In today's fast-paced world, the demand for sustainable packaging and labeling has become an essential priority for businesses. As covered in Avery’s report, globally, labels and packaging legislation is more focused on sustainability than ever before. 

As consumer awareness regarding environmental issues continues to rise, companies are finding themselves under increasing pressure to adopt eco-friendly practices. Traditional labeling and artwork management processes have long been a culprit of excessive waste and inefficiency. 

This blog explores the environmental impact of traditional labeling, and how adopting online, cloud-based, automated software that uses label templates can transform your process. We'll also delve into a real-world example of food packaging labels to illustrate the sustainable journey from design to market.
 

The Environmental Impact of Traditional Labeling

Traditional labeling and artwork processes often involve multiple manual steps, which contribute significantly to environmental concerns. From the design phase to the actual label printing, each step can result in waste and excess resource consumption. Let's break it down and explore how each stage affects the environment:

1. Design Phase: Traditional label and artwork design often relies on paper prototypes and multiple iterations, which results in excessive paper consumption, ink usage, and waste. Many iterations are necessary to perfect the label, leading to more environmental impact.


2. Label Printing: With a large proportion of labels in the UK still being printed on materials that are difficult to recycle - even materials that look like paper are often not - it’s more important than ever to reduce waste where possible. Conventional label printing usually involves large print runs, which can result in overproduction. Unused labels are discarded, leading to wastage of materials and energy. Additionally, printing errors are common, avoiding reprints and further environmental harm. This is where it’s crucial that labels are printed correctly the first time.


3. Distribution: Transporting printed labels to various locations can result in carbon emissions, thanks to the heavy logistical footprint of shipping and transportation.

Embracing Sustainability with Cloud-Based platforms and Label Templates

With online, cloud-based, automated software that uses tools like label templates, there are a whole host of benefits that are music to the ears of environmentally conscious businesses:

1. Sustainable Labeling Templates: These platforms provide a range of customizable, pre-designed templates for sustainable labels. They help in reducing the need for excessive design iterations, resulting in less paper and ink waste. For our food packaging labels example, a nutrition label template that complies with FDA label requirements can be easily accessed and modified.


2. Reduced Errors and Waste: Labeling errors can be incredibly time consuming and costly as well as posing serious safety risks. For example, Trustwell recently reported that undeclared allergens made up the largest percentage of recalls overall, making up 47% of all recalls in 2022 and 63% of recalls in 2023, so far - something which can easily be solved with proper artwork management.
   
   One of our biggest pharmaceutical customers typically dealt with around one error per month and since using Kallik’s solution they have experienced no errors at all. In the case of traditional labeling and artwork, mistakes can result in reprinting, wasted labels, and increased resource consumption. However, label templates and proofreading tools significantly minimize the risk of human errors in label design by having a pre-approved bank of assets that can be simply dropped into templates that meet all the relevant regulations for the product. 


3. Efficient Printing: With cloud-based software, labels can be printed on-demand or in smaller, more precise quantities. This eliminates overproduction and minimizes discarded labels. The use of digital printing technology, which is often more eco-friendly, further reduces environmental impact.
    
4. Making it easy to switch packaging materials: Digital platforms are becoming instrumental in adapting to sustainable packaging goals. In addition to minimizing physical waste, with label templates, it is becoming quicker and easier than ever to adapt your packaging to be more sustainable. Customizable, pre-designed templates mean that the once colossal task of changing the size and design of thousands of labels to suit paper packaging rather than plastic can now be done with the click of a few buttons.
    

A Sustainable Journey: Food Packaging Labels

Now, let's walk through the process of creating sustainable food packaging labels using online, futureproof, cloud-based software:

1. Design Phase: Start by selecting a nutrition label template that meets FDA label requirements. Customize it to your brand's specifications, ensuring it complies with sustainable labeling guidelines. Online software streamlines the design process, making it efficient and reducing paper and ink waste.


2. Collaboration and Approval: Cloud-based solutions enable team collaboration and instant feedback. Stakeholders can review the label design in real-time, reducing the need for multiple drafts and printed proofs. This step significantly minimizes waste and saves time.


