for success, as well as happiness. As a consultant, continual learning is integral with the position, and opportunities for training and exposure to an experienced team and diversity of expertise allow subcontractors to draw from their surroundings for continual growth, both in depth and breadth of expertise. What is the Most Important Outcome of a Business Relationship?

There are three things a consultant is looking for when cultivating their business relationships. They are looking to ensure the engagements are interesting and satisfying, that it provides the flexibility they need, and, of course, that it brings the expected level of compensation. What Are You Looking for in Your Next Career?

Like many people, consultants want to continually improve and evolve. Many consultants haven’t quite found the right flexibility to satisfy their need for a healthy home and work-life balance, and are striving to find that in their next engagement. Others are looking to use their wealth of experience and knowledge to improve other lives. A consultant has the opportunity to do this by sharing knowledge and helping packaging departments meet goals and objectives. Is Consulting Right for You?

As we recap the elements that packaging consultants find important and compare them to other aspects such as their working style, we start to see some conflicts arise. For example, packaging consultants are doers; they like to get work done, but at the same time they have a need to develop relationships with their clients to ensure additional work is continually generated. They also have a need for continual learning to make them happy, but the learning experience doesn’t always necessarily come from the work engagement.

The overriding elements for a packaging consultant are flexibility and freedom to give them a good balance between their working life and their home life. At the same time, they want to be seen to be making a difference to the organizations they are engaged with, and they want to continually improve their compensation. Making a difference and improving pay takes hard work that certainly impacts the ability to maintain the work and home life balance. So, how does a packaging consultant obtain all these things that they are striving for when there are contradictions and obstacles to their goals? One approach is to team with an organization such as Adept Packaging. Adept is a team of packaging engineers working together to make an impact on our clients and in society. Many of our associates are former independent consultants who have come to recognize the benefits offered to a consultant by a well-established agency. Those benefits include:

 We are able to ensure the flexibility and freedom that consultants require.  We provide continual learning through our training programs and a diverse mix of project types.  The ability to let a doer maintain focus on the project work while Adept management takes care of the leadership requirements and client relationship management. Only 10% of the Adept workforce is office based. The remainder of our full time and subcontracted workforce is based at their home office. That freedom allows our associates to be more productive and gives them more time to spend on things that are important to them. Though we have a largely virtual workforce, we have a management structure and work teams that ensure associates have a sense of belonging and can rely on their colleagues for expert advice when needed.

The Adept team also has well-developed marketing and sales teams, and a sophisticated account management program. We can take care of the business development activities so consultants can do what they do best; execute projects and solv.e problems. Compensation is always recognized as important, so Adept also has a program for rewarding associates that are helping business growth by bringing clients and opportunity.

Adept Packaging has a proven record of partnering with independent packaging consultants and transitioning them to subcontracting to provide them the advantages and benefits that make them satisfied and successful. This relationship allows both our subcontractors and our clients are to benefit. We work with the best, attracting talented experts that are motivated to deliver at exceedingly high levels on client engagements.

If these results are similar to what you’re looking for, a career in consulting is right for you.

Are you ready to join us? Advice from and for Women in Packaging Engineering

On a day like Women’s Equality Day, revisiting the gender imbalance in STEM career fields takes the spotlight here at Adept Packaging. Despite the movement to get more females involved in these important fields, there is still a tremendous gender gap. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, women represent fewer than 14% of the labor force for the architecture and engineering field. As a company built on the expertise and experience of engineers, Adept Packaging’s leadership team is comprised of 60% women, but that number drops to 35% when we look at the company as a whole. We’d love to close the gender gap further and fill some of our open positions with talented women entering the packaging engineering field. To support this action, we thought it might be beneficial for women considering this elite career to hear from our successful female engineers on what kind of advice they would offer to other women joining the packaging engineering field.

Amy Schupbach - Packaging Engineer II Ladies, if you have recently completed a degree in Packaging Engineering, you must always remember that YOU ARE AMAZING! In a quick search on Google I was able to find several websites that listed Engineering as the most difficult college degree to obtain.

When you enter the workforce for your first Packaging Engineering job you need to keep in mind that you chose a very unique field when you decided to become a Packaging Engineer. Many of your colleagues might not have any idea about some of the basic Packaging Engineering concepts that you understand. Use every opportunity that you can to your advantage and teach those colleagues some of the things that you know about Packaging. The more that you share your unique expertise, opinions, and knowledge, the quicker those associates will see you as their “go-to” person for anything packaging related. Head out there and earn the respect that you deserve. Don’t be afraid to be bold!

