Driving change through innovation: How technology is transforming brand packaging management

The complexities and demands of brand packaging management have evolved rapidly in recent years, driven by shifting consumer expectations alongside accelerated time to market pressure and increased regulatory changes.

Brands and retailers have a big challenge on their hands to keep up with the pace and degree of these changes, but the key to doing so is understanding how to best leverage the variety of technology-based solutions available to them.

But let’s be honest, initiating change within outdated ways of working and adopting new technology solutions is still something people shy away from or even fear.

Mark Lee, Innovation Director at JPG, shares his experience and advice on how brands and retailers should approach this level of change management.

“I’ve always believed that innovation isn’t about chasing trends, it’s about providing effective solutions to real problems. Right now, the biggest challenge facing brands and private label retailers is how to bring their products to market faster, more cost-effectively and with consistent quality that complies with every regulatory update as it happens, both on-shelf and across digital channels.”

01. The challenges

The automation of the packaging artwork process is more than a time-saver, it’s a key business enabler. By streamlining repetitive tasks, reducing manual errors and simplifying version control, our proprietary technologies allow clients to focus on what matters most to them - brand growth, market responsiveness and creative excellence.

02. The solutions

From smart briefing tools and dynamic artwork templates to AI-assisted quality checks and auto-generation of pack variants, we’re enabling seamless workflows that support accuracy at scale, with no compromise on brand integrity.

As the boundaries between physical and digital shelf blur, packaging artwork must do more than look good, it must perform across every environment.

That’s why we’ve integrated advanced photography, 3D visualization, and AI-powered image creation directly into our artwork production platform, ensuring consistency across touch points while reducing content creation time and cost.

03. A considered approach to change management

We recognize and understand that implementing new ways of working and deploying technology solutions takes time and consideration, but the return on that investment is measurable and significant.

To map out the key steps in this crucial journey, I always promote a logical and phased approach…

• Understand your challenges: Evaluate your “current state” processes to identify the pain points, bottlenecks and inefficiencies - the areas that require change.
• Set clear goals: Document your “future state” processes to communicate your desired outcomes and benefits that change is going to accomplish.
• Choose the right partner: Research and select solution providers that are experts and proven in your specific category or sector, that understand and align to your specific needs and can partner with you to implement products and services that are designed to solve the challenges that you have. 
• Pilot, prove, refine, scale:Choose a specific category, team or product range to run a controlled test to assess feasibility and gather feedback before wider implementation, allowing for adjustments and improvements based on the pilot's findings prior to full deployment.
• Invest in training: Once you have invested the time and effort into transforming your ways of working, ensure you realise all available benefits by providing your team with the skills and knowledge to use the new tools effectively and maximise their value.

04. Smarter tools, better results

There is never a one-size-fits-all approach to this, but with the right combination of both people AND technology meaningful transition becomes possible.

At JPG, we’re committed to helping you navigate this transformation.

Our commitment to building proprietary solutions in-house, not just using third-party platforms, means we can respond quickly to client needs and continuously evolve our technology solutions to reflect this.

Whether it’s content management, artwork automation or packaging lifecycle optimisation, every solution we deliver is designed to get products to market faster, more safely, and always on brand.

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About the author

Jupiter Prestige Group