PHILIPPINE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Quezon City

A Study on the Problems Encountered by the Corrugated Fibre

Board Packaging Industry in the Philippines

A Research Proposal Presented to

Dr. Carina B. Garcia
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Course Requirements in
Thesis Writing 1

Submitted by:

Loreto E. Almazan Jr.

October 2017
 CHAPTER 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Introduction

Philippine business industry is a complex structure with

many facets, and the importance of corrugated packaging within

this system is becoming increasingly significant. Current methods

of handling and distributing goods are such an essential part of

the product life that we take them for granted and hardly realize

how much modern techniques contribute to the standard of living.

Many businesses often feel the need to focus on implementing

proper guidelines and procedures on packaging industry since it

will benefit on the product itself. Moreover, the product and the

package are becoming so independent that we cannot consider one

without the other.

The growth of corrugated packaging industry in the

Philippines has outrun the technology needed for orderly progress

and development. Very little literature is available to the

Philippine industry. It becomes necessary to borrow from other

industry to supplement the meagre knowledge that has been

accumulated in the area of corrugated packaging. The skills of

people working in the packaging industry in making intelligent

decisions depends on his breadth of knowledge in many fields and

his depth of experience within the packaging industry.

Since packaging accounts for an increasing share of the cost

of goods, it follows that the worker with the responsibilities of

making recommendations and influencing decisions needs all the

knowledge and skill he can master. Further, he should approach

his task with an open mind and a broad perspective if he has to

take full advantage of the great variety of materials, machines

and techniques that are available.

There are seemingly a lot of international research studies

that attempt to find if there is a relationship between

corrugated packaging products, it’s user, product to contain and

impact on production line of corrugated boxes. Despite the

increasing interest in understanding the corrugated packaging

product itself, there is far less research about its

characteristics in the Philippines. Furthermore, this paper, with

a specific focus on the corrugated packaging industry and its

products, seeks to further analyse on corrugated packaging

business and its customers through studying the characteristics

involve and whether they have an effect on the level of business

productivity. Primarily, this paper will incorporate important

matters regarding corrugated packaging products in the

Philippines and its characteristics as well as productivity.

Then, it will determine the most critical characteristic of

corrugated packaging products and the current level of business

productivity in a manufacturing company. Moreover, it will

determine whether the characteristics of corrugated packaging

products have an impact on the level of business productivity.

This is the reason for this researcher to choose the topic “A

Study on the Problems Encountered by the Corrugated Fibre Board

Packaging Industry in the Philippines” to research on.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Most people in the Philippines take corrugated boxes for

granted, We fail to recognize their importance because it become

usual, regular things for us. It's everywhere we see, we usually

do not notice the importance of it but we sometime or the other

have used it and will use it again. It shift from one place to

another, we order something online it's delivered sealed packed

in a box. It’s everywhere and sometimes there are certain things

that we see and neglect it, but it’s hard to consider a world

without it. Today, these types of boxes are used for a number of

applications, from storing to shipping, but where did the

corrugated cardboard box come from? Let’s take a brief look at

its history.

THICK PAPER

The start of the corrugated box is the invention of paper in

the second century. According to studies, paper was created by a

Chinese inventor by the name of Ts’ai Lun. China is also home to

the first known appearance of cardboard, which was simply

classified as thick paper when it was first introduced in the

1600s. Although China didn’t use cardboard to make boxes, it used

it as a packaging material for the transportation of goods.

CORRUGATED CARDBOARD

The very first cardboard box was introduced in 1817, but

they weren’t the same corrugated boxes that we know today. They

were introduced to the world by British industrialist Sir Malcolm

Thornhill. He invited them from a simple, single layer of

cardboard. Corrugated cardboard wouldn’t be seen until 1856, when

British inventors Edward Healey and Edward Allen put a new spin

on Thornhill’s design by using multiple layers of cardboard and a

corrugated piece in the center for strength.

The Corrugated Box

While Healey and Allen invented corrugated cardboard, they

weren’t the first to use it to make boxes. Nearly 15 years later,

a New York industrialist by the name of Albert Jones took

corrugated cardboard to the United States and was granted a

patent to use it in the packaging of goods. Jones didn’t invent

the corrugated box, but his work brought it to the attention of a

man named Oliver Long. It was Long who came up with the idea of

attaching multiple corrugated cardboard pieces together to form a

box. By 1890, Long’s idea was in general use around the country.

The Evolution of the Corrugated Box

Today, corrugated boxes are used by the general public to

ship and store all types of goods because they’re affordable and

strong. When they first came out, though, corrugated boxes were

viewed as a more expensive method to transport goods. Due to

this, these types of boxes were only used in the transportation

of high-end goods that were breakable. Over time, the corrugated

box became more commonplace.

 It’s hard to believe that the invention of the corrugated

box can be traced all the way back to the invention of paper in

ancient China. While it went through many transformations to

become the packaging material we know today, one thing is for

sure: Corrugated boxes have changed our world for the better.

Conceptual Framework

This study is inspired with the List of Challenges published

by Tanay Sharma article last 2016 for packaging industry.

Challenges according to Tanay Sharna are the following;

 RISING COST OF RAW MATERIALS

One of the biggest problems the corrugated box industry is facing

is on the part of rising cost of raw materials. The continuous

rise in the price of kraft paper which constitutes about 70

percent of the raw material and also other raw materials like

adhesive glue etc. is posing serious threat of closure for small

and medium manufacturers.

  COMPETITION

One reason why the surge in prices of raw materials is affecting

the industry in an intensified manner is because of the

competition. With abundant number of players in the market, it’s

almost impossible for the industry to pass the rise in price to

the consumers.

 CUSTOMER RETENTION

Low customer retention rate is again a major issue for the box

companies. They do not have many loyal customers. It becomes

difficult for them to maintain quality with pressure coming from

all sides.

 SHRINKING PROFIT MARGINS

With ever rising cost of raw materials and stagnant realization

rate the profit margins are constantly shrinking leaving the

industry in a feeble space.

 INEFFICIENT MANAGEMENT
The box industry suffers from inefficient management as they do

not have a robust management model which results in a working

environment not conducive for productivity.

These challenges in our industry pose great threats on our

unstoppable growing market. In a report published in March 10,

2016 by Report Buyer, The small and regional corrugated packing

suppliers are finding it hard to manoeuvre profitably in the

corrugated packaging market, owing to the increasing prices of

raw materials. The corrugated packaging market has witnessed

large numbers of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), in recent years.

The falling profit margin, particularly for small players have

led to market consolidation in the developed markets.

