Value engineering method to reduce packaging costs

Value Engineering (VE), also known as Value Analysis (VA), is an emerging management technology and method that reduces costs and improves economic efficiency. The so-called value engineering refers to the functional analysis of the selected research object's products or services through collective intelligence and organized activities, so that the goal is to achieve the necessary products or services reliably at the lowest total cost (life cycle cost). Functions to increase the value of their products or services. This value refers to the ratio between expense expenditure and acquisition, expressed as a numerical ratio as follows:

Value = Function / Cost
There are five basic ways to increase value: (1) Improve functionality, reduce costs, and significantly increase value; (2) Keep function unchanged, reduce costs, and increase value; (3) Improve functionality, keep costs constant, and increase value. (4) The function is slightly reduced, the cost is greatly reduced, and the value is increased; (5) The function is increased, the cost is appropriately increased, and the function is greatly improved, thereby increasing the value.

The key point of the value engineering method is not to concentrate on formulating a set of proposals, but to put forward ideas for formulating multiple sets of alternative solutions. In this process, the following three issues are mainly considered:

1. Can other programs implement this function as well?

2. What is the cost of alternative solutions?

3. Is it necessary to replace the program with the necessary functions?

For packaging, the starting point of the value engineering method is to consider the possibility of reducing packaging costs from the aspects of quality, use, durability, appearance, etc., on the premise of unchanged packaging functions. That is, through the evaluation of the effects of packaging materials, processes, etc., unnecessary expenses are eliminated to achieve the purpose of achieving superior results and costs.

In practical applications, the use of value analysis usually needs to be considered.
Necessity analysis: Check the existing packaging materials and processes one by one to find out where improvement is needed.

Effect Evaluation: Whether the various functions of the package are enhanced or reduced.

Comparison of cost and use: whether it is commensurate.

Performance analysis of the item itself: whether it is needed or not.

Price analysis: whether it is reasonable and can be reduced.

Size analysis: whether it is appropriate, not enough standardization.

Job analysis: Whether it is economical or efficient when packaging production.

Security analysis: How safe is it?

The above analysis should be repeated to achieve the best economic results as the final result.

The following examples illustrate the application of value engineering.

Example: An exporter's packaging of small motors, the original packaging used corrugated paper, plastic bags for internal packaging, cushioning materials used for hardening banana slag pressing board, the packaging material costs (%) are as follows:

Hardened banana residue pressed board 47 Corrugated paper 33
Plane board 10 Strapping band 8
Plastic bag 1 sewing needle 1
Total 100
Analysis: Obviously, the weighted proportion of hardened banana residue pressed board and corrugated paper is the largest, and should be the first object of improvement.
Through value analysis, the company adopted six improvements in sequence:

(1) Change the material quality of corrugated paper;

(2) Change the upper and lower hardened press plates to be replaced by expanded polystyrene;

(3) change the upper hardened press plate and replace it with a flat plate to make it have a hardened plate structure;

(4) Change the upper hardened press plate, and use the punched corrugated cardboard that conforms to the product shape;

(5) To abolish the use of enhanced plates;

(6) Replace corrugated paper with corrugated paper tape.

The above six programs, through the experimental results show that using the four programs (1), (2), (5), (6), packaging materials can be reduced by 15%.

The idea of ​​the value engineering method is to start with the search for alternative cheap materials, to calculate the cost required, to study and find materials that are cheaper than them in order to replace the original materials, and to take each one under the same packaging function. The head of the family, and put it together, and then choose a cheap packaging. Therefore, this method is also called improvement analysis or comparative analysis of packaging fees.