Nicole Fick - Packaging Engineer II There’s nothing wrong with being a boss. Own your opinions and leverage your knowledge to help drive positive change. Always fight for what you believe in and never let your past define you. You’ll be surprised what you can achieve if you’re willing to set goals and not only accept but enact change. Jessica Southerland- Senior Manager, Packaging Development Never let the engineering environment intimidate you. You provide insight and knowledge needed to make an impact on the future of packaging.

Cindy Diamse- Director of Food, Beverage and CPG Get your feet wet in everything. In the packaging world, there are so many areas that you will be exposed to and may eventually want to focus on as you grow your career. As part of your responsibilities, you may be asked to participate in design sessions, manage a line trial at a plant, create packaging specifications, research sustainable packaging, develop internal processes…and the list goes on! Whether exciting or tedious, make sure you appreciate every experience, as it will only give you more data points in shaping the career you desire. Also, don’t forget to build relationships along the way; some of them will last your career lifetime.

Jan Gates- Vice President Client Solutions “Be patient” but remember the saying from Laurel Thatcher Ulrich: “Well behaved women seldom make history.”

Isabel Valero Iglesias- Program Manager As a woman engineer, I would advise that you follow your instincts, study what you like and be aware of your unique capabilities. Every single person has their own path and there is no way that you compare with others. Engineering is not only a technical career, is about strategic thinking, optimal solutions, innovation and having a holistic view of a problem, paired with tons of common sense and passion. Be unique!

If you’re just getting into engineering, or it’s something you haven’t made your mind up about yet, we’ve got some resources that might be able to help. Check out our resource library to see some of the kinds of projects our packaging engineers tackle. If you’re interested in learning in real-time, consider attending our monthly Learning Shares where a subject matter expert teaches the audience about a hot topic in the packaging world.

The packaging engineering field is lead by intelligent, driven, ambitious professionals that influence major brand packaging with their creativity and expertise. At Adept Packaging, we couldn’t be more thankful for the brilliant women who consistently raise the bar and lead our team to excellence.

If our award-winning culture seems like something you’d like to be a part of, check out our open positions. THE DIFFERENCE Role Comparison

At Adept Group there are two different types of employment. This graphic was designed to help you understand the difference between W2 employees vs 1099 Subcontractors.

W2 Associate 1099 Subcontractor Works for the Adept Group as a Works for the Adept Group on a permanent, long-term employee. project by project basis.

TAXES DEDUCTED FILES OWN FROM PAYCHECK PAYROLL TAXES

ADEPT WILL SUPPLY SUPPLIES OWN EQUIPMENT EQUIPMENT

ELIGIBLE FOR ALL ELIGIBLE FOR LIMITED ADEPT BENEFITS ADEPT BENEFITS

PAYCHECK EVERY SUBMITS INVOICES 2 WEEKS FOR PAYMENT Which Industry Fits You Best? Packaging Engineering Consulting

Becoming a packaging engineer comes with many choices. One of the more important ones is choosing to work in an industry that fits the engineer’s personality. Some of our engineers that have experienced working in multiple industries thought it would be beneficial to provide an overview of each to help make the choice easier for engineers entering the field or considering a change.

Consumer Packaged Goods Industry Life Sciences Industry

Smaller Project Larger Project Teams Teams

Accelerated Time Multiple Year to Market Project Duration

Rapid Reaction Cautious to Consumer Approach Due Trends to Regulatory Requirements

Experience with High Level of Detail Many Diﬀerent on Speciﬁc Packaging Types Packaging Types

Dynamic Workload Focused Workload

Still not sure? Work for Adept Packaging & Try Them All When working for a Packaging Engineering Consultancy like Adept Packaging, engineers don’t have to choose. Because we have global clients in the Life Science, CPG and Food and Beverage industries, our associates have the option of experiencing all three industries to see which fits them best.

Adept Packaging believes that packaging is more than a container-- it’s a powerful vehicle, connecting iconic brands to consumers, safely transporting life-saving medicines and protecting the food and drinks we consume every day.

Adept is the leading expert for packaging engineering and serialization, providing teams with flexible, scalable service through staffing, engineering services, business processes and technology. Our portfolio of accelerators and products capture and create value from packaging. Best Practices for Different Methods of Interviewing

As remote work continues to increase, and global teams are managed from a single headquarters, the way companies interact is evolving. With software that removes barriers to communication, the way that interviews are conducted is changing as well.

There are many different types of interviewing formats that might be used to conduct your interview. Whether on the telephone, face to face, with a panel of interviewers, via video/skype or over a meal; understanding the differences between each interview format and how to adequately prepare for those differences will set you apart from the other candidates.