On an article published by EY Company Director for

operational Transaction Services, Mr. Nick Neil-Boss, he unwrap

seven factors that greatly affect and challenges the packaging

industry.

 Raw materials
Major raw materials usually comprise more than half of the total

cost base of a packaging manufacturer, so getting caught between

a “rock and a hard place” in the value chain can be dangerous to

the company’s financial health. It is therefore crucial for

packaging businesses to manage the stability of their input raw

material costs and pass through as much of the raw material price

inflation as possible to customers.

 “Waste not, want not”

In packaging industry, they said, given the increased volatility

in raw material prices over the past few years, and the

increasing concern over the environmental impact of packaging, it

has become extremely important to reduce the amount of material

used in the production of packaging both to packaging producers

and their customers. Packaging producers have come under pressure

to reduce process scrap as the cost of lost material cannot be

recovered from customers (although a degree of scrap is usually

priced into print runs and unprinted trim can generally be

reprocessed).

 Capex: are you getting “bang for the buck”?

Management needs to be skilled at determining how much to spend

on maintaining and adding to the capabilities of their machine

park. Spend too little and your competitiveness (and EBITDA)

erodes over time. Spend too much on the wrong projects and your

cash flow suffers. Therefore, finding the quantum and mix of

capex spend that sustains EBITDA and cash flow is key.

 Operational performance: “What gets measured gets

delivered”

With its exposure to increasing raw material prices and customer

purchasing power, continuous operational performance improvement

is vitally important in the packaging industry. A key success

factor in delivering continuous improvement is accurate and

consistent measurement of the right key performance indicators

(KPIs).

 Product and customer profitability: when to part

company with your customers

The high cost of machinery, packaging companies are under

pressure to keep their utilization levels high. Also, given the

technical nature of the product and exposure to a variety of end-

markets, the number of bespoke customer products or stock keeping

units (SKUs) can proliferate, thereby increasing manufacturing

complexity and the risk of obsolete inventory. As a result,

companies can end up with large numbers of low-margin products

filling up available capacity and causing increased changeover

times. It can be positive in the short term to receive some

contribution to fixed costs if the alternative is idle lines. In

the long run, this is not a sustainable situation as it is a

blocker to profitable growth and to making necessary decisions

about investment and capacity.

 Innovation: what distinguishes the stars from the dogs

From an operational perspective, packaging producers have to be

able to deliver new shapes, use new materials, print more colors

in greater definition and deliver short-run lengths economically.

These capabilities require investment both in new capital

equipment and training. Packaging companies that don’t invest in

the right technologies and capabilities are at a competitive

disadvantage.

 The supply chain “balancing act” and effective

offshoring
Maintaining an effective supply chain and operations network for

a packaging business is complex. As a general rule, the location

of the plant is a key driver of the economics. Packaging is a

relatively low-value good, which has a limited radius up to which

it can be profitably transported to customers. But, practically,

there will always be trade-offs between transport costs, plant

capacity utilization, number of plants, inventory, customer

service levels and good manufacturing practice (GMP)

requirements. The right answer depends on the type of packaging

(rigid, flexible, paper, metal etc.) and the end-market served

(consumer food, industrial, cosmetics, health care etc.). For

example, flexible packaging can be compacted for transport, which

means it can travel further than other types of packaging.

According to Thomas Trost and Johan Alfthan from their

article “Performance and test methods for corrugated board

packaging”. Corrugated packaging products should have ”Standards

for optimizing corrugated board packaging for exporting industry”

Goals for attaining standards in the Industry are the following:

- A foundation in the Philippines for development of a future

standard allowing more optimized and resource efficient use

of corrugated board packaging for product protection

 - Investigation of the problems occurring and identify the

needs of the exporting industry

- Investigation of existing standards and test methods and

comparison to the needs of the industry

Certain backgrounds of the packaging industry need to be

considered as follows;

- Corrugated board varies within the same quality, depending

on where in the world it is bought.

- There are numerous test standards, but Little help or

guidance on which properties are important.

- Lack of global performance standards means that large

packaging users, i.e. exporting companies, cannot easily

specify their needs when communicating with corrugated

packaging products manufacturer.

ACTIVITIES:

Mapping of
Demands
 Proposal for
Analysis Future Work

Mapping of
Existing
Standards

Figure 1: Activities involved in Packaging Industry (Mapping of

Demands)

Mapping of demands:

1. Types of damages, where they occur in the

distribution chain, and how they are

followed up

2. Damage frequency and statistics, influence

on packaging development

3. Test methods used on boxes and pallets

4. Organization of packaging development, e.g.

if development is performed in-house or

externally by packaging supplier or

 consulting companies, and if the

responsibility lies on product, division or

central level.

5. The requirements on primary and secondary

(transport) packaging and if they are

evaluated together or independently of each

other

6. Use of packaging instructions; pallet

pattern and marking

7. Important environmental factors to protect

against and how are these determined

8. Specification on corrugated at purchase

9. Quality control of delivered packaging

material

Identified Problems:
 1. Logistics

- Varying transport distances

– Mixed cargo, single parcel or pallet

– Pallet optimisation and securing

2. Stackability and side impact

- Collapse due to shocks and vibrations

- Creep

- Perforations

3. Climate, especially humidity

– Performance loss

– Creep at varying humidity

Mapping of existing standards (Figure 2)

Corrugated board Box performance

 Paper properties

properties
• Tensile stiffness • Edge crush test • Box compression

• Tensile strength (ECT) test (BCT)

• Short span • Flat crush test • Rough handling

compression test (FCT) protocol

(SCT) • Bending stiffness

• Corrugated medium • Friction

test (CMT) • Printability

• Dimensional • Burst strength

stability • Warp

STANDARDIZED METHODS

Paperboard Level Box Level Pallet Level Reality

BENDING STIFFNESS
ISO 5628
HOW TO REFLECT
REAL LIFE
TRANSPORT TEST
ASTM D 4169
BOX COMPRESSION TEST
ISO 12048, ASTM D 642
Although, box manufacturers are facing stupendous challenges to

keep themselves afloat and need a solution to help them surmount

the pressure.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The main concern of this study is to asses the current level of

management of productivity in manufacturing business in the

Philippines as a continuing provider of corrugated packaging

products to market/customers, focussing the study on “The

Problems Encountered by the Corrugated Fibre Board Packaging

Industry in the Philippines”.

