Siegwerk partners with start-ups to identify future trends

Siegwerk has initiated a program to partner with start-ups as a means to achieve faster reaction times to future trends.

The Siegwerk digital team in Berlin: Dieter Spriewald Luciano (left), senior expert, digital innovations; Christoph Barniske (center), head of the digital unit; Kai Limbach (left), digitalization project manager

The ink manufacturer said strategic partnerships with relevant start-ups will enable it to ‘confront future industry trends in an optimum way and further shape the future of packaging’.

The strategic collaboration with relevant start-ups is cited as key for the company in gaining important insights that may initiate developments to address upcoming trends in the ink and packaging industry. This may include smart packaging, for which intelligent pigments or functional coatings are needed, or the internet of packaging, that uses integrated digital tags to interact with the consumer, according to Siegwerk.

‘Start-ups are home to trendsetting ideas and an exceptional inventive spirit,’ explained Christoph Barniske (pictured, center), head of Siegwerk’s digital business unit. ‘We, as an established market player, can support start-ups with our technical expertise to develop their ideas to product maturity and successfully launch them to the market.’

Siegwerk has already started the first discussions with start-ups and plans to establish a systematic process for both screening the start-up scene for potential partners, and offering interested start-ups a platform to introduce themselves to the company and discuss the potential of a collaboration. Siegwerk has recently launched a microsite where potential start-ups can contact Siegwerk’s digital unit. http://startups.siegwerk.com/en

Siegwerk is also targeting greater digitization of its business as a means to achieve greater efficiencies.

Siegwerk has established its digital business unit to understand how customer proximity and big data can help to improve its services to customers, to enhance the work of the sales teams and to initiate new infrastructure projects designed to generate worldwide synergies. The Berlin-based digital unit is focusing on digital services that will improve the interaction between Siegwerk, its customers and brand owners. This includes determining relevant issues that customers have and analyzing whether digital processes could help to improve and simplify the day-to-day work of customers, enhancing the overall customer journey and increasing efficiencies.

Siegwerk CEO Herbert Forker said: ‘It’s all about making the company ready for the future and helping customers to achieve optimum performance by providing modern solutions and services.’