INDUSTRIAL PACKAGING MATURITY MODEL
How robust is your packaging strategy really?
In many organisations, packaging is viewed as an operational detail. In reality, it is a strategic lever within your supply chain.
The Industrial Packaging Maturity Model (IPMM) uses 10 targeted questions to reveal how mature your packaging approach is and where you are creating unnecessary risk, inefficiency or dependency.
Insight leads to action
Packaging management requires more than just operational control. Drawing on decades of practical experience, Faes has developed the Industrial Packaging Maturity Model (IPMM). Through five strategic themes, the IPMM identifies where your approach is robust and where vulnerabilities or opportunities for improvement lie. This provides a clear starting point for targeted optimisation.
An objective assessment based on five strategic pillars
- Gain a comprehensive understanding of ownership, standardisation, control, integration and compliance
- Identify where there is clear direction and coherence, and where vulnerabilities arise
- Make explicit what is currently happening implicitly within your packaging approach
From operational execution to strategic management
- Clarify responsibilities and decision-making
- Reduce variation through targeted standardisation
- Use cost and risk data as a management tool rather than merely for record-keeping
- Explicitly link packaging with logistics, storage and supply chain partners
From diagnosis to actionable improvement
- Receive an immediate maturity score backed by sound strategic advice
- Identify where immediate gains can be made without the need for large-scale projects
- Lay the foundations for predictable and forward-looking packaging management
An objective assessment based on five strategic pillars
- Gain a comprehensive understanding of ownership, standardisation, control, integration and compliance
- Identify where there is clear direction and coherence, and where vulnerabilities arise
- Make explicit what is currently happening implicitly within your packaging approach
From operational execution to strategic management
- Clarify responsibilities and decision-making
- Reduce variation through targeted standardisation
- Use cost and risk data as a management tool rather than merely for record-keeping
- Explicitly link packaging with logistics, storage and supply chain partners
From diagnosis to actionable improvement
- Receive an immediate maturity score backed by sound strategic advice
- Identify where immediate gains can be made without the need for large-scale projects
- Lay the foundations for predictable and forward-looking packaging management
Ownership determines predictability
In many organisations, responsibility for packaging has evolved over time. Tasks are divided, but there is no overall coordination. Decisions are made, but they are not always traceable or supported by a repeatable rationale.
Without explicit ownership, packaging management remains dependent on individuals rather than being embedded in the structure. This may seem efficient, until product changes, supplier switches or scaling up cause friction.
Organisations that manage packaging strategically:
- Have a clear mandate and decision-making structure
- Link costs, risk and performance to a single accountable function
- Involve packaging at an early stage in strategic decisions
Ownership is not a job description. It is managerial clarity.
Standardisation prevents hidden complexity
Variation in packaging choices often arises organically. It varies by product, by customer, and by location. It is flexible, but rarely consistent.
What is missing is a shared framework: when do we standardise, and why? Without that framework, costs, processes and the risk of errors increase unnoticed.
Limited or absent standardisation leads to:
- Unpredictable performance
- Inefficient use of materials
- Repackaging and DOAs
- Reduced economies of scale
Well-considered standardisation does not limit flexibility, but creates manageable variation. It makes packaging choices reproducible rather than dependent on individual preferences.
Monitoring without guidance is a false sense of security
Many organisations track damage, DOAs and packaging costs. But tracking is not the same as control.
As long as data is primarily retrospective, packaging management remains reactive. Costs are explained, but not prevented. Incidents are resolved, but patterns persist.
Strategic control means:
- Insight into both direct and hidden costs
- Scenario-based thinking when choosing packaging
- Data-driven decision-making rather than relying solely on experience
Control only reaches maturity when data guides choices, rather than merely accounting for the past.
Integration determines supply chain performance
Packaging is often seen as the final step in the process. In reality, it influences storage, transport, handling, sustainability and collaboration with partners.
When packaging is not fully aligned with the supply chain, this leads to delays, additional handling steps and sub-optimal logistical choices.
Mature integration means:
- Packaging as part of product design
- Alignment with logistics requirements and growth scenarios
- Assessment against future supply chain requirements
Integration is not operational coordination. It is strategic coherence across the entire supply chain.
Compliance safeguards reputation
Many organisations assume that they comply with relevant regulations. But assumptions do not constitute demonstrable assurance.
When compliance is not explicitly established:
- There is a lack of formal ownership
- Knowledge is scattered or implicit
- Risks only become apparent during audits or tenders
Mature compliance means:
- Insight into materials and regulations
- Defined responsibilities
- Demonstrable control vis-à-vis customers and partners
Compliance is not an administrative burden. It is a prerequisite for continuity and trust.
How manageable is your packaging strategy really?
Would you like to know where your organisation really stands?
Start the IPMM assessment and gain an insight into the maturity of your packaging management in just a few minutes.