More specifically, this study will seek to answer the following

questions:

1. What is the profile respondents in terms of:

1.1 Involvement in the industry

1.1.1 Top Management

1.1.2 Marketing Personnel

1.1.3 Employees

1.1.4 Supplier of Raw Materials

1.2 Length of Service in the Company

1.3 Years of Experience in the Industry

2. How do the respondents rate the product with respect to;

Machines

a. Raw Materials

b. Technology

3. What level of Market Demands or Customers is available in

the Philippines in terms of ;

a. Quality

b. Cost

c. Services

4. How do the respondents rate the level of market needs of

Corrugated Packaging products?

5. What is the level of manufacturer’s speed in responding to

market demand for packaging products?

6. How do the respondents rate the level of acceptance of

corrugated packaging products in the Philippine Market?

7. Is there a significant effect existing on the product

manufacturer and the Market/customers with respect;

a. Culture

b. Philippine economy
 c. Environment Climate

d. Market Industry

8. Is there a positive relationship between the speed in

responding to market needs and the level of acceptance of

the product?

9. What recommendations can be made in order to improve the

corrugated packaging product business in the Philippines?

10. What recommendations can be made to enhance the

services provided by the corrugated packaging product

manufacturers to the Philippine Market/Customers?

Assumptions:

In writing this research paper, the researcher came up with this

assumptions
 1. The corrugated packaging industry is facing challenges in

the business market regarding cost, quality and services.

2. The packaging industry is aware of the growing demands of

the industry and strategies must be in place to face the

global competition.

Significance of the Study

The results of this study will benefit the following:

Corrugated Packaging Products Manufacturers . This study will be

most beneficial to the manufacturing company owners and employees

of the company in which the study is being conducted. The

results of the study can be used in order to implement measures

that would improve or enhance the relationship that will result

better productivity performances and customer services.

Businesses in the same industry. This study will help businesses

to extend their awareness and broaden their knowledge regarding

the problems encountered by Corrugated Fibre Board Packaging

Industry in the Philippines and will extend to improve their

business and to its employees. Also, this study can motivate them

to think of strategies and action plans aimed at increasing

productivity and building competitive advantage.

Business Students. They will be aware of the effects of the

Problems involved in the Packaging Industry and its importance to

the business sectors. Through this, they can gain ideas that they

can use in their future careers.

Future Researchers. The results gained at the end of the study

can serve as a guide for future studies that will be conducted.

Providing some background knowledge, the following studies would

be more exploratory.

HYPOTHESIS

In discussing this study, the researcher has come up with the

following hypothesis:
H01 = Culture, Philippine economy, environment, climate and

market industry have significant effect on the manufacturer and

the customers.

H02 = There is positive relationship between the speed in

responding to market needs and the level of acceptance of the

product by the customers.

1.5 Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study is focused in determining the Problems

Encountered by the Corrugated Fibre Board Packaging Industry in

the Philippines and giving awareness to the industry for the

improvement of packaging industry.

The researcher will be conducting a survey with companies

engaged in manufacturing Corrugated fibre board packaging

products since they are knowledgeable of the existing processes

and operations and market. They will be asked to answer the

survey questionnaire. The actual survey questionaire is attached

in the Appendix portion of this research.

The researcher experienced some limitations in conducting

these studies because of the available time allotted to conduct

studies and researches while working in the office. There are

also difficulties of getting information due to limited materials

in particular with libraries, books and date available for/from

the subject companies. Also, some necessary data cannot be

available due to confidentiality matter pertaining to company

policy.

Synthesis

This study is similar to the statistics of Paper Committee

of Shanghai Packaging Technology Association, the sales volume of

corrugated box industry in Shanghai in 1990 was 1 billion. By

2002, it had increased to 6 billion RMB, and to 13 billion RMB in

2007, with an average annual increase of about 30% [3].

Apparently, China’s production capacity of corrugated box is

soaring dramatically. However, with the constant rise of resource

and manufacture costs, many manufacturers at home and abroad are

considering increasing the income while decreasing expenditure,

especially the reduction of packaging expenditure. This is not

only a response to domestic and international financial crises,

but also an indication of the shift in priority from cutting down

the cost of the product itself to the cost of the external

packaging when taking into account of products cost. It is indeed

progressive.

This study is similar to the challenges on corrugated box

industry that enumerated by Tanay Sharma published on October 7,

2016, (1) RISING COST OF RAW MATERIALS (2) COMPETITION (3)

CUSTOMER RETENTION (4) SHRINKING PROFIT MARGINS (5) INEFFICIENT

MANAGEMENT

This study is similar to an article published by EY Company

Director for operational Transaction Services, Mr. Nick Neil-

Boss, he unwrap seven factors that greatly affect and challenges

the packaging industry, (1) Raw materials (2) “Waste not, want

not” (3) Capex: are you getting “bang for the buck”? (4)
Operational performance: “What gets measured gets delivered” (5)

Product and customer profitability: when to part company with

your customers (6) Innovation: what distinguishes the stars from

the dogs (7) The supply chain “balancing act” and effective

offshoring.

This study is similar to the Research on Corrugated

cardboard and its Application authored by Mr. Liu Ju Bi (2010)

where it also studied the rapid development of the corrugated

cardboard at home and abroad, and gives an introduction of its

environmental protection, economical practical advantages and

remarkable achievements in the packing industry.

This study is similar to TOMAS NORDSTRAND (2003) doctoral

thesis about Basic Testing and Strength Design of corrugated

board and container, with the aims to create a practical tool for

strength analysis of boxes that can be used by corrugated board

box designers.

This study is similar to Hanlon that states in his handbook

an Approach to Problems by a professional worker in packaging

must possess a good knowledge of the materials and processes;

such as (1) Ethics (2) Know your product (3) Analyze the market

(4) Competitive packages (5) Recognize needs (6) Innovations (7)

Integrated systems (8) Small or Large volume (9) Export problems

(10) Vending machines.

This study is different from a portion of Joseph F. Hanlon

Handbook of Package Engineering (Second Edition that states, The

boon of packaging carries with it the bane of waste disposal.

While sources of raw materials appear to be inexhaustible, the

accumulation of by-products is beginning to draw attention to the

more sordid aspects of packaging. Our highways and public places

are becoming littered with debris, mostly packaging, and there

has been flurry of legislation to combat this menace. This study

is concentrated only on the problem encountered by the Corrugated

Board Packaging Industry specifically on their operation.

CHAPTER 2
Review of Related Literature

Most items at your favorite supermarket, discount store, or

shopping mall are safely delivered in boxes made of corrugated

cardboard, and many are displayed in the same boxes, which were
manufactured so they could be opened and used for this purpose.

Other items may arrive in their own corrugated or uncorrugated

paperboard boxes. Because corrugated cardboard is such a

versatile packaging material, millions of tons are used each year

to protect and display products. A forum site “How Products are

Made” posted last June 2017, during 1992, more than 25 million

tons of corrugated cardboard were produced in the United States.

