The research has been welcomed by the industry, which until now has not had a comprehensive standalone study. Last year, the DTI and Pira carried out the Print 21 report for the printing and printed packaging industries (PrintWeek, 15 June 2001).
This latest report will compare the UK packaging industry with the productivity and cost bases of other countries.
Field Group marketing manager Bob Houghton said the study would be of interest to the industry if it looked beyond cost comparisons.
"Everyone knows that labour costs are cheaper in southern Europe. But it's important to look at additional services offered, like design facilities, involvement with the customer and quality of service, in which the UK scores highly," said Houghton. Field currently does its own benchmarking across its UK and European facilities.
The findings will be reported at a seminar in December, at which the results of the DTI's e-commerce impact study will also be presented.
The DTI has undertaken in-depth interviews with four trade bodies and 20 sector companies, as well as questioning a further 188 firms across the packaging value chain.
It found that although there was a high take-up of basic e-commerce, like e-mail and websites, the majority of packaging manufacturers had been slow to develop more sophisticated e-business practices, like online ordering.
Story by Rachel Barnes
