Author
Packaging Operator
Published
February 2nd, 2022
Length
2 Minutes
It’s no secret there’s a paper shortage.
You’re already aware that paper’s prices have more than doubled.
But to make things worse costs keep rising. Industry leaders have predicted a 4x increase from March on all paper goods.
What’s happening?
According to ABC News Russia’s war in Ukraine has sky rocketed the price of natural gas shuttering European paper mills and converters.
Without cheap energy to continue recycling post consumer waste many recycling centers have shut down increasing the costs of PCW globally. Add to that the Finnish paper mill strikes that ended in April, the industry’s deficit won’t catch up for months if not years.
So, how do brands take control of their supply chain, become more sustainable, and help get the paper industry back on track in the middle of a paper shortage?
- Teams developed to take look at your brand’s paper usage internally. This team needs to be made up of 3 core disciplines:
- Finance to provide budgetary oversight and manage expectations
- Creative to innovate ways to reduce paper usage without losing the brand’s essence
- Distribution to forecast inventory runout dates
- Size matters when you’re trying to reduce your dependence on paper.
- Get a complete size audit to identify inefficiencies in your current product mix
- Eliminate excess SKUs
- Charge for returns, this is a difficult one for brands but Zara is the first to do this to offset shipping fees and overall inflation.
IDP direct’s forecasting and demand planning processes allows us to maintain a 12 month supply of the most popular paper and boards.
On top of that, our goal is to help your brand become more sustainable without increasing costs when possible.
Learn more at IDP Direct or by contacting IDP Direct.
