The panel discussion which was moderated by Ramu Ramanathan, editor of PrintWeek and WhatPackaging?, deliberated for 60 minutes about: Your customer - what does he or she mean to you?

BS Jolly, managing director and CEO of Edelmann Group recalls the mantra ‘grahak devo bhava’. He said, "We believe a customer is not just a partner, but also helps us to drive innovation for growth and quality. And we do this together."

"Sustainability is not merely environmentally friendly. I feel the switch from plastic to paper can be achieved through the collaborative effort of the manufacturer and converter," added Jolly.

In 2023, Edelmann bagged the Gold Star Ecovadis sustainability rating for the third successive  year. This has put the company in the top four percent of 85,000 audited companies. Jolly spoke at length about how the group offers high-quality packaging solutions for the health care, beauty care and consumer brands sectors, with over 14 plants across eight countries and the Indian factory at Baddi.

Anant Gadre, managing director, 3D Technopack highlighted the important matter of gender in the industry, “While I have come across some of the most professional, sharp, committed decision makers in the purchase or packaging development, the gentlemen in our industry lag gentleness and score low on EQ."

Gadre also highlighted the importance of customer solutions, plus how to get superior conversion and be much-more efficient. He pointed out there are various types of customers and it is important to know that early so that one can provide the right type of packaging. He spoke about some of the customer challenges. During the IFA Star Awards Neopac's round extruded tubes won awards. The award winning work is based on the company's SpringTube, which is specially designed to maintain its shape with printing, which delivers "a host of additional benefits for consumers and brand owners". Gadre shared that the Neopac extruded tube features a tamper-evident, push-on PE flip-top cap, so that the SpringTube can be decorated using digital, flexo or metallic foil processes and is the only tube currently capable of photographic printing with highly opaque colours on a partially metallized tube (window effect).

Meanwhile Akil Contractor of Print Dynamic said, "Our task has been to innovate and create new and more exciting ways to attract potential customers while remaining traditional yet professional and this has really been a tight rope obstacle course in the last one and a half decade."

Hrishikesh Kulkarni, manager sales - West and South India, Sri Lanka, Miraclon India, answered the question: You customer, what does he or she mean to you? , "The answer is opportunity – an opportunity to take a technology like flexo to the next level." He Said that flexo is growing and Miraclon’s innovations play a crucial part in being a tech-doctor that guides a customer with the help of training tools and apps.

Akil Contractor pointed out that the customer approach has changed significantly. Earlier the customers used to "fish for their products in an uninformed manner - and mainly on the basis of references. But with the help of the internet, customers are well informed and aware about what products and services they need."

"Customers have a variety of problems in small and big formats. Small problems are typically from printers/trade shops which are specific to jobs or some plate functions,” said Hrishikesh Kulkarni of Miraclon India. He added, "We help our customers to get the basics right, and the problem gets solved. Typically on the commercial front we do look forward to long term contracts which bind both the user and us to deliver."

Miraclon believes that flexo can only grow if it proves its efficiency. Kulkarni said, "We have developed a tool which will help customers understand the tangible benefits like ink, white ink savings. This tool also will provoke people to look and measure the time and material they consume on job set up and press stoppages. This tool will also ask a soft powering question: what if you can run your press at higher speeds."

The final word belonged to Bruce Foster of Perfac who hit the nail on the head when he shared that "Most of his customers are his friends". Foster's mantra: I have no time for friendships; so I have made my customers my friends.

The panel discussed topics like eco-friendly practices, industry best standards which can be shared with the customers, advocacy for educational and training resources.