As consumer tastes shift from beer to hard cider, distilled spirits, and nonalcoholic options, brewers face the need to expand their product portfolio, change their product mix, offer more variety and multipacks, and meet rising demand from the e-commerce channel, according to Craft Beer and Spirits: Success Through Packaging, a white paper and infographic published in February 2024 by PMMI Business Intelligence, a division of PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. Brewers also must address rising costs, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, unscheduled downtime, and demands for more sustainable practices. Automation can help address each of these challenges by increasing operational efficiency and flexibility, cutting costs, enabling workers to shift to more value-added tasks, and reducing waste.
Automation has become an increasingly important strategy for brewers because it can provide the flexibility they need to quickly change products and pack sizes and troubleshoot the unexpected, according to The Future of Automation in Packaging and Processing, another report from PMMI. With the rapidly shifting demands of consumers and the increasing complexity of products, brewers must adapt quickly. To support this agility, automation needs to be easy to reconfigure to accommodate changes in production requirements. As a result, modular design is an increasingly desirable attribute, allowing brewers to quickly add or remove modules as needed. Modular design also makes it easier to scale up output as demand increases.
Typically, breweries want to automate processes that are repetitive and unchanging, so automating a flexible line where product sizes, materials, and formats change regularly is seen as a challenge. Smaller firms and craft brewers, which don’t run high-volume batches and need to make frequent product changeovers, sometimes find the requirement for flexibility limits automation choices, so they stick to manual processing. But with labor shortages a fact of life, together with the need for increased speed and efficiency, the growing expectation is that automation companies will develop technologies that enable flexibility, such as adaptable machines that can change over quickly, even if that happens multiple times a day.
The report identifies several key automation trends: adoption of robotics, particularly collaborative robots (cobots); increased reliance on artificial intelligence (AI); greater use of data analytics; and tighter operational integration across the entire value chain.
Cobots work alongside human workers, performing tasks that are repetitive, strenuous, or dangerous. Designed to be flexible and easy to program, cobots can be used for a wide range of applications in processing and packaging. This trend is expected to continue as the use of cobots is becoming more widespread, particularly in packaging and palletizing operations. In fact, cobot sales will see particularly strong growth with usage more than doubling from 27% in 2022 to 57% in 2027, according to another PMMI report, Robots & Cobots, An Automated Future, which predicts functional improvements such as vision, feedback sensors, self-learning, mobility, and AI will spur adoption. Systems are increasingly compact, and many newer units are designed to handle heavier payloads at higher rates. Some cobots can move payloads of 30 kilograms or more and automatically switch between standard and collaborative modes. On-board data collection helps operators identify fault trends to improve productivity.
AI is highlighted in The Future of Automation in Packaging and Processing report along with machine learning and data analytics. Breweries are using these technologies to optimize processes, reduce downtime, and improve quality control. With the increasing use of sensors and the Internet of Things (IoT), brewing operations are generating a growing amount of data. By analyzing data, AI can identify patterns and make predictions. This yields valuable insights into their processes, identifies areas for improvement, and enables data-driven decision-making.
The use of AI is leading to the development of predictive maintenance systems that can identify potential problems proactively and reduce the risk of equipment failure. This prevents unscheduled downtime and product loss, the major drivers pushing the implementation of predictive maintenance, according to another PMMI report, Packaging and Predictive Maintenance. Other benefits of adopting a predictive maintenance scheme include longer machine life and a reduction in parts requirements because replacements are installed as needed rather than on an arbitrary schedule.
One of the most significant trends identified in the Future of Automation in Packaging and Processing report is the integration of automation across the value chain. This includes the linkage of manufacturing, packaging, and logistics operations, as well as suppliers and customers. With supplier-to-customer integration, brewers can achieve greater efficiency, reduce costs, and improve their overall competitiveness.
The need for this seamless connectivity has become more evident as e-commerce sales gain market share. As the complexity of fulfillment operations increases, the need for automation grows. The Future of Automation in Packaging and Processing report notes that nearly half of consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are feeling the impact of e-commerce on their operations. The higher variability in orders and smaller order quantities are slowing throughput, in some cases as much as 50%. In addition, the last mile has become more challenging, as consumers have become accustomed to higher levels of order transparency and conveniences such as the short delivery times offered by companies like Amazon.
Automation can deliver the operational flexibility needed to efficiently manage this channel. Being able to quickly shift production to meet demand and ship products directly from the factory to consumers means there is no need for inventory, saving money and space. However, it’s not always practical to handle this level of fulfillment complexity in-house. In that situation, many CPG firms opt to hire third-party warehousing and distribution companies to fulfill orders, and a growing number of retailers are turning to third-party consulting services to help design efficient automated fulfillment networks. This outsourcing approach could help expedite order turnaround with the added benefit of reduced inventory and storage, thus, increasing flexibility for breweries.
With consumers wanting a more personalized experience, such as the ability to choose recipe ingredients or products in a variety pack, new plants designed for end-to-end automation may need to be built with the e-commerce factor in mind. Industry 4.0 could play a part in re-tooling manufacturing and distribution systems to enable e-commerce to be a standard distribution method, rather than an add-on to the wholesale channel.
Lastly, as the use of automation increases, it is important to ensure that workers are safe and that the risk of accidents is minimized. This requires the use of safety systems such as sensors, safety gates, and emergency stop buttons, as well as the training to ensure the safe operation and maintenance of these automated systems.
PMMI’s Future of Automation in Packaging and Processing report provides valuable insights into the trends and developments that are shaping the industry. As technology continues to evolve, the use of automation is becoming an increasingly important tool to help brewers remain competitive, increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve sustainability.
Brewers will be able to find the hardware, software, and services they need to automate their value chain at PACK EXPO International (Nov. 3–6; McCormick Place, Chicago). The most expansive and all-encompassing packaging and processing industry event in 2024, PACK EXPO International will feature 2,500 exhibitors offering solutions to many of today’s biggest manufacturing needs from an intersection of industries to 40-plus vertical markets. More than 45,000 attendees from CPG and life sciences companies worldwide will converge, searching for innovation, connection, and insight. For more information, visit packexpointernational.com.