We have some useful tips for each common interview format that will help you prepare and make a positive impact.

One-on-One Interview Live, face to face interviews are the most common interview interaction. Ensure your nonverbal and verbal communication is focused, positive, and results-oriented. The more you practice, troubleshoot, and improve, the more you will succeed.

• Plan to arrive onsite at least 30 minutes ahead of schedule. This is imperative! You will be early enough to absorb any unforeseen delays and prevent unnecessary stress. • Do not go into the lobby 30 minutes early. It’s frustrating to know someone is waiting for you. Walk-in no more than 15 minutes ahead of your initial appointment. This should allow you to get signed in and taken care of by the receptionist or by security. • Your interview begins the second you walk in the door. Treat everyone with respect. Be courteous. Be amiable. Enjoy yourself. • Look people in the eye, give a firm handshake, and smile!2. Dig into the job description • The job description usually contains a lot of useful information, therefore it is very important to spend time going through it line by line and thinking about how your experience and skills are needed to excel at the job. Phone Interview Preparing for a phone interview is just as important, if not more so than face to face interviews. Many companies choose to conduct initial interviews via the phone, so preparation and practice are key to succeeding in this style of interview.

Setup: • Set up the phone interview at a time that works for you. i.e. Don’t sneak out on your lunch break and rush through the discussion because you’re afraid you’ll get caught. Rushing will make the interviewer feel as if it isn’t important to you. • Make sure you are in a quiet place and will not be interrupted. No dogs barking, no colleagues popping into your office. However, if something does happen, make light of it and keep it humorous. Personality goes a long way. • Dress up even though you don’t have to: o You will feel more professional. o You will take the interview more seriously. • Have a glass of water handy. • Have your important documents and whatever else you might need in front of you because the interviewer can hear you gather things during the interview. • Ideally, it’s great to be in front of your computer. This will allow quick access, should the need arise. • If the call quality is not good, let the interviewer know right away. Not hearing the questions or the critical insight that is being said can lead to a bad impression. • Try to be hands-free if possible. Use a headset or Bluetooth if you have one. If you are using a Bluetooth device, make sure it is charged. • Be ready about 15 minutes ahead of time. Some managers like to catch people by being a few minutes early. • Don’t be too concerned if the call is five minutes late. People are busy and can get delayed, especially if they have back to back meetings. If the call is over ten minutes late, don’t hesitate to reach out to the person leading the interview or the company directly. • Smile when you would normally smile in a live interview. Interviewers can hear a smile and it enhances the interview experience. • Use inflection in your voice. A monotone speaker makes for a dull interview.

Panel Interview If you are interviewing with two or more interviewers at the same time, you can employ a few additional strategies:

• Focus on the person asking the question to ensure you fully understand what they’re asking. When you answer, however, look at all interviewers in the room (even if they are not speaking). Use the lighthouse approach: just as a lighthouse’s light scans from side to side, do the same with your eye contact and connect with everyone in the room. • Conduct as many mock interviews as possible because your skills will improve with each attempt. Practice and helpful critiques for improvement cannot be emphasized enough. Practice also will help you strengthen your performance significantly, thus helping you succeed in either gaining a second-round interview or getting an offer.

Videoconference or Skype Interview Video or Skype interviews have begun to replace or supplement in-person interviews. The following are some tips and strategies to help both the interviewer and the candidate make the best first impression:

• Be familiar with the technology being used for the interview. Make sure to download the program ahead of time and complete a test run with a friend, it’s better to work on the technical kinks on the front end before starting the interview. • When answering questions, look into the camera instead of looking at the person on the screen. If you look at the camera, your eyes will meet the eyes of the person on the other end of the computer, making for a better connection. • Be mindful of your background and lighting. Make sure to put yourself in an area with little to no background noise and be mindful of potential interruptions. Don’t position yourself in front of a window, often that will make you appear as a dark shadow. Remember, it’s a video and not a phone interview because they want to see your face. • Adjust the camera ahead of time. You want the camera to show your head, shoulders, and hands. Posture is very important, as it is with all interviews, but especially in a videoconference because the interviewer will see you from the shoulders up. • Dress for Success – Dress for a video interview the same way you would if you were meeting the person in the office.

Meal Interview No matter where an interview takes place, it is still an interview. If a potential employer decides to interview you over a meal at a restaurant, your table manners must be up to par. The following etiquette guidelines will help get you through your next meal interview.

