PackMach Asia Expo 2025: Digitisation of packaging supply chain

The critical role of digital technologies in transforming the packaging supply chain took centre stage at a panel discussion held on 14 November at PackMach Asia Expo and DrinkTec India 2025.

Industry leaders from major FMCG and retail conglomerates discussed how digitisation, blockchain, traceability, and real-time tracking are moving from optional features to essential mandates, particularly within the packaging sector.

Ainain Shahidi of 4 Sixes Packaging and Marketing moderated the session, titled Digitisation of Packaging Supply Chain: Blockchain, Traceability, Real-Time Tracking, which brought together Ram Bhadouria of Unilever, Amit Kale of Reliance Retail, and Kanishka Basu Das of Hershey India.

Traceability as a non-negotiable compliance standard
Addressing the critical need for traceability in food products, pharmaceuticals, and FMCG sectors, Ram Bhadouria stated, “The traceability of products is no longer optional.” 

He detailed how Unilever, handling close to 2,500 SKUs across 30 power plants, achieves 100% digital traceability using barcoding and QR codes. This system allows the company to trace consumer complaints, such as a foreign metal finding or a taste issue, back to the exact factory, shift, and even the batch of raw material used. 

Bhadouria cited the complexities of tracing raw materials like tea, which Unilever sources in vast quantities from numerous gardens, and explained their collaboration with technology partners to achieve full traceability from the garden the tea came from to the final blend. 

He also indicated that the cost was secondary to leading the industry in formulating such policies, which are now becoming regulatory standards.

Digitisation to combat waste and inefficiency
Amit Kale of Reliance Retail focused on how real-time supply chain data plays a role in reducing wastage and inefficiencies in logistics. While his initial examples centred on large-scale transportation tracking using RFID tags to reduce vehicle turnaround time (TAT), he underscored the need for standardisation in road conditions and truck dimensions within India before full digitisation potential can be realised.

Highlighting the importance of packaging digitisation, Kale suggested that a future collaboration across printers, machine manufacturers, and brand owners could lead to ‘packaging SIM cards.’ He envisioned QR codes that are activated in the aisle, providing data like advertisements, which could reduce the need for multi-colour printing to a single colour. 

This reduction would significantly enhance sustainability efforts by simplifying the packaging material and printing process. 

Agility, anti-counterfeiting, and the circular economy
Kanishka Basu Das of Hershey India connected packaging digitisation to the evolving consumer landscape, noting that the age of quick commerce demands brand relevance over blind brand loyalty. 

He argued that digitisation transforms the supply chain from a traditional linear system into a smarter, connected and more transparent ecosystem, enabling faster innovation and a quicker response to consumer demands, unlike the previous three to six-month lead times for changes. He remarked, “Packaging digitisation helps to respond to the market faster, makes innovations faster, and enables being present on the shelf in the visibility of the consumer.”

In addition, he underscored the importance of traceability for the circular economy and mandated recycling. He argued that blockchain and data-driven systems help capture the journey from raw material origin to consumer use and subsequent recycling. 

He added that in an era where “counterfeiting is easier than producing an original product,” traceable packaging acts as a major deterrent. While visibility is key, he cautioned that it must be supported by checks and balances.

Digitisation and sustainability
The discussion returned to sustainability, with Bhadouria elaborating on the massive challenge posed by plastics. Unilever, producing approximately 1,25,000-tonnes of plastic annually, has committed to being plastic neutral, meaning it recycles an equivalent amount of plastic as it produces, often in collaboration with NGOs.

In addition, he detailed three core packaging sustainability initiatives, including increasing the use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic in containers like high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles to replace virgin material, exploring biodegradable BOPP films as a substitute for non-degradable polypropylene films, and researching a costly but necessary move to paper-based solutions for packaging such as single-use sachets.

Bhadouria underscored that sustainability is now a central part of business planning. He also detailed Unilever’s efforts to promote sustainability among its suppliers through green financing and by extending access to green solar power from its solar parks in Rajasthan to its factories and third-party collaborators across different states.

The panellists agreed that while digitisation is a mammoth and collaborative task, it is the only way forward to create a resilient, transparent, and sustainable packaging supply chain.