Companies set to addresses customer demand for efficiencies in packaging
Minneapolis, MN — November 17, 2004 — 3M, a consumer packaged goods (CPG) company that also supplies packaging software, hard goods and services and professional services firm Deloitte Consulting LLP have announced an alliance to jointly offer firstto-market software and services to CPG companies.
Under the agreement, Deloitte Consulting will support the sales, marketing and implementation of 3M integrated packaging management (IPM) products and services, which are made for consumer packaged goods companies to speed time to market, drive costs out of the supply chain and increase incremental revenue opportunities.
This alliance is part of a broader relationship between Deloitte Consulting and 3M to address supply chain challenges in today's global market. It combines 3M's products and vertical industry knowledge with Deloitte Consulting's professional services and industry knowledge around global systems implementation, product lifecycle management (PLM), supply chain optimization and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.
"Complexities in packaging continue to cause CPG companies great pains," said Kevin O'Marah, vice president of Supply Chain and Product Lifecycle Management, AMR Research. "There is significant room for efficiency gains by implementing technology solutions and better business processes to support product innovation and packaging."
Mark Davis, Product Innovation and Lifecycle Management Practice leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP, said that through research and experience with clients his company has seen a need for CPG companies to further optimize their business processes. 3M has tapped its packaging expertise to develop a Web-based, centralized, structured application that enables integration and management of packaging information, he said. As a team, we will be able to lead our customers to the next level of a demand-driven supply chain."
Using the market's first IPM solution, developed by 3M, Deloitte Consulting and 3M said they will work with CPG companies to improve their business efficiencies in purchasing and sourcing, product development and promotions, packaging design and revisions, brand management, enterprise labeling and regulatory and customer compliance.
