Modelling of the integration tasks of product and packaging development

Purpose
There is a growing demand for a concurrent development of product and packaging in order to better take into account the supply chain needs. Different tasks are required to integrate packaging and product development: 1) At the strategic level, it is necessary to define or refine an integrated development policy; 2) For each new development project, an adaptation of this policy must be undertaken; 3) Under the execution of each project, relevant decisions need to be made when a deviation from the development plan occurs. These integration tasks are knowledge-intensive and a rigorous modelling of these tasks would help the manager filtering and structuring the necessary knowledge and make more informed decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
The integration tasks have been modelled with CommonKADS, a knowledge engineering methodology. It has contributed to clearly define which activities and which knowledge elements are necessary.
Findings
The tasks have been modelled and the necessary knowledge elements identified. Some elements are generic, while for some others the knowledge base need to be company-specific.
Research implications and limitations
The formal modelling makes it possible to develop support for these integration tasks (computer-based or not). The task models need however to be refined with empirical data. It is also necessary to assess empirically the acceptance of this approach by managers before it can be diffused in industry.
Original/value
Integration aspects in development are generally dealt with general process models. The proposed approach gives more guidance to the manager. The used formalism ensures the coherency of the modelled tasks.