3. On-Demand Printing: Once the label design is approved, you can print labels on-demand or in small batches, eliminating overproduction and reducing unnecessary waste. Digital printing technology is environmentally friendly and ensures high-quality, eco-conscious labels.


4. Distribution: With labels ready to go, you can efficiently distribute them to your products without the need for extensive logistics and long shipping routes, further reducing your carbon footprint.

Take the Next Step Towards Sustainability with Kallik

As businesses look for more sustainable options in labeling and packaging, it's evident that traditional processes fall short in environmental terms. Embracing online, cloud-based software, like Kallik's AWS hosted solution, recommended by Gartner, you can revolutionize the way you approach labeling and reduce your environmental impact.

By adopting sustainable label templates, reducing errors, and optimizing label printing, you can actively contribute to a greener future for your company. To see the power of cloud-based labeling and artwork management software for yourself, get in touch to book a demo with one of Kallik’s experts today. Don’t just take our word for it, see what our customers have to say about Kallik in our case studies here. Alternatively, why not give one of our previous blogs a read to learn more about how the supreme security and reliability of cloud-based software can help your business.
 

In a recent webinar co-hosted by Kallik and Teklynx, industry professionals gained valuable insights into the evolving landscape of labeling and artwork content management for 2024. This event provided practical advice and innovative solutions, focusing on the "5 Top Tips for Effective Labeling and Artwork Content Management in 2024."

Missed out on the webinar? No problem. Find out all about it below and watch the full recording. Right from label design through to label printing, we can help every step of the way.

Tip 1: Content-Centric Approach for Labeling and Artwork Control

The webinar kicked off with a discussion on a content-centric approach to labeling. Imagine a world where labeling starts with content. It's not just a dream; it's a game-changer. This approach aims to create a central source of truth, reduce redundancy, maintain consistent templates, and identify errors before they become issues.

Tip 2: Harness the Power of Label Templates

Label templates, often underestimated, were emphasized for their ability to save time and money. Templates keep marketing teams happy, making it quicker and simpler than ever to ensure that packaging is consistent and artwork is on brand. Templates are also particularly useful in regulated industries where they simplify the process of incorporating essential information into labels. Whether it’s cosmetics packaging, chemical labels, medication labels, or food labels, you can significantly speed up your process with the ability to drag and drop the right assets into the right place with templates.

Tip 3: Simplifying Labeling Translations

The webinar then went on to address the challenges of label translation. Lost in translation? Not anymore! The days of Googling translations for your labels are over. There are two possible approaches you can take:

Approach One: Traditional Translation Process

It's time-consuming and error-prone, resulting in variations and inconsistencies. We've got a better way…

Approach Two: Centralized Translation Management

It's like magic - translations stored in the cloud, linked to the master phrase, and accessible to all authorized parties. Master phrase linking allows non-native speakers to produce accurate localized labels without needing the language knowledge. So no more confusion, just clarity.

Tip 4: Embrace Global Labeling Solutions

The future of labeling management, as discussed, revolves around cloud-based SaaS solutions hosted on platforms like AWS and Azure. There are a long list of benefits, here are some of the favourites:

• Say goodbye to content approval delay headaches.

• Shared label templates for a consistent brand.

• Language variants managed with ease.

• External partners at your fingertips.

• It's Gartner recommended.

Tip 5: Automate Printing for Speed and Quality

Automation was recognized as a vital tool for simplifying the labeling process. It connects cloud data to local printers, enabling seamless data flow and efficient label printing. Automation eliminates manual tasks, IT complexities, and quality concerns.

Finally, we concluded the webinar by asking attendees which tip would be most beneficial to their business. Tip one, centralized control of content and artwork, proved most popular, closely followed by tip four, bridging the gap of cloud data to local printers. This suggests that businesses are focused on greater efficiency and consistency and the growing relevance of cloud-based solutions in modern business operations.

In summary, these five expert tips offer practical solutions for labeling and artwork content management, eliminating inconsistencies and inefficiencies. If you're looking to save time, resources, and alleviate the challenges in your labeling process, these insights provide a clear path forward. The future of labeling is here, and Kallik and Teklynx are at the forefront of these advancements.

Want to know more? Click here to watch the full webinar now.

Ready to Take Control?