Another 6 million tons of uncorrugated boxboard or paperboard

were also produced for use in folding cartons.

Corrugated cardboard is a stiff, strong, and light-weight

material made up of three layers of brown kraft paper. In 1884,

Swedish chemist, Carl F. Dahl, developed a process for pulping

wood chips into a strong paper that resists tearing, splitting,

and bursting. He named it the kraft process because it produces a

strong paper that resists tearing, splitting, and bursting.

From the paper mill, rolls of kraft paper are transported to

a corrugating, or converting, plant. At the plant, layers of

kraft paper are crimped and glued to form corrugated cardboard,

which is then cut, printed, folded, and glued to make boxes. At

the beginning of this process, kraft rolls from the paper mill

are loaded into a huge machine called a corrugator. A typical

corrugator is as long as a football field—300 feet (91.44

meters). Some rolls of kraft paper are used as the corrugating

medium, and others are used as liners, the layers of kraft paper

glued on each side of the medium. After the corrugator has

heated, glued, and pressed the kraft paper to form corrugated

cardboard, the continuous sheet of cardboard is cut into wide box

blanks that then go to other machines for printing, cutting, and

gluing. Finally, batches of finished boxes are banded together

for shipping to the food processor, toy maker, automobile parts

distributor, or any of the thousands of businesses that depend on

corrugated cardboard packaging.

Ms. K. Vanitha (year), of Entrepreneurship Development

Institute, narrated in her project report about “Manufacturing of

Corrugated Boxes” the definition and importance of corrugated

boards and boxes, she said;

Corrugated Box is the most popular shipping container, now-

a-days. The box is manufactured from corrugated board which

consists of 3 or more layers of kraft paper. The middle fluted

layer is pasted with two flat parallel sheets of paper. The boxes

find their number of applications in the packaging of chemicals &

drugs, tobacco, engineering goods, canned & bottled goods, food

products, lamps, electrical appliances, glasswares etc. Packaging

plays a very important role in the country's economy. Till

recently only the western world, more particularly the developed

countries cared about proper packaging. However, now even

developing countries like India have changed their outlook

towards packaging and in the last few years increasing stress has

been laid on improved and proper packaging. In fact, today,

packaging is as important as the contents. Corrugated boards were

first produced in India in early fifties. Since then the

production of Corrugated boards has increased steadily.

Corrugated boxes have replaced wooden boxes & crates in many

applications. Today, about 80% of all shipments in the world are

being made in fibre board boxes. In India, about 60% of the

packaging is being done with corrugated fibre board boxes.

Corrugated Board:- Corrugated fibre board consists of a flat

layer of paper sheet (liner) glued on one or both sides of a

corrugated paper (medium). The corrugated board is made by

passing two layers of paper (usually kraft) through corrugating

machine. One layer of paper becomes corrugated after being passed

thro' the heated rolls and other is brought into contact with it

after the former having glued at tips. The corrugating 'medium'

is generally made from a 0.009" thick (9 caliper) or 0.23 mm. The

glue frequently used is starch or silicate of soda adhesive. When

only one liner is used, the product is known as "Single face" or

"two ply" board. This board is flexible in one direction. When

the corrugated medium is combined on both sides with flat sheets,

it is known as double faced or "3-ply board".

 ADVANTAGES OF CORRUGATED FIBRE BOARD AND BOXES

Corrugated fibreboard boxes have replaced the wooden and tin

containers due to their several advantages for safe

transportation of the goods. These are discussed hereunder :

1) Light in weight (freight advantage)

2) Cellular structure with high compressive strength,

resiliency & shock resistance. Assured safety to delicate

articles.

3) Can be stored conveniently in folded condition when not

in use, thus saving storage space.

4) Can be attractively printed, thus advertising advantage.

5) By lining, lamination or coating, they can be made water

resistant and resistant to other adverse conditions.

6) Easy to fabricate.

7) Contents packed in these boxes remain dust free.

8) Available through out the year. .pa

9) Expedites production due to one line conveyor packing.

10) Re-usable

11) No strapping necessary

12) Desired in export market

 13) Eliminated dependency on natural wood.

Applications:

Corrugated fibre board boxes are being used for the packing

of industrial as well as consumer goods. They are used for

packing of chemicals, drugs, tobacco, engineering goods, canned

and bottled goods, food, electrical appliances, confectionary,

textiles, fruits, vegetables, potteries, footwear, glassware and

other fragile items, medical instruments, photographic equipment

and a number of other products.

There are published results preceding the present study. The

stresses encountered during transport are well known to be

varying and often especially tough during loading and unloading,

e.g. Bernad et al. (2010). There are also many studies of stacked

cargo on pallet, including modelling approaches, (Rouillard et

al., 2004).

Reimers (2011), demonstrates the problems related to the

existing BCT quality definition of heavy duty corrugated board

and the practical performance of packaging made from such boards.

Improved determination of the performance of heavy duty

corrugated board packaging will make it possible for users and

manufacturers to select corrugated board grades for optimum costs

and benefits considering differences in transport, handling and

storage Public report Standards for optimizing corrugated board

packaging for exporting industry – A feasibility study Innventia

Report No.: 730 5 stresses. Extension of the standard for

worldwide shipment will have to be achieved by making a

supplementary assessment of creep strength.

Daum (2009), describes the challenges encountered by

Hewlett-Packard when using corrugated board from Asian sources

for a global market. Changes of the supply chain caused a

dramatic increase of damaged corrugated board for one printer

product. In a large investigation on perforated boxes, effects of

factors such as headspace between the flaps and placements of

manufacturers joint are studied. One finding is that boxes of

recycled fibre withstood cyclic humidity climate poorly.

Parrott (2011) describes a project in which Intel Corporation

wanted to standardize corrugated material parameters worldwide.

The original parameters used by the company were burst strength,

ECT and BCT. Correlations between these parameters are

investigated. Since there is a strong correlation between ECT and

BCT, the company decided that their primary material parameter

should be ECT, sometimes complemented by BCT when engineering

assessments are needed. Burst strength was omitted in newer

specifications. The author notes that “In gathering this material

we were able to continuously improve quality and ensure that all

material is meeting Intel Corporation’s specifications”, which

illustrates that some problems can be solved by just starting to

address them and make adjustments and corrections where needed.

Pathare et al. (2014), reviewed the research on different

areas for evaluating strength of corrugated boxes for

horticultural products. They also discuss requirements necessary

for corrugated boxes used for transporting and storing fresh

produce in the horticultural industry. Although it is a review on

the state of the art, different test standards available or how

to use different test specifications are not mentioned.

Molina-Besch and Pålsson (2014), studied how companies in

practice work during packaging development to reduce negative

environmental impacts along supply chains. The structure of the

analytical framework is based on the division of environmental

Public report Standards for optimizing corrugated board packaging

for exporting industry - A feasibility study Innventia Report

No.: 730 6 impacts caused by packaging into (1) impacts related

to product waste, (2) impacts related to logistics, and (3)

impacts related to packaging material. Nine companies developing

packaging are investigated. Problems reported regarding the

development of protective packaging are: • Lack of information

about product damages from shops and distribution centres because

the administrative burden of reporting damages is high • Varying

transport conditions in different markets • Rough handling of

single product orders by transport providers • Unreliable and

shifting demand • Difficulties to find a good balance between

product protection, marketing, logistics, and environmental

requirements

Dominic, et al.(2015), developed a conceptual sustainable

packaging model that integrates the variables of technical

design, supply chain systems and environmental demand factors and

then used the model to identify improvements on corrugated

container design. Integration of the design criterion for a unit

load in the supply chain creates opportunity to observe the

packaging system holistically. There are several software

programs that are used to support package design, e.g. CAD

software aimed at packaging, visualisation tools, and software

for predicting mechanical performance. Some studies have been

performed on their capabilities.

Sohrabpour and Hellström (2011), investigated eighteen (18)

models and four (4) softwares for predicting corrugated board and

box properties to identify the ones that best accounts for

observations in the supply chain. Eight of the investigated

models use paper properties to predict board properties while ten

models predict corrugated box properties. Box properties may be

short time strength like BCT, or long time stacking strength. In

contrast to the BCT which is conducted in ideal conditions in the

laboratory, stacking strength considers environmental factors,

e.g. stacking time and humidity. This makes stacking strength one

of the most useful box parameters. Stacking strength estimations

can be based on BCT. In order to decrease the gap between theory

and practice, suggestions are made to improve the use and

development of models and software for corrugated box design. A

holistic perspective for modelling corrugated board and box is

proposed. That could eventually enable practitioners and

researchers to identify causes to variation in predictions by

considering control and noise factors.

Ge, et al. (2012), demonstrated the possibility of

integrating several market standalone design and modelling

software programs into an optimized and sustainable packaging

solution. A case study to apply SolidWorks, ArtiosCAD,

Illustrator, CAPE and Walmart score card modelling into a

combined design process is presented. The study deals with the

graphics and structure interface between the modules and the

software. The synthesized process and the file format exchange

between these software programs are discussed. As a result of the

integration, the designer is able to place a completed virtual

prototype package onto a shelf and transport packaging, allowing

designers to visualize packages in realistic shelf context and

space utilization in a distribution environment. This kind of

design work does not provide information on mechanical

performance. Public report Standards for optimizing corrugated

board packaging for exporting industry - A feasibility study

Innventia Report No.: 730 7 The literature thus suggests strategies

for systematic improvements and design of corrugated board packaging

but also point out lacking areas related to performance in real

logistic chains compared to laboratory experiments. Variations in

loading and climate are currently difficult to take into account in

other ways than through the use of safety factors.

R.N.Dehankar , Dr. A. M. Langde , Sajid Siddiqui and Dr. D. J.

Tidke (year), on their journal entitled “Review on Paper Corrugated

Box Manufacturing used in Goods Packaging” said; It is made from

paper, and machine-shaped from corrugated box board with hollow

structure. Since 1903 when corrugated box was first accepted by legal

freight classification organizations as the containers for freight

transportation, the application history of corrugated box has been

over more than 100 years. Because of its light weight, low cost, ease

of assembly and disassembly, good sealing performance, certain

cushioning and anti-vibration ability and easy recovery and waste

treatment, corrugated box is widely applied in various fields. China

started to introduce and use corrugated box as the external packing

box from early 1930s. At that time, 80% of the external packing boxes

in use were wooden boxes, with cartons accounting for only about 20%.

By the end of 1940 and the beginning of 1950s, the percentage of boxes

in use increased to 80%. With the development of packaging materials

and machine industries, 90% packing boxes in use nowadays are

corrugated boxes [2]. The Yangtze River Delta represented by Zhejiang,

Jiangsu and Shanghai is the region which has witnessed the most rapid

development of corrugated box industry in China over the past few

years. According to the statistics of Paper Committee of Shanghai

Packaging Technology Association, the sales volume of corrugated box

industry in Shanghai in 1990 was 1 billion. By 2002, it had increased

to 6 billion RMB, and to 13 billion RMB in 2007, with an average

annual increase of about 30% [3]. Apparently, China’s production

capacity of corrugated box is soaring dramatically. However, with the

constant rise of resource and manufacture costs, many manufacturers at

home and abroad are considering increasing the income while decreasing

expenditure, especially the reduction of packaging expenditure. This

is not only a response to domestic and international financial crises,

but also an indication of the shift in priority from cutting down the

cost of the product itself to the cost of the external packaging when

taking into account of products cost. It is indeed progressive.

They also discussed optimal combination of raw materials;

2.1. THE PRINCIPLE OF LIGHT WEIGHT. Weight lightening of

corrugated box can be realized through the selection and application

of base paper, which is an important measure to achieve moderate

packaging. This principle demands the selection of base paper

characterized by low gram weight, high strength and weight lightening,

which is mainly applied in the packaging of some large electrical

household appliances and equipments. By considerably reducing the

overall weight of the freight, it makes the handling and

transportation more convenient. “Light-weight base paper” advocated

currently has significantly lower gram weight of unit area of base

paper than that of normal base paper, while its strength is comparable

to that of normal base paper. Therefore, this type of “light-weight

base paper” will inevitably become the superior choice in the future.

In 1950s, due to the backward development of China’s paper making, the

gram weight of box averaged between 320g to 360g, and the base paper

used for the manufacture of export boxes and domestic sale boxes was

of poor quality [4].There are several opinions concerning the

selection of “light-weight” base paper. According to one opinion, the

ratio of base paper should be as low as possible; while according to

another opinion, there should be explicit requirements on the

selection of “light-weight base paper”, and at least one of the

following three requirements, namely, processed by special techniques,

manufactured by independent equipments, with gram weight of less than

150g, should be satisfied There is a more widespread opinion: the

ratio of base paper should range between 100-180g/m2; indicators, such

as ring pressure and breaking length should comply with certain

standards [5].And, as to the aspects of base paper application in

domestic, part of the electrical household appliances industry has

adopted 3 layers of corrugated cardboard to replace 5 layer of

corrugated cardboard previously used. For the outer and inner layer of

corrugated cardboard, high-strength light-weight base paper is

adopted, while for the middle layer, the high-strength corrugated

cardboard. In this way, the consumption quantity of boxes was reduced

tremendously, but with equal strength.

2.2. HIGH-STRENGHT CORRUGATED HONEYCOMB COMPOSITE BOARD. The

compressive strength as principle technical performance indictor of

this high-strength corrugated composite box is as follows: when the

pressure is 10560N, residual deformation ≤17.6mm [6]. When this high

strength corrugated composite box replaces wooden box, not only its

appearance and printing has been improved, but more importantly, it

satisfies the environmental protection requirement, at a remarkably

reduced cost.

2.3. INTENSIFIED SANDWICH CORRUGATED CARDBOARD. intensified

sandwich corrugate paper is called “corrugated cardboards of

corrugation”. Generally, two, three or five layers of corrugated

cardboard are used as outer paper and inner paper (board), between

which corrugated cardboard or corrugated paper-tube specially arranged

is sandwiched to form wave-type sandwich layer[7]. Reasonable

structural design endows the intensified sandwich corrugated board

with high strength. It is measured through testing that the total

thickness of the board is 3.2cm (adjustable at will); corrugation

density of sandwich layer is 38-40 prism/m; there are five layers of

ordinary corrugated cardboard (C prism B prism) as outer layer(ration

780g/m2); three layers of ordinary corrugated cardboard(C Prism) as

inner layers (ration 470g/m2); three layers of ordinary corrugated

cardboard (B prisma) as sandwich layer(ration 680g/m 2 ),with a total

ration of 1900-2000g/m2 [8]. “Corrugated cardboard of corrugation” is

an application of the mechanical principle of multi-azimuth support.

It is made of high strength corrugated cardboard, which is deformed

and arranged by special technique to form optimal mechanical

structure. It can be applied in the manufacture of the packing box of

six facades, by forming strong tubular matrix. Its superiority is

mainly manifested in its ability to prevent damages to the objects

contained in the box, especially for the packaging of large-volume,

heavier, fragile and pressure susceptibility items. Moreover, because

of its compact structure, seamless, absence of nails, fold ability and

forming ability, the overall packaging cost can be reduced by about

30%, and its appearance and integrity are also improved. Therefore,

this kind of structure is very applicable for the packaging and

transportation of large electrical household appliances and

electromechanical equipment.

2.4. FOUR-LAYER CORRUGATED CARDBOARD (also called double-arch

composite corrugated cardboard). Four-layer composite corrugated

cardboard is also called double-core superimposed corrugated

cardboard, double-arch corrugated cardboard or UPS resulting force

corrugated cardboard. It is generally made by smearing the adhesive

with special performance on two layers of corrugated base paper, so

that adhesive can filter into the cardboard fibers. Thus, the softness

of paper can be modified, and the two layers of corrugated base paper
are combined together. The corrugation is rolled under heating

conditions; then it is adhered to outer layer to form firm and stiff

four layer corrugated cardboard. The structure of its corrugated core

is the double arch “honeycomb” structure which is made by adhering

double-layer core papers and then formed by corrugation roller. The

two arch’s of four-layer corrugated cardboard adopts the shape of

ordinary corrugation—U-shaped or V-shaped corrugation, which can be

divided into 2A, 2B and 2C type [9]. The research, development and

application of four-layer corrugated cardboard have been very

widespread in Japan, Europe and America. Due to its late start in

China, only a small number of corrugation cardboard manufactures have

introduced the manufacture and processing technique of four- layer

corrugated cardboard. However, its promotion and application have not

been realized yet.

More than any time in history, diverse industries, companies and

organisations are opening up their processes to a global standard in

the hope of expediting progress and finding diamonds in the rough. One

industry that has certainly taken up the open innovation approach is

corrugated fibreboard packaging. In our current situation, we find new

challenges, techniques, equipment, process or procedure, imagination

and skills to address the growing consumer demands, tightening

environmental regulations, and lower costs desired.

According to Tanay Sharma articles published on October 7, 2016,

sometimes there are certain things that we see but do not notice. We
fail to recognize their importance because they become usual, regular

things for us. One such thing probably is corrugated box.

Challenges according to Tanay Sharna (2016) are the following;

 RISING COST OF RAW MATERIALS

One of the biggest problems the corrugated box industry is facing is

on the part of rising cost of raw materials. The continuous rise in

the price of kraft paper which constitutes about 70 percent of the raw

material and also other raw materials like adhesive glue etc. is

posing serious threat of closure for small and medium manufacturers.

 COMPETITION

One reason why the surge in prices of raw materials is affecting the

industry in an intensified manner is because of the competition. With

abundant number of players in the market, it’s almost impossible for

the industry to pass the rise in price to the consumers.

 CUSTOMER RETENTION
Low customer retention rate is again a major issue for the box

companies. They do not have many loyal customers. It becomes difficult

for them to maintain quality with pressure coming from all sides.

 SHRINKING PROFIT MARGINS

With ever rising cost of raw materials and stagnant realization rate

the profit margins are constantly shrinking leaving the industry in a

feeble space.

 INEFFICIENT MANAGEMENT

The box industry suffers from inefficient management as they do not

have a robust management model which results in a working environment

not conducive for productivity.

These challenges in our industry pose great threats on our

unstoppable growing market. In a report published in March 10, 2016 by

Report Buyer, The small and regional corrugated packing suppliers are

finding it hard to manoeuvre profitably in the corrugated packaging

market, owing to the increasing prices of raw materials. The

corrugated packaging market has witnessed large numbers of mergers and

acquisitions (M&A), in recent years. The falling profit margin,

particularly for small players have led to market consolidation in the

developed markets.
 On an article published by EY Company Director for operational

Transaction Services, Mr. Nick Neil-Boss, he unwrap seven factors that

greatly affect and challenges the packaging industry.

 Raw materials

Major raw materials usually comprise more than half of the total cost

base of a packaging manufacturer, so getting caught between a “rock

and a hard place” in the value chain can be dangerous to the company’s

financial health. It is therefore crucial for packaging businesses to

manage the stability of their input raw material costs and pass

through as much of the raw material price inflation as possible to

customers.

 “Waste not, want not”

In packaging industry, they said, given the increased volatility in

raw material prices over the past few years, and the increasing

concern over the environmental impact of packaging, it has become

extremely important to reduce the amount of material used in the

production of packaging both to packaging producers and their

customers. Packaging producers have come under pressure to reduce

process scrap as the cost of lost material cannot be recovered from

customers (although a degree of scrap is usually priced into print

runs and unprinted trim can generally be reprocessed).

