Unleash more value from great product and packaging designs

A major consumer packaged goods (CPG) company approached us with a big challenge. They needed to redesign its spray bottle used to clean homes all over the globe. The company had 26 variants of the same trigger for different products and markets. Moreover, they used different materials and springs to activate the trigger. The company and VanBerlo, part of Accenture, ended up with three variants of the trigger instead of 26. The redesign saves 80 tons of plastic a year. We also replaced all the metal elements in the trigger with a new plastic spring. As a result, we helped reduce supply chain complexity and made the entire bottle easily recyclable in any market in which it’s used.

The outcome of this engagement illustrates the benefits value analysis and value engineering can bring. Although both methods are well known, they are rarely used in supply chain management at CPG companies. VanBerlo — the award-winning product design and innovation agency — integrated them into the design-to-value methodology.

We joined forces with VanBerlo to show the benefits design-to-value could bring to CPG companies. Other design-to-value benefits include:

• Major cost reduction
• Simplification of supply chain
• Greater supply chain cost management
• Positive impact on supply chain sustainability

Design-to-value comes at a critical time for CPG companies. They are experiencing massive cost spikes in ingredients (eggs up 161% in the past year) and diesel fuel (up 87%). These increases, in turn, are driving a jump of 35% in wholesale costs for the industry since 2019. Companies also deal with:

• Evolving consumer expectations
• Continued supply chain disruption
• Intensifying profitability and sustainability pressures

With a design-to-value approach, CPG companies can drive millions of dollars in cost savings. They can reduce environmental impact and waste and increase a product’s appeal to consumers. This in turn increases revenue and customer loyalty.

Rapidly rising ingredients and energy costs are creating major challenges for CPG companies. These spikes can comprise as much as 70% of a company’s cost base. But in these challenges are big opportunities to take a fresh look at products and packaging. Odds are, they’ll find a lot of value they can unlock with a design-to-value approach. Visit VanBerlo to learn more about the impact this approach has had for companies we’ve worked with. Please visit our Supply Chain & Operations page for more information on how we help companies create agile, customer-centric and sustainable supply chain networks that positively affect business, society and the planet.