Kallik's cloud-based labeling and artwork management solution is your ticket to labeling success. To see the power of cloud-based labeling and artwork management software for yourself, get in touch to book a demo with one of Kallik’s experts today. Don’t just take our word for it, see what our customers have to say about Kallik in our case studies here. Alternatively, why not give one of our previous blogs a read to learn more about how the supreme security and reliability of cloud-based software can help your business.

In today's fast-paced world of artificial intelligence and automation, enterprises across industries are continually seeking innovative solutions to streamline their processes, save valuable time, and reduce costs. When it comes to labeling and artwork management (LAM), this is critical - that’s where cloud-based enterprise labeling and artwork software comes in.

However, we understand that there are misconceptions and concerns about the security and reliability of cloud technology when it comes to packaging artwork management software - especially in highly regulated industries. In this blog, Kallik’s LAM software expert, Bob Tilling, will address and debunk these misconceptions, shedding light on the advantages that cloud-based software brings to the table. We'll explore how it simplifies processes, enhances collaboration, and most importantly, ensures data security, ultimately making labeling and artwork management easier than ever.

Dispelling the Myths: Cloud Technology for Labeling and Artwork is Secure and Reliable

Before diving into the benefits, let's tackle the elephant in the room - security and reliability. It's not uncommon for businesses, especially large enterprises, to have doubts about moving their labeling and artwork management to the cloud. However, it's time to put those fears to rest.

Is Cloud-Based Software Secure?

Cloud-based art asset management solutions are as secure as, if not more secure than, traditional on-premises systems. Leading cloud software providers, like Kallik, invest heavily in state-of-the-art security measures to protect your data. These include encryption, multi-factor authentication, and regular security audits. When it comes to data security in the cloud, your data is, quite literally, in safe hands.

Is Cloud-Based Software Reliable?

Cloud software reliability is often questioned when we talk to prospective customers handling sensitive data and important digital assets - and rightly so! However, with redundancy built into the infrastructure (meaning your data is stored in multiple places instead of just one). This ensures that even in the rare event of a server failure, your operations continue seamlessly. Uptime guarantees are standard, so you can count on your labeling and artwork management processes running smoothly around the clock.

What are the Advantages of Cloud-Based Labeling and Artwork Management Software?

Now that we've set the record straight on security and reliability, let's instead explore the numerous advantages of using cloud-based software for labeling and artwork management. Enterprises managing extensive product ranges are often struggling to juggle different versions of label artwork and deal with a lot of back and forth over emails as artwork is edited and approved. Cloud-based LAM software solves all of these issues.

1. Simplifying Labeling and Artwork with Cloud Software From Start to Finish

Complexity can be the bane of large enterprises. With a vast array of products, variants, and markets to cater to, simplification becomes paramount. Cloud-based labeling and artwork management software streamlines and standardizes the labeling design and approval process. With seamless implementation, meaning there is nothing to be installed or maintained locally, it is quick and simple to get set up. The addition of label templates and simple artwork version control ensures consistency across all products, eliminates manual errors, and reduces time spent on tedious tasks. In turn, this leads to faster time-to-market, reduced costs, and enhanced overall efficiency.

2. Enhancing Collaboration with Cloud-Based Collaboration for Labels

Collaboration is key to success with label software, especially when dealing with large product ranges. Cloud-based solutions enable real-time artwork collaboration across geographically dispersed teams. Whether your team is located across different continents or simply in different corners of the office, everyone can access and work on labeling and artwork simultaneously making changes and approvals easier than ever. This boosts productivity and ensures that everyone is on the same page, no matter where they are.

3. Ensuring Data Security in Cloud Labeling and Artwork

Large enterprises are often under the scrutiny of regulatory bodies and subject to stringent compliance requirements. Cloud-based software, like Veraciti, takes data security and compliance seriously and makes it as simple as possible for customers to get it right the first time. Your data is stored in highly secure data centers with robust backup and disaster recovery plans in place. Compliance features are integrated into the software, making it easier than ever to meet regulatory requirements and pass audits with flying colors - ideal for organisations in highly regulated industries such as those looking for medical device labeling software.

