Under pressure: When customers dictate prices and the packaging process provides the answer
How manufacturing companies can sustainably improve their cost structure and secure margins by taking the right approach to packaging and handling
The pressure is real, and it comes from outside. Customers are demanding lower prices. Not at some point in the future, but right now. Regardless of whether there is a staff shortage internally, labour costs are rising, or processes are running inefficiently. For manufacturing companies, this is not a temporary market fluctuation, but a structural challenge: those who fail to deliver lose the order.
At the same time, the situation is worsening from within. Order volumes are falling or becoming harder to predict. Staff shortages persist. Energy costs remain at a persistently high level. The costs of petroleum-based packaging are currently rising inexorably. What was once accepted as unavoidable operating costs is now becoming a real drain on margins, and this in a market environment that leaves no room for price increases.
The question is therefore no longer whether to optimise, but where. And this is precisely where the crucial error in many companies’ thinking lies: their gaze reflexively turns to production. Process times, scrap, machine utilisation – all of this is analysed and optimised. But the real cost-saving potential often lies elsewhere: in the downstream processes. In packaging, handling and logistics. In workflows that have evolved over time, are rarely viewed holistically and are largely manual in nature.
The key lies in the packaging process
In many companies, packaging processes are at the bottom of the priority list and at the bottom of the investment planning. Yet they are often the area where inefficiencies have built up unnoticed over the years. Fixed process costs, which were still tolerable when production volumes were high, now face a changed reality: lower volumes, higher labour costs, and tight staff availability. The result is a structural imbalance: market cost pressures are colliding with processes that are not designed to withstand this pressure. Those who fail to act here lose margin – quietly, continuously and often without realising it – until the scope for manoeuvre has become significantly narrower.
This is precisely the area of expertise of buhl-paperform GmbH. The company analyses packaging processes holistically and develops solutions that not only save material but also make the entire process more efficient. Handling effort, lead times, sources of error, automation potential: Everything is considered as a whole, not in isolation.
Christoph Buhl, Managing Director and founder of buhl-paperform, understands his customers’ situation perfectly: “The price pressure comes from the market; we cannot change that. What we can change is the underlying cost structure. And the greatest leverage almost always lies in the packaging process. Many companies only realise this when we go through the process together and show them where time and money are actually being wasted.”
This systemic approach differs fundamentally from traditional thinking about packaging, where packaging is primarily treated as a question of materials and procurement. At buhl-paperform, the process takes centre stage and the packaging is the tool used to optimise that process.
Standardised. Process-stable. Automated.
The solution that buhl-paperform consistently pursues: standardised moulded fibre solutions based on recycled paper. They are dimensionally accurate, dimensionally stable and designed to integrate seamlessly into operational workflows, with minimal handling effort, low error rates and consistent lead times.
A key advantage lies in the ability to automate. Packaging is developed from the outset to allow for automated processing later on, even if this step only makes sense once volumes rise again or staff shortages become more acute. Companies do not need to invest immediately today, but they are creating an option for tomorrow.
Added to this is an often underestimated aspect: security of supply. Waste paper is available in large quantities in Germany and is firmly established in existing recycling systems worldwide. This creates predictability in a market environment characterised by uncertainty and noticeably reduces dependence on volatile raw material markets. “Our solutions are deliberately designed to work in different market situations. Whether facing falling volumes or growth phases: companies need packaging systems that remain flexible whilst operating efficiently,” says Johannes Keßler, Co-Managing Director at buhl-paperform.
Regulatory tailwind
There is a further factor that increases the pressure to act: the EU Packaging Regulation (PPWR). It significantly tightens requirements regarding material use, recyclability and standardisation. Companies are thus faced with the task of designing their packaging to be not only cost-efficient but also future-proof in regulatory terms.
Fibre-moulded solutions based on recycled paper naturally meet these requirements. Recyclability and material efficiency are not after-the-fact adjustments, but structural properties of the material. Those who opt for these solutions today are simultaneously investing in regulatory compliance, and doing so without additional effort.
Conclusion: Packaging as a tool for price defence
In a market where customers dictate prices and margins are under constant pressure, the efficiency of overall processes determines business success. Production alone is no longer sufficient as an area for optimisation.
Those who truly wish to remain competitive must also focus on downstream processes. Companies that rethink their packaging process with buhl-paperform regain a crucial capability: They can offer their customers competitive prices without sacrificing their own margins. Packaging thus transforms from a cost factor into a strategic tool for price defence. Those who succeed in intelligently integrating packaging, handling and logistics not only reduce costs but also secure their market position.
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