Packaging Innovations
March 2018
Experiencing Packaging Innovations, Birmingham NEC for the first time, Claire MacLean, marketing executive at SP Automation & Robotics, reflects.
On entering the NEC, there was a real buzz in the air. Each stand shouted innovation in its own way. Plants, transparency, wood, polymer, whatever the niche, there was a real range of diversity. Then came the decision on which show to visit first: Packaging Innovations, Label & Print or Empack? The industry listing was thorough. From automotive components to consumer electronics, from chemicals to food & drink and luxury goods and jewellery through to personal hygiene and tobacco and so on. Each of these was 100% right up our street. We split up. Roy Henderson, director of SP Technology, Richard Mawson, our southern sales engineer and myself, marketing executive, all wanted to gain our own appreciation for the event and attend as many of the insightful seminars as possible. We were keen to fully engage with these interesting stands and learn of mutual benefits we could offer the consumer.
We reunited for Greg Andersons, Managing Director at Pharmacentric Solutions, talk at the Industry Forum Stage and had not only already gained immense insight into the industry but were also impressed to hear about supply chain efficiency and the challenges faced by the pharma industry. The solution became clear; the coming together of different companies to face similar challenges, and likewise, different industries should work together to help one another and learn from each other. Med tech and pharma can be similar to automotive. New technologies and methodologies can be transferable over a range of industries.
The key message? Engage with stakeholders. With serialisation legally to be in place by 2019 the time to act is now. With smart labels potentially containing 25 to 100 times more information than a standard barcode, this will not only increase the shelf lives of medicines but also save thousands of lives as detailed and clearer information will be provided about the medicines prescribed. Yes, the government has invested a lot of money into developing these vaccines, but the packaging seems to have been overlooked.
Chris Waterhouse, Managing Director from iDi Pac Ltd, then went on to explain the benefits and challenges of late-stage customisation. Remember the engraved MP3 players for kids? Or the Coca-Cola bottles – they took the personalisation approach. Why can’t pharma have a patient-centric approach? The industry needs to let our patients know we care and are paying attention to them!
Bringing us back to smart labels. We all talk to the world via apps. Utilising these to provide audio content. The science of a migraine, for example, storage, dosage and side effect information for another or “why you should take this drug”. Benefiting countries where literacy levels are low. Reminders can be generated for people with dementia, and notifications can be sent to relatives if meds are missed. It all comes down to connectivity and data, but for it to work industry must collaborate.
Sanjay Patel, a founding partner at Simply Better Human, ended the seminar impressively by talking of human centred design for packaging. Explaining that empathizing with the patients and “walking in their shoes” to understand the consumer needs and issues faced. He hit the nail on the head, stating that kids are more likely to take medicine from tubes, and the elderly may struggle to open tablets. He went on to give his opinion on the wording of medication packaging, “Help I have a migraine”, “Migraine be gone”, or “Help I have a blister”, all read in a way that consumers understand. As opposed to Dapagliflozin, to which the seminar ended with a roar of laughter.
Here at SP Automation & Robotics, we couldn’t agree more with the points the seminar covered and highlighted. As an automated solutions company, we continuously strive to collaborate and work with a range of industries and partners to understand thoroughly each client’s process and production needs. This ensures we can offer the best possible solutions to suit manufacturing challenges.
We were so looking forward to a full second day, but as we all know, the weather was not too kind. Hopefully, next year, we can enjoy the 2nd day also.
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