4. Instant Updates Mean Your Software is Always up to Date

Being cloud-based allows for the instant deployment of updates, patches, and enhancements worldwide with a single click. This eliminates the delays associated with on-premise solutions, where you rely on either the software provider or the customer to perform these tasks manually. With cloud technology, your solution is always up to date, ensuring your business remains compliant, efficient and competitive in today's fast-paced digital landscape.

See the Difference for Yourself with Kallik's Cloud-Based Labeling and Artwork Management Software?

At Kallik, we understand the unique challenges that large enterprises face in labeling and artwork management. That's where we come in, our cutting-edge cloud-based software as a service, which has been helping some of the world’s biggest organisations to manage their labeling and artwork process for decades. Kallik's software has earned its reputation as an industry leader, being recognized by Gartner as a top label and artwork management software vendor. Engineered to simplify processes, enhance collaboration and ensure compliance, it is ideal for use in highly regulated industries, providing ultimate data security for enterprises managing extensive product ranges. Hosted on the leading cloud provider, AWS, our service comes with added peace of mind that you’re getting world-class service.

With Kallik, you can:

• Streamline and standardize labeling and artwork processes, reducing errors and costs.
• Collaborate in real-time with teams across the globe, boosting efficiency.
• Rest easy knowing that your data is secure and compliant with industry regulations.

Don’t just take our word for it, see what our customers have to say about Kallik in our case studies here.

Want to learn more? Get in touch and book your free demo with one of our software experts today to see how cloud-based label and artwork management can revolutionize your business. Alternatively, why not give one of our previous blogs a read to learn more about the power of enterprise labeling and artwork software?

Large enterprises often face significant challenges when it comes to updating product artworks. The process of manually creating and updating artwork for product labels can be time-consuming, error-prone, and resource-intensive. Add in multiple locations with many variants to edit, it becomes even slower and more prone to error. However, with the advent of artwork management, and now artwork automation tools, solutions are available to greatly improve this process. More and more enterprise companies, especially in regulated industries, are taking advantage of the significant improvements artwork automation can bring.

The Challenges of Updating Product Artworks

Large enterprises typically deal with a wide range of products and variations, each requiring unique artwork designs. Some of the key challenges faced by teams responsible for artwork include:

1. Time Constraints: Manually creating and updating product artworks is a time-consuming process. Dealing with a high volume of SKUs and multiple variants can be a complex process. Teams often struggle to meet tight deadlines, resulting in delays in product launches, delays in getting a product back out to market after a recall, and missed market opportunities.


2. Version Control: With multiple stakeholders involved in the artwork approval process, maintaining version control becomes complex and prone to errors. This can lead to confusion, rework, and errors in the final artworks. This can have severe consequences, especially in regulated industries where incorrect labeling cost lives, money, and reputation.


3. Compliance and Regulations: Different products may have specific labeling requirements based on industry regulations or locations. Ensuring compliance with these regulations manually can be a daunting task, increasing the risk of non-compliance and legal issues.

Basic artwork management is not enough

Artwork management solutions have been around for many years. These solutions can approve, store artwork in an asset manager, and manage version control. However, according to Gartner, these solutions are "only artwork management that governs artwork activities for the final product packaging”. Artwork automation, in contrast, can do a lot more than simply storing, tracking and approving artworks. A single, end-to-end enterprise labeling and artwork management (LAM) solution controls the entire labeling process. This enables automated artwork creation and modification in the same system. These tools can update artwork over thousands of variants and locations and generate new artwork ready for print. All this can be done in as little as 60 seconds, compared to the many weeks and months of revisions and reworks that are often commonplace.The savings from automating artwork creation and modification all in the same system that manages artwork storage and approval can be vast.

How automated artwork generation works

Automated artwork generation tools offer a powerful solution to the challenges and pains faced by teams responsible for artwork. Here's how they can transform the process:

1. Enhanced Efficiency: By using artwork automation, large enterprises can significantly reduce the time and effort required to create and update product labels. Automated tools can generate artwork templates, populate them with relevant information, and adapt designs for different product variations. This results in far faster iterations and a much quicker time-to-market.


2. Streamlined Collaboration: Automated artwork generation tools provide a centralized platform for collaboration and version control. Stakeholders can review and approve designs in real-time, reducing errors, rework, and delays. Seamless integration with project management systems and communication tools ensures efficient coordination among team members.