 Capex: are you getting “bang for the buck”?

Management needs to be skilled at determining how much to spend on

maintaining and adding to the capabilities of their machine park.

Spend too little and your competitiveness (and EBITDA) erodes over

time. Spend too much on the wrong projects and your cash flow suffers.

Therefore, finding the quantum and mix of capex spend that sustains

EBITDA and cash flow is key.

 Operational performance: “What gets measured gets

delivered”

With its exposure to increasing raw material prices and customer

purchasing power, continuous operational performance improvement is

vitally important in the packaging industry. A key success factor in

delivering continuous improvement is accurate and consistent

measurement of the right key performance indicators (KPIs).

 Product and customer profitability: when to part company

with your customers

The high cost of machinery, packaging companies are under pressure to

keep their utilization levels high. Also, given the technical nature

of the product and exposure to a variety of end-markets, the number of

bespoke customer products or stock keeping units (SKUs) can

proliferate, thereby increasing manufacturing complexity and the risk

of obsolete inventory. As a result, companies can end up with large

numbers of low-margin products filling up available capacity and

causing increased changeover times. It can be positive in the short

term to receive some contribution to fixed costs if the alternative is

idle lines. In the long run, this is not a sustainable situation as it

is a blocker to profitable growth and to making necessary decisions

about investment and capacity.

 Innovation: what distinguishes the stars from the dogs

From an operational perspective, packaging producers have to be able

to deliver new shapes, use new materials, print more colors in greater

definition and deliver short-run lengths economically. These

capabilities require investment both in new capital equipment and

training. Packaging companies that don’t invest in the right

technologies and capabilities are at a competitive disadvantage.

 The supply chain “balancing act” and effective offshoring

Maintaining an effective supply chain and operations network for a

packaging business is complex. As a general rule, the location of the

plant is a key driver of the economics. Packaging is a relatively

low-value good, which has a limited radius up to which it can be

profitably transported to customers. But, practically, there will

always be trade-offs between transport costs, plant capacity

utilization, number of plants, inventory, customer service levels and

good manufacturing practice (GMP) requirements. The right answer

depends on the type of packaging (rigid, flexible, paper, metal etc.)

and the end-market served (consumer food, industrial, cosmetics,

health care etc.). For example, flexible packaging can be compacted

for transport, which means it can travel further than other types of

packaging.

In addition to above challenges, there are also multiple post

production factors to consider in corrugated fibre boards that makes

the parameters in quality checking complex. In a study conducted by

Yao-Li Zhang published in 2011 by Elsevier Ltd., due to the fact that

corrugated carton is made of paper with the corrugated structure as

its main supporting structure, the mechanical properties such as

compressive strength, bursting strength and stacking load of the

corrugated carton for packaging may vary with various influence

factors of commodity in logistics process such as Environmental

humidity, storage time, stacking conditions, transportation factors,

and handling/loading/unloading factors.

 According to Joseph F. Hanlon from his Handbook of Package

Engineering (Second Edition), Packaging is a State of the Art and

Challenges.

STATE OF THE ART

There is beginning to come into existence a body of

knowledge which will someday take its place with the older

established sciences. Food technology, for example, is getting

increasing attention in colleges; it is largely concerned with

the preservation of foods by packaging and processing, with

emphasis on maintaining the quality in addition to simply

preserving the product. Nuclear engineering is directing more of

its attention to the treatment of the nondurable goods that are

necessary to the health and welfare of the society. Chemical

engineering, industrial engineering and mechanical engineering

also are focusing a larger share of their efforts in this

direction. Out of this will eventually come a unifying system for

applying the fragmentary operations of each of these disciplines

to the total problem of delivering goods to the point of use with

the maximum efficiency. ( see figure 1)

 Most of the progress in packaging in the past has been trial

and error method. There is great need for a more reliable basis

for decisions, and this can come only from research in sufficient

depth to give a solid foundation to the techniques required.

Some progress has been made in mass production and mass

distribution of package goods up to the wholesale level. Further

work being done with containerization will provide still greater

efficiency in the primary channel of distribution. Much less

advanced techniques are being utilized in the secondary movement

of manufactured goods, between wholesaler and retailer, where

regrouping of diverse products takes place. The final selection

and transfer of goods to the point of end use are the areas of
greater inefficiency and waste, compared with the sophistication

at the producing end.(see figure 2) There is a great opportunity

for developing new and better methods for determining needs and

fulfilling those needs. For example, the operations that a

consumer goes through in choosing goods in a supermarket,

transporting them to a check-out station, waiting in line,

tallying the cost, making change, jumble packing into single-trip

bags for the short journey to the waiting automobile, taking an

expensive ride to the point of final storage and consumption are

highly inefficient. A similar situation exists with institutional

items and some industrial products. An indication of the

possibilities in these areas can be seen in the progress that has

been made with bending machines. Here the goods are brought to

the point of use of quantity; mechanical means are used to assist

in the selection and make the transaction, at the time and place

of consumption, with a minimum waste of labor and materials, and

with efficient use of modular units and standardized components.

 Figure 2. The Challenge. There is a high degree of sophistication in the
production and warehouse of package goods. Efficient methods of assembling and
moving these items have been developed, but at the consumer end, the
techniques for subdividing into smaller units of sale are crude and wasteful

The point here is to look upon packaging not merely as a

means of containing products, but rather in its broader sense as

a process of getting goods from the source to the point of use in

the most beneficial manner. We must try to grasp the significance

of package and its position in the whole scheme of things. This

involves all the aspects of handling, storage, preservation,

distribution, advertising, sales, promotion, display, dispensing,

preparation, and the various other facets of our industrial

system.

CHALLENGES

The boon of packaging carries with it the bane of waste

disposal. While sources of raw materials appear to be

inexhaustible, the accumulation of by-products is beginning to

draw attention to the more sordid aspects of packaging. Our

highways and public places are becoming littered with debris,

mostly packaging, and there has been flurry of legislation to

combat this menace. Air pollution and the fouling of our

waterways with trash also are of increasing concern to government

and industry alike. In testimony before a committee of the U.S.

House of Representatives studying waste disposal problems, it was

revealed that over 0 million tons of packaging materials are sold

each year in the country. The worker in packaging must not ignore

this situation, for it is an important part of the complete cycle

that makes up the total packaging system. If the method of

disposal can be built into a container when it is designed, this

will be another step toward a better way of life through

packaging.
 One other item to be considered from this viewpoint is the

matter of packages that damaged themselves and each other. A

package that is designed to protect its contents from damage by

other packages should not, in the broadest sense, inflict damage

on the other packages if it is properly designed.