• Before you enter the restaurant, make sure you turn off your cellphone. • Be sure to actively listen to the interview and look for and seize opportunities to sell yourself. • Browse the menu for harmless foods. It’s wise to stay away from messy marinara sauces and long strings of pasta because they can easily stain your clothing. • Strike a healthy balance of not being ravenous, but not leaving your plate untouched either. • When ordering, be courteous to the wait staff and throughout the meal. Be sure to say please and thank you. Your polite attitude will foster an overall positive impression. • You were invited to the meal, so you are not obligated to pay the bill. • Be sure to thank the interviewers and obtain their business cards. No matter what the format, if you have gotten to the interview, you know you are qualified, and they have an interest in your skillset. It is now about how you articulate your successes and convey your interest in the role and company that will make you shine above the other candidates.

For our extremely helpful interview guide checklist, which offers unique insight and detailed action items to help you prepare for an interview, visit our Talent Resource Library. SERIALIZATION & TRACEABILITY Digital Technology

To stay up to date, check out our library where we’ll be adding resources throughout 2020 Improving Pharma Packaging Line Efficiency Through Overall Equipment

By Valerio De Simone, Ph.D., Adept Digital

The pharmaceutical industry has benefited from high margins and low competition for decades. While the vast majority of engineering effort is directed toward compliance with new regulations and industry best practices, operational efficiency often remains a lower priority item for packaging departments in the life sciences industry. Over the past few years, the packaging area experienced unprecedented changes, moving from a pure logistic function to a fully digitized and validated environment. Among other drivers, serialization and track and trace regulations are probably the best examples of how compliance-driven projects have changed the pharmaceutical packaging world. Unfortunately, most of these changes resulted in a widespread loss of efficiency due to a variety of causes (e.g., new reject reasons, new IT and automation failures, new quality controls, etc.).

As a result, we are observing a general shift in the focus of the pharmaceutical industry. After years spent focused on compliance with new regulations, many major players are now investing in recovering the efficiency from their packaging lines. Fortunately, the technology that is now commonly available in the packaging area can be exploited far beyond mere compliance. Supply chain visibility, predictive maintenance, Big Data, and OEE live tracking are now becoming increasingly pertinent in pharma.

This article focuses on efficiency initiatives, providing some insights on how to better use overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) tracking systems and how to avoid common mistakes.

OEE: The Best Key Performance Indicator for A Packaging Line Before starting any performance improvement project, the first step is to clearly define a performance indicator. Despite its wide adoption, there is not a univocal definition of OEE. From a helicopter perspective, we can say that OEE is fundamentally a comparison of times:

• The loading time represents the amount of time the machine should work, i.e., the planned production time. It is computed by subtracting the scheduled stops (planned downtime) from the calendar time. • The operating time represents the time the machine actually works. It is computed by subtracting the unplanned stops (unplanned downtime) from the loading time. • The net operating time represents the time the machine works at the standard production rate. It is computed by subtracting the minor stops and the speed losses from the operating time. • The valuable operating time represents the time the machine releases good products at the standard production rate. It is computed by subtracting the time lost for quality reasons from the net operating time.

Comparing the valuable operating time and the loading time results in the OEE. As discussed above, the OEE measures how effectively a manufacturing unit (e.g., a machine) is utilized compared to its full potential. However, management is typically concerned with the performance of a packaging line as a whole. Unfortunately, there is not a ready-to-use formula for this: deriving the line OEE (also called OTE, overall throughput effectiveness) from the OEE of its machines is not a trivial task. In fact, it’s essential to take into account several aspects of the specific packaging line, such as:

• inter-operations buffers • flow of reworks • rejects management • production speed • maintenance policies • standard operating procedures, etc.

The outcome of this analysis will be identification of the opportunities for efficiency gain, starting with the real production rate of the machine that determines the performance of the entire packaging line, i.e., the bottleneck.

OEE Tracking Systems Ideally, an OEE tracking system should be able to measure the OEE of a packaging line and provide a clear indication to management on how it’s performing compared to a predefined target value. A company looking for such a solution has access to a very broad range of offerings. There are three types of solutions:

• Stand-alone – Dedicated sensors at the entrance and at the outfeed of the machine monitor the products’ flow, without any direct connection with the machine. This is typically used for old machines or to avoid any revalidation. • I/O monitoring – A simple gateway collects a few output signals of the machine to monitor its running status, the rejects, and other relevant parameters. This is a valuable alternative to the stand-alone solution if the right signals are available. • Embedded – The machine is natively able to monitor its OEE and send it to a superordinate system. This alternative is available only for very new machines.