3. Compliance and Consistency: Automated artwork generation ensures compliance with industry regulations and labeling requirements. By integrating data from reliable sources, such as product databases or regulatory databases, these tools can dynamically generate accurate and up-to-date content, reducing the risk of non-compliance and legal issues.

Conclusion

Artwork automation is revolutionizing the way large enterprises create and update product labels. By automatically generating artworks in the artwork management system, new artworks can be created in seconds, instead of weeks. Adoption of this technology is increasing, especially in regulated industries.

Enhancing Compliance and Efficiency in Enterprise Labeling

Large enterprise companies face numerous challenges with their product labeling and artwork process. Compliance with regulations and getting products to market quickly can be a headache and requires a lot of manual effort. In addition, in regulated industries such as medical devices, pharma, and cosmetics, non compliance with labeling regulations could mean severe consequences. In addressing these challenges, enterprise labeling software is often overlooked. Below, we’ll look at what enterprise labeling software is, its benefits to enterprise companies, and why you should consider it.

What is Enterprise Labeling Software?

Enterprise labeling software is a specialized technology solution designed to automate and centralize the labeling process within an organization. It enables businesses to create, manage, and automate labeling across many departments, locations, and languages. It contains features such as end-to-end approval trails, automated change management and a dedicated asset search engine. This software empowers labeling and compliance professionals to ensure regulatory compliance while boosting efficiency and decreasing time to market.

How Enterprise Labeling Software Increases Compliance

1. Meeting Regulatory Requirements: In regulated industries, compliance with labeling regulations is vital to ensure patient safety and product integrity. Enterprise labeling software provides a single platform to create and manage labels according to regulatory standards, such as FDA, EU MDR, and ISO. This software helps organizations stay updated with the latest regulatory changes and implement them seamlessly.


2. Traceability and Audit Trail: Enterprise labeling software offers advanced tracking capabilities, ensuring complete traceability throughout the labeling process. Compliance professionals can easily track label versions, changes, and approvals, with access to an audit trail in case of regulatory audits. This level of traceability enhances transparency and accountability, reducing the risk of non- compliance.


3. Automated Compliance Checks: Manual compliance checks are time-consuming and error-prone. Enterprise labeling software automates compliance checks across multiple artworks, verifying label content against regulatory requirements. It highlights any discrepancies or potential violations, allowing compliance professionals to rectify them before labels are printed or published. This automated validation saves time, minimizes errors, and mitigates compliance risks.

How Enterprise Labeling Software Boosts Efficiency

1. Centralized Label Management: Enterprise labeling software centralizes label design, data management, and printing across the organization. It eliminates the need for multiple software applications and manual data transfers, reducing errors and increasing efficiency. By maintaining a centralized store of label templates and product data, you can easily access and update information.


2. Streamlined Collaboration: With enterprise labeling software, different stakeholders involved in the labeling process can collaborate seamlessly. Compliance professionals, regulatory affairs teams, and marketing departments can work together in real-time. This reduces communication gaps and speeds up the label creation process. This collaborative approach ensures that labels comply with regulations while meeting branding and marketing requirements.


3. Agile Labeling Changes: In highly regulated industries, labeling updates and changes are inevitable. Enterprise labeling software enables organizations to respond quickly to regulatory updates or product changes. With efficient workflows and approval processes, compliance professionals can implement labeling changes rapidly, ensuring compliance without causing delays in product launches.

A proven enterprise solution

Enterprise labeling software is now a key tool for many large enterprise companies, particularly in regulated industries. Companies like Teleflex, a medical devices manufacturer have used it to great effect, stopping product recall issues. Teleflex benefits from advanced labeling and artwork management capabilities, all achieved because of the centralised cloud-based system from Kallik. End-users benefit from simplified processes and powerful features. These include a dedicated asset search engine, enhanced phrase and translation management, and end-to-end approval and audit trails.

"As a major medical device provider operating worldwide, teams working across all of our sites and facilities will be involved with the labeling process at some point, meaning standardised control and processes were simply non-negotiable for future success" - Brian Cannon, Senior Project Manager at Teleflex.

