Six ways to move from print supplier to brand partner

We asked certified MIT Sustainability Professional and packaging innovation expert, Zhanar Baishakova to share her insights gained from working across the packaging print value chain. She sets out a framework to meet shifting brand print expectations, from rethinking price to meeting different business outcomes.

With more than 30 years’ experience working as an executive in procurement, supplier strategