Good design harmonizes iLOQ’s product packaging and logistics
At the beginning of 2022, we introduced ‘Project Harmony’. Its aim is to optimize and unify the current packaging of our diverse product portfolio, and to design new packaging for products that currently don’t have any. It is an ongoing development and improvement project that is an important part of our holistic 360° approach to sustainability.
Major factors in harmonizing the design of our packaging are to simplify the work of our packaging department and, at the same time, save the world’s resources. To help this project to succeed, we chose a partner with whom we have a long history of cooperation – Huld.
From preliminary design to prototypes
Huld’s packaging designer visited our logistics center to carry out a preliminary survey to identify our products and the differences between them. They also explored how existing packaging could be utilized and how plastic use could be reduced.
Annual volumes and the most produced variants guided the selection process. A thorough analysis of the requirements enabled packaging design to be focused on exactly the right areas. Already in the preliminary study, solutions were found that were easy to implement.
“As a manufacturer-independent body, we came up with packaging design ideas freely, drawing on the strengths of the different sectors of the packaging industry. For example, manufacturers’ material recommendations depend on what the company itself offers. We are free to recommend solutions that are tailored to the customer’s needs, without any strings attached,” explained Lauri Lindqvist, Competence Lead, Huld.
Packaging design to support logistics
By combining Huld’s packaging design expertise with our in-house product knowledge, we managed to harmonize our packaging design. Many variations of the iLOQ product family were adapted to the same packaging size. Products of different sizes and shapes were made to fit in the same space with different interiors.
The same packaging size simplified production and streamlined packaging, as different products no longer required different-sized packaging. At the same time, the plastic used for packaging was replaced by bioplastics.
“With hundreds of product variations, the value of a uniform packaging design is even greater. As the number of packaging varieties decreases, so do the costs and environmental impact. Harmonized packaging design is already having a positive influence on our day-to-day work and on the environment,” states Anne-Mari Kansanoja, Section Manager, Logistics.