Another company benefiting from enterprise labeling software is Össur, a global leader in non-invasive orthopaedics. New EU MDR regulations meant their Kallik solution soon became instrumental in the successful completion of MDR compliance across its operations. With Kallik's software, Össur united all IFU phrases into a single centralized system, providing enhanced visibility over all IFU assets. This enabled Össur to identify key phrases that could be reused in multiple product IFUs. Even some of the more complex products had a higher rate of phrase reuse than expected. The reuse of key phrases has led to standardization of IFUs and a streamlining of product information.

“The team at Kallik went above and beyond to support us during the implementation of their labeling software. This was the reason why the change process project was so successful despite challenges posed by MDR regulations.” - Sigurður Gísli Karlsson, Global Product Manager at Össur.

Time to embrace technology

Embracing this technology can result in improved efficiency, minimized risks, and enhanced brand reputation for enterprise companies operating in regulated industries. What's more, it can often be quicker and easier to implement than many other enterprise solutions. Kallik’s labeling management software allows you to create, edit, approve, and produce compliant and accurate labels and artworks in a flash. Make your work more efficient, reduce manual hours spent, and minimise product reworks. All at a time when safety, cost, and compliance are paramount.

Businesses and manufacturers in highly regulated markets in particular pharmaceutical, food and beverage, cosmetics and consumer packaged goods (CPG), have experienced huge change in recent years, most significantly in the technologies they use, the regulations they face, and the changing demands from their customers.

In 2023 these macro level changes are going to have a serious impact on regulated industries – with technology-driven change exploiting the industrial metaverse right down to the packaging, labelling and artwork used when manufacturing each individual product.

1. The industrial metaverse will blur digital and physical like never before

The global metaverse market is set to grow at an annual compound rate of 39.8% between 2022- 2030. As part of the wider metaverse umbrella, the industrial metaverse combines a mix of immersive technologies including physical-digital fusion and human augmentation to create digital representations of a physical environment. Early adopters are already seeing benefits in terms of streamlining logistics and processes, achieving tangible return on investment (ROI), and delivering high-quality products across multiple industrial applications.

Many companies are still trying to envision the future of the industrial metaverse, but its potential to transform design, manufacturing, and interactions across global ecosystems is gaining significant interest. We have already seen the introduction of digital twins during Industry 4.0, a virtual model designed to accurately represent a physical object. When supported by other innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and 3D rendering, the true powers of digital twins can be felt and the road to the full impact of the industrial metaverse becomes nearer.

In conjunction with digital twins, we can expect to see the use of 3D rendering rapidly increase in 2023. 3D rendering is the process of using a computer to generate a 2D image from a digital three- dimensional scene. At Kallik, 3D rendering for artwork and labelling has already been a core focus – it can help generate labels or artwork to put on the product and produce a 360-degree view of what it will look like on the product or even the shelf before it goes to market.

2. Get to grips with cybersecurity – put data at the heart of operations

Sophisticated hackers are increasingly finding ways through business security defences, so cybersecurity will become a clear focus in 2023. In the UK, nearly two-fifths of businesses experienced a cyberattack in the year leading up to July 2022. For the healthcare sector, cyberattacks have been a long standing issue – it received 20% of the UK’s cyberattacks in 2021. Its vast amount of personal data combined with a reliance on outdated, legacy technology has made the healthcare market a sought-after target and unfortunately, medical devices have become an easy entry point for attackers. Medical device manufacturers are on the front line and must integrate an effective cybersecurity plan throughout the entire product development lifecycle, from pre-market and post-market phases, to device disposal.

Prevention all comes down to data management – companies stand a much higher chance of warning off unwelcomed attackers by putting data at the core of operations. This applies right down to access control for critical recipes and formulas in the manufacturing supply chain – and that includes the label and artwork management (LAM) solution, where security is of upmost importance. LAM solutions are accessed by multiple parties across the manufacturing and distribution process, so product owners need to hold one single source of truth and be able to be sure there is no unwanted data sharing. They must ensure that not only users of the platform are only able to see information relevant to them, but also that out-of-date files are prohibited to reduce risk. Users must only be able to view and edit one version of a label that will need rigorous approvals thereafter. This will provide the necessary reassurance that a consistent audit trail has been followed and minimises the likelihood of data leakage, businesses can be confident that attackers are unable to edit or share data without access or permission.

