2021 Executive Forecast:
On the impact of e-commerce
Total Industry
Material Purchases
Estimated Value:
$18.1 Billion
Source: FPA 2020 State of the Industry Report. Courtesy of FPA
Converters Material Purchases
Haim Levit
VP and General Manager
HP Indigo
Photo courtesy of HP Indigo
Mega trends favorable to digital printing are accelerating including the need to respond with high agility to market changes and the growth of ecommerce. The industry has also discovered new opportunities for digital printing, with the need for automation, profitability and differentiation. I approach 2021 with a positive mindset and confidence that the industry will continue to grow and serve brands and communities around the world.
Maya Poleg
Head of Products and Solutions
HP Indigo
Photo courtesy of HP Indigo
On the commercial print side, eCommerce and web-to-print are flourishing, and here too there is an expectation from end customers for faster turnaround times and innovative applications. These all point to an increase in demand for digital print, and Indigo in particular.
Laurel Spencer
VP Sales and Marketing
Amcor
Photo courtesy of Amcor
The COVID-19 crisis made e-commerce a bigger focus channel for our customers. For many CPGs, online grocery shoppers are a primary target because online grocery channels in the U.S. are expected to reach $60 billion (+20%) by 2023. There’s never been a better time to focus on the next generation of fully optimized e-commerce packaging, but one-size-fits-all doesn’t clear all the hurdles in the online economy. Amcor’s product portfolio is uniquely positioned to deliver success because of the breadth and depth of our offering, which includes testing. Specific e-commerce-ready formats often are required to protect products and deliver on the brand’s promise from the point of shipment, so testing is a must. As an official participant in the Amazon Packaging Support and Supplier Network (APASS), Amcor offers resources to inform packaging development, including ISTA and ASTM testing facilities.
Sustainability goals remain a priority in e-commerce channels. Amcor’s ASSET lifecycle assessment tool means we can quantifiably measure the impact of the full package lifecycle, from extraction of raw materials to end-of-life. While some launches were paused, increased focus was placed on helping CPGs optimize their SKUs to meet the increased consumer demand, improve operational efficiencies on the line, and drive e-commerce packaging as it became the channel everyone was talking about. We’ll continue to capitalize on those things in 2021.
Giancarlo Caimmi
Commercial Director
Nordmeccanica Group Corporate
Photo courtesy of Nordmeccanica Group
The requirement of increased product protection and counterfeit protection triggered by e-commerce calls for additional capacity and the investment on technologies that we provide within our group. We have seen numbers growing in that direction region by region, and we think the trend will stay as the e-commerce share of business, region by region, is growing.
See what the Executives Say
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Cover and feature illustrations by FORGEM / iStock via Getty Images Plus and Antikwar / iStock via Getty Images Plus