Contrary to what we might think, the biggest challenge is not collecting this data, but rather extracting the valuable information from it. We often see complex systems made of sensors and interfaces for monitoring several or even all the machines in a packaging line, even though loss of efficiency from one machine will create a bottleneck limiting the rest of the line. Using a standard IT algorithm without considering the nuances of the specific packaging line results in an unreliable outcome. The tangible risk is to get a nice system showing live performance indicators that are not even close to what they should measure.

Accuracy Of OEE: Obtaining the Full Picture Although the installation of an OEE tracking system is certainly a valuable step toward better visibility of the performance of the packaging lines, it is important to understand that the machines are just one part of a more complex system made up of operators, materials, methods, IT, and automation infrastructures. OEE losses might arise from any of these sources and could be invisible to an automated system.

For several historical and economic reasons, the pharmaceutical industry is far from being optimized for manufacturing effectiveness. As companies move toward increasing their efficiency, it is possible to learn from other industries where best practices are already commonly adopted.

In our experience, most companies are unaware of many daily losses affecting the packaging lines. Before starting any improvement project, the first step should be a holistic assessment to identify and rank the causes of performance loss, ideally through an OEE tracking system. Such an assessment should incorporate analysis of data and procedures, time spent in front of the packaging lines to understand the real operations (Gemba approach), and interviews with operators, maintainers, and management. The result is an exhaustive picture of the current status of the packaging line(s) from which management can prioritize the improvement actions.

To learn more about our productivity and efficiency services, click here. Learning Share: Overall Equipment Effectiveness

Overall Equipment Effectiveness may not be front of mind for companies until they experience a dip in production capacity. OEE recovery measures can have a significant impact on your operations, and will reduce your risk in meeting yearly production targets. For our September Learning Share, our team of experts presented on Overall Equipment Effectiveness and what factors may be responsible for OEE reductions. Our experience on the field reveals that even when companies assume they have high OEE, a deeper look often identifies areas that can be improved significantly.

Click below to get the scoop on OEE and how directives, like serialization implementation, can have tremendous impact Podcast: Russian Serialization

By January 2020 all medicines imported in Russia will be required to be serialized and aggregated. The Russian Serialization Federal law is probably the most complex regulation ever conceived of its kind, challenging packaging and supply chain solutions at all levels (packaging equipment, automation systems, warehouse, IT infrastructure).

Click below to listen to how the Adept Group is ready to support you in assessing your actual readiness status and accelerate your journey towards full compliance with Russia serialization regulations. Learning Share: Are You Ready for Russian Serialization?

For our February Learning Share, “Are you ready for Russia Serialization compliance?”, our serialization and traceability experts shared their insightful expertise to help companies determine their compliance to Russian serialization regulations.

Click below to get the impact of existing packaging and IT infrastructure and details about the compliance regulations. MARGINAL IMPROVEMENTS Regulatory Compliance

To stay up to date, check out our library where we’ll be adding resources throughout 2020 Learning Share: Packaging for Terminally Sterilized Medical Devices - ISO11607 Part 1

For our January Learning Share, Adept Packaging’s ISO 11607 expert, Jan Gates, guided us through the standard's requirements and proposed changes expected in 2019. The ISO 11607 standards were the first packaging qualification standards developed with emphasis on terminally sterilized medical devices. Now – the standards are being revised to include more details not included in most requirements.

Click below to get the understanding of the new requirements that came to the ISO 11607 requirements in 2019. Learning Share: The New 2019 Revisions and Future Challenges - ISO11607 Part 2

In February 2019, ISO released changes to the ISO 11607 standard which regulates requirements for medical device packaging. In order to stay compliant, medical device companies will need to adapt their packaging to meet these new requirements. Adept Packaging’s ISO 11607 experts have analyzed the released 52 page document and developed a comprehensive list of these recent changes that they presented in our June Learning Share

Click below to determine how this regulation is impacting packaging in the Life Science industry. STAY CONNECTED Knowledge Sharing

We make it our mission to stay at the forefront of all things packaging and are continuously developing new knowledge sharing material. Let us be your resource for the latest evolving trends in the CPG, Food, Beverage and Life Science packaging industries.

LEARNING SHARES - Each month we partner with subject matter experts to offer a deep dive webinar into the latest trends or advances in the packaging industry.

NEWS - Read about our latest insights, company news and events.

RESOURCE LIBRARY - We keep our associates and clients up to date through content development to always be ahead of the curve.

INDUSTRY NEWSLETTER - With the ever-changing nature of the packaging industry, each quarter we’ll send you a newsletter packed with the latest trends, newest tech and recently released regulatory information regarding your industry.

612 Hamilton Street, Suite 301 Allentown, PA 18101 1.484.373.2504 [email protected] www.adeptpackaging.com