3. The rise of “Eco-anxiety” – sustainable packaging remains at the front of consumer minds

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) may be no new phenomenon, but it is one that requires urgent action as pressure mounts daily from investors and an eco-conscious society. In 2023, this focus isn’t going to die down – organisations can even expect to lose their competitive edge or market share if ESG is not taken seriously. In a recent report by Kantar, 97% of consumers globally reported that they are prepared to take action and live a more sustainable life, with another 79% keen to purchase more sustainable products.

Most recently, microplastics have found themselves under the microscope – every minute, over seven kilos of microplastics from cosmetics and personal care products end up in the European environment. The cosmetics industry is at the forefront of this issue, as 87% of products from the ten bestselling cosmetics brands contain microplastics. The growing issue has sparked major interest – and consumers have called upon EU regulators to action new laws against the use of microplastics. If approved, the restrictions will have huge implications for manufacturers, not only to product composition but to a major uphaul of existing labels to reflect the ingredients change. Editing such a sheer number of labels will need an advanced and sophisticated LAM (Label & ArtworkManagement) solution to match – a LAM solution that can manage vast amounts of data, symbols, words, and phrases on a large scale.

Exacerbating these pressures is the real and unavoidable 2025 deadline for sustainable packaging. Although market challenges such as cost of living increases and supply chain shortages will wreak havoc for organisations, up to 70% of consumers are willing to pay more for products with sustainable packaging. It will require business leaders to rethink both operations and timeframes, including the use of sustainable materials, and how this will affect printing operations. Here, technology will once again prove its value, reducing long manufacturing development lifecycles and waste in the label and artwork management by easily allowing adaptability to fit new packaging sizes and types – LAM solutions such as Veraciti™, helps companies reduce labelling and artwork completion times by 50%. Indeed, Kallik has been assisting major consumer goods companies in2022 to migrate from plastic packaging to cardboard packaging. Key to this has been Kallik’s Veraciti™ LAM. This trend is expected to continue throughout 2023.

4. Become a data-centric business – growth and success on scale will follow

Finally, in 2023, more organisations will realise the true power of data when analysed and used at scale. Despite investment of trillions of dollars by U.S. companies into data analytics integration at scale, up to now only 8% of organisations are capturing real value. From a labelling and artwork management perspective, effectively harnessing data can unlock a whole host of opportunities and it can help prepare for changes in regulations, product updates, and react in the event of product recalls.

In the artwork and labelling space, being able to react to changing market conditions will be pivotal to stay compliant and operational – and companies must invest in a data heavy system, capable of examining, storing, and printing mass amounts of data, quickly. Take the postponed UKCA certification deadline. By end of year 2024, companies must have changed all labels to reflect the new UKCA marking to remain compliant. Or consider the move to sustainable packaging highlighted earlier, where companies will need to alter recycling symbols for each product based on the material type, regional recycling regulations, as well as the storage and recycling instructions for every region and every language – each of these will need an LAM solution to change speedily, safely and at scale.

Analysing data at scale and actioning cross-organizational change across thousands of product lines will be a long, arduous, and error-prone task with a manual or paper system. It is simply impossible now to adapt to change and to grow without the help technology.

With Veraciti™, companies can reduce artwork changes down to five minutes – a 55-minute saving per change compared to other solutions. The Veraciti™ database and rules engine function keeps products and predetermined phrases stored in 30-40 different languages, to allow users to quickly search and find the relevant data that can be used for artwork – saving time and risk of human error. While many large companies have been found to pass artwork and labelling tasks on to outbound agencies, Veraciti™ has proven savings of up to $3 million per year on third-party artwork agency fees for one large Kallik customer.

The proof is in the numbers – make sure you follow them in 2023

Despite previous years being filled with uncertainty, there is still much externally enforced change for manufacturers in highly regulated markets in 2023 – whether it be the rise of the industrial metaverse, preparing for upcoming regulations, tightening cybersecurity defences or an increased focused on ESG. This will give rise to an increased reliance on digital LAM solutions to ensure product packaging and labelling keeps pace with these developments.

For all manufacturers but in particular for those businesses in regulated industries, the label may be the last part of the production cycle, but it will be one of first parts to cause regulatory issues and even impact consumer safety.