Less waste, more efficiency: the key to sustainable packaging

Global leadership in the beverage industry

This company is one of the largest beverage producers and distributors worldwide, operating a broad portfolio of 134 brands and serving over 270 million consumers daily. With a strong presence in the industry, it runs a network of 56 manufacturing facilities and 249 distribution centers, ensuring efficient delivery to more than 2 million points of sale.

A team of 97,000 employees supports its operations, continuously upholding high-quality standards and delivering a consistent consumer experience. A commitment to operational excellence, innovation, and sustainable production has driven its growth, leading to ongoing optimization of production and logistics processes.

One of its key strategic goals has been implementing solutions that minimize environmental impact, ensuring a balance between growth and social responsibility. This includes initiatives such as the use of recyclable packaging materials.

With this forward-thinking approach, the company continues strengthening its position as a market leader and advancing toward a more efficient and sustainable future.

The challenge of packaging efficiency and sustainability

In an industry where operational efficiency and sustainability are critical, the company identified a significant issue related to excessive cardboard use on pallets for product distribution. This problem led to high costs and raised environmental concerns due to the considerable volume of solid waste generated at the plant.

The main challenges included:

• High packaging material waste: Excessive use of cardboard sheets drove unnecessary costs and had a significant environmental impact, calling for a solution to reduce consumption without compromising functionality.
• Product integrity assurance: Reducing cardboard layers couldn’t compromise pallet stability during transport and storage, as this could risk damaging the products.
• Limitations of palletizing equipment: The packaging systems were set for a specific number of cardboard sheets, meaning any changes would require technical adjustments and validations to ensure compatibility with the existing infrastructure.
• Resistance to change and operational adoption: Any modification to the process required team training and a rigorous testing phase to ensure improvements were well understood and properly implemented.
• Scalability and project replicability: the optimization would have to be sustainable in the long term, allowing it to be deployed to other company plants without compromising operational efficiency.

Based on these challenges, the project was set out with clear objectives:

• Reduce cardboard consumption on production line pallets while maintaining load stability and safety
• Decrease solid waste generation in alignment with the company’s environmental goals
• Optimize operating costs by minimizing waste without compromising supply chain efficiency
• Ensure that improvements are implemented on a large scale by creating a replicable model for other facilities across the group.

Applied methodologies: a structured approach to packaging optimization

It was essential to adopt a structured approach based on continuous improvement methodologies to achieve the defined goals, ensuring that the implemented solutions were practical, sustainable, and replicable across other production units.

Below are the tools applied in this project:

DMAIC: a structured process for continuous improvement

The DMAIC methodology (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) was adopted to ensure sustainable optimization with measurable impact. Widely used in Lean Six Sigma initiatives, this method played a critical role in structuring the project with rigor and precision.

• Define: the project objectives were clearly outlined, focusing on the key issues related to excessive packaging material use. During this phase, stakeholder feedback was gathered, and the impacts on the production process were assessed.
• Measure: by mapping the processes, detailed data was collected on the materials used and the waste generated, ensuring a quantitative understanding of the problems and establishing baselines for future comparison.
• Analyze: root causes were evaluated, and opportunities for optimizing the supply chain were identified.
• Improve: various approaches were tested to reduce material waste, including adjustments to the number of cardboard sheets per pallet layer and modifications to storage and transportation processes. The impact of these improvements was assessed through pilot testing, ensuring that only the most effective solutions were implemented and aligned with the company’s best practices.
• Control: over a 12-month period, performance indicators, including metrics on packaging waste and cost savings, were monitored to ensure the model’s replicability across other production units. In addition, training sessions were held, and operational procedures were updated to ensure that target SKUs were produced in accordance with the new palletizing standards.

Applying this methodology was critical in structuring the decision-making process and ensuring that specific data backed every project phase.

Root cause analysis to identify improvement opportunities

One of the first steps was to understand the causes behind the high consumption of packaging materials—specifically, the excessive use of cardboard on pallets. To do this, Root Cause Analysis was conducted using tools such as the Ishikawa Diagram and the 5 Whys. These tools identified the main factors contributing to material waste and determined which could be eliminated without compromising pallet stability.

Poka-Yoke to ensure quality and sustainability

Implementing packaging improvements required high precision to prevent palletizing errors that could compromise product integrity. To minimize risks and ensure consistency in the changes, the Poka-Yoke concept (error-proofing mechanisms) was applied. This approach helped standardize processes and reduce variability in the new packaging configurations.

SIPOC for a comprehensive process overview

Given the complexity of the supply chain, the SIPOC diagram (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers) was used to map all the elements involved in palletizing and distributing the products. This tool ensured that all critical variables were considered, enabling more effective implementation of improvements.

By applying these tools, the project was conducted in a structured way, resulting in a significant reduction in waste and a positive impact on operational costs.

Results achieved through continuous improvement actions

Using continuous improvement methodologies and optimizing packaging material consumption significantly reduced waste and operating costs, contributing to a lower carbon footprint. The company successfully reduced its environmental impact with a structured, data-driven approach and generated substantial savings.

Reduction in cardboard consumption and environmental impact

• 70% reduction in cardboard consumption on the 400ml line, from 3 sheets to 1 per pallet unit.
• 25% reduction in cardboard consumption on the 1.5L line, from 4 sheets to 3 per pallet unit.
• Lower generation of solid waste at the plant, contributing to sustainability goals and supporting the Zero Waste initiative.

Financial savings and operational efficiency

• $92,000 USD saved in just 9 months, with additional gains projected by year-end.
• Improved efficiency across production lines, maintaining stability and quality without compromising food safety.
• Replicable model for other company facilities, creating new opportunities to expand the initiative’s impact.

This project’s success reinforces the company’s commitment to packaging innovation and sustainability. It proves that waste reduction and process optimization are essential to balancing operational efficiency with environmental responsibility. Expansion of this initiative to other production units is already under review, demonstrating the power of continuous improvement in transforming industrial processes.

“The company has developed programs and initiatives (…) that foster community engagement and promote environmental sustainability.”

Next steps toward operational excellence

Operational transformation doesn’t end with the implementation of a successful project. In a constantly evolving sector, the company recognizes the importance of anticipating challenges and integrating new technologies to ensure the resilience and competitiveness of its industrial processes. Therefore, based on the lessons learned from this project, strategic areas have been defined to continue driving innovation and operational excellence.

The next steps include:

• Workforce connectivity: implementing digital systems to enhance team communication, enabling faster and more effective production monitoring.
• Digital maintenance: using predictive technologies to reduce idle time and optimize equipment performance.
• Quality and safety monitoring: digitalizing Quality, Safety, and Environment (QSE) processes to improve traceability and regulatory compliance.
• Line performance optimization: enhancing real-time KPI monitoring to enable rapid adjustments, maximize efficiency, and minimize waste.
• Cybersecurity enhancement: protecting digital infrastructure from cyber threats to ensure the integrity and security of operational data.
• OT/IT integration: aligning operational technology (OT) with information technology (IT) to improve production process management and system interoperability.

These future-focused actions will ensure the continuity and evolution of this project, consolidating its results and reinforcing operational excellence. Their implementation will sustain the initiated optimization, driving long-term continuous improvement and innovation.

We are committed to respecting our clients’ confidentiality. While we have altered or omitted their names, the results are genuine.