Strengthening Partnerships Through Hands-On Learning
Taking Flexible Packaging Knowledge from the Sales Team to the Manufacturing Floor
At Material Motion, we believe the best packaging solutions come from a combination of technical expertise, strong manufacturing partnerships, and a deep understanding of our customers’ unique requirements.
Last week, members of the Material Motion team traveled to Colombia, for an intensive training and collaboration session with one of manufacturing partners. The experience provided an opportunity to step beyond specifications, presentations, and product samples and gain firsthand insight into the technology, processes, and people behind the flexible packaging solutions we provide to our customers.
Learning Beyond the Specification Sheet
Throughout the week, our team worked alongside commercial and technical teams to expand our understanding of flexible packaging.
The training covered a broad range of topics, including:
- Flexible packaging structures and material selection
- Printing technologies and capabilities
- Film and substrate materials
- Manufacturing and production processes
- Quality control procedures
- Packaging performance considerations
- Factors that influence packaging design and application
This hands-on experience provided our team with a much greater understanding of what goes into developing and manufacturing a flexible packaging solution.
While specifications and technical data are critical to selecting the right packaging, understanding how those specifications translate to the manufacturing floor provides an entirely different level of insight.
Bringing Sales Closer to Manufacturing
One of the biggest benefits of the trip was bringing our sales team directly into the manufacturing environment.
Sales professionals are often the first point of contact when a customer has a packaging challenge. To effectively support those customers, they need to understand more than just the finished product. They need to understand the materials, equipment, manufacturing processes, limitations, and opportunities that influence the final packaging solution.
The better we understand how packaging is engineered and produced, the better equipped we are to ask the right questions.
That knowledge allows our team to identify potential issues earlier, recognize opportunities for improvement, and work more effectively with our manufacturing partners to develop solutions that address the actual needs of the application.
Ultimately, that translates into greater value for our customers.
Stronger Partnerships Through Collaboration
Strong partnerships are built through communication, transparency, shared knowledge, and a willingness to work together toward common goals.
Spending an entire week alongside the team allowed our teams to develop a deeper understanding of one another—not only from a commercial perspective, but also from a technical and operational standpoint.
That type of collaboration is particularly valuable in the flexible packaging industry, where every application can present different requirements. Material selection, barrier properties, printing, sealing, production capabilities, and end-use conditions can all play a role in determining the right solution.
Having a close relationship with manufacturing partners enables Material Motion to approach these challenges collaboratively rather than simply taking an order and passing along a specification.
Turning Knowledge into Customer Value
The real value of an experience like this comes from what happens after the training is complete.
We returned with new knowledge, new ideas, stronger relationships, and an even greater appreciation for the capabilities available to our customers.
Our goal is to take that knowledge and apply it to the conversations we have with customers every day.
Whether a customer is looking for improved packaging performance, a different material structure, enhanced printing capabilities, a more efficient manufacturing process, or a solution to an existing packaging challenge, having a technically knowledgeable team allows us to approach the opportunity from a more informed perspective.
At Material Motion, we don’t believe in simply supplying packaging. We believe in understanding the application, identifying the challenge, and working with the right manufacturing partners to develop the best possible solution.
Looking Ahead
At Material Motion, we believe investing in our people, our partnerships, and our technical knowledge ultimately allows us to deliver greater value to our customers.
“One of the biggest benefits of this experience was being able to connect what we discuss with our customers every day to what actually happens on the manufacturing floor. Spending the week with the manufacturing team gave us a much deeper understanding of their capabilities, the technology behind flexible packaging, and how we can work together to develop better solutions for our customers. But just as important, it strengthened the relationship between our teams. We came back with more knowledge, stronger partnerships, and a lot of excitement about the opportunities ahead.”
— José Torres, Vice President of International Sales, Material Motion, Inc.