Hanlon (YEAR) also states in his handbook that an Approach

to Problems by a professional worker in packaging must posses a

good knowledge of the materials and processes which are

enumerated in the following aspects;

a. Ethics

b. Know your product

c. Analyse the market

d. Competitive packages

e. Recognize needs

f. Innovations

g. Integrated systems

h. Small or Large volume

i. Export problems
 j. Vending machines

As written by Joel J. Shulman (1986), on “Introduction to

Flexo Folder-Gluer” states that all the ideas expressed are

technologically feasible. Whether they will be accepted as

economically sound is a matter beyond the scope of this forecast.

Technological development does not always follow market logic,

and vice versa.

Just as economic justification for some technology was

minimal at the time of the introduction, some will be minimal

when they will be first broached by their proponents. Then, as

some of the older ideas became feasible – and – necessary –

because of social and legislative pressure, some of the newer

ideas will find acceptance for the same reasons. In other words,

good technology is not the only reason for progress.

Shulman also specifies that a new approach is necessary in

developing a new machine concept as a result of in-depth

worldwide market studies performed in order to determine the

actual needs of the corrugated industry. With the help of the

statistics collected, answers were derived concerning optinmal

size, concept, production capability, graphics capability,

integration with plant corrugators and degree of computerization

of the machine itself.

From the Seminar conducted and published by Brently

Corrugated Company (December 2000) about “Current World’s Best

Practices”, states that “It is important to note here however

that one can confuse the Machine for Process. They must be

analysed separately yet incorporated effectively to obtain

Maximum results. One for example, can have a $10 million machine

and produce $2 million work, while $1 million machine, using the

right methodologies and practices can make $1000 worth of work.

Remember it takes devotion and commitment on a daily basis.

WORLD’S BEST PRACTICE or as stated, ATTITUDE and PASSION”.

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 Since this research is about the Study on the Problems

Encountered by the Corrugated Fibre Board Packaging Industry in

the Philippines, this chapter uses methods in describing how

data, information and resources gathered. It shows also how they

were interpreted and analysed to come up to a conclusion about

the study. An explanatory or causal research is carried out to

ascertain the change in the independent variable that leads to

changes in the dependent variable.

4.2 Research Design

The research main purpose is help the corrugated fibre

boards and boxes packaging industry through gathering data,

insights and identify and defined the existing problems

encountered by the industry. Analysis will be described in

different perspective in order to come up with a workable

solution and conclusion.

In terms of the problem identification, method in collecting

primary data was through the survey questionnaires. Other data

gathered were through books, e-books, browsing internet,

conference articles and other related reading materials.

Research Locale

The study will be conducted in different packaging companies

located in the Philippines and each company will be represented

with different departments involved in producing and selling

corrugated fibre boards and boxes.

Population and Sampling Plan per company

COMPANY A MANPOWER POPULATION TABLE

DIVISION POPULATION SAMPLE

COMPANY OWNER
SALES & MARKETING 15 11
OPERATIONS/PRODUCTION 120 83
Production
Quality Assurance
Product Development
Designing

LOGISTICS 36 25
Shipping, Storeroom
Warehouse

Total 171 119

Profile of Respondents

The respondents of the study are from the One Hundred

Nineteen (119) personnel for three (3) Companies in Caloocan

City, Cavite and Valenzuela. The target population of the study

is 119 employees. The sample (119) is obtained by using the

Slovin Formula,

Where: n = Sample size

N = Population size
E = margin of error (5%)

They will be asked to answer the survey questionnaire.

Research Instruments

The researchers will use a survey questionnaires method

wherein data will be collected to obtain data for the study.

It is composed of two (2) parts:

 The first part of the tool, which is about the respondents

consisting of top management and Sales and marketing personnel

involve in external transactions between supplier and customers.

The second part of the tool, which is about operations

on which respondents are involve in production in producing

corrugated packaging products.

Validation of the Instrument

The research instrument will be pre-tested to 30 employees,

10 from each company.

The 30 employees are not part of the respondents, in order

to determine if additional questions will be incorporated or some

questions will be deleted. Then final revised copy will be shown

to researcher’s staticians and adviser, for final approval.

Method of Data Collection

 The researcher will use a survey questionnaire that

contained a total of 12 questions.

The questions can be answered using the interval scale (5 =

Strongly Agree, 4 = Agree, 3 = Neutral, 2 = Disagree, and 1 =

Strongly Disagree).

FOR OPERATIONS PERSONNEL:

Challenges and Problems/Concerns in Producing Corrugated

Producsts in Manufacturing Operations

1. Producing Corrugated Boards and Boxes is costly and difficult.

2. Producing Corrugated Boxes and Boards entails a lot of

processes that makes hard to produce less wastage in the

operation line.
3. Producing Corrugated Boxes needs to undergo extensive quality

test to satisfy Customers, according to its expected quality.

4. Transporting corrugated products affects the quality of

products and should be considered during designing stage.

5. Environmental Climate affects the quality of the products and

should be considered from the producer’s area up to user’s

locations.

6. Customers specifications varies according to their usages and

needs of the products.

7. I am able to maximize the use of available resources to

produce corrugated products.

8. I incur minimal work related errors due to proper training.

9. I am able to utilize relevant data.

10. I am able to work productively because of the available

technology.

12. I am able to submit quality deliverables as scheduled or even

before the deadline.

13. I am able to produce a desirable number of output with the

given resources according to the requirements of company

customers.

FOR TOP MANAGEMENT AND SALES & MARKETING PERSONNEL

Challenges and Problems/Concerns in Selling and Competing in the

Corrugated Products Market.

1. Rising cost of producing corrugated is hard to relate to cost

of Corrugated Boards and Boxes in the Philippine Market.

2. Competition in the Market in selling Corrugated Boxes and

Boards is not easy.

3. Shrinking profit in selling Corrugated Boxes is evident

because of competition and also the increasing demands of

customers versus quality.

4. Transportation cost and problems in road condition affects the

quality of services in the corrugated packaging industry to its

customers.

5. Customers culture and environmental area affects the quality

requirements and sales margins.

6. Management of sales is difficult versus operations group

needs.

7. I am able to maximize the use of available resources to sell

corrugated products.
8. I incur minimal work related errors due to proper sales and

management training.

9. I am able to access relevant data from the customer and the

market demands.

12. I am able to submit necessary requirements of customers

according to the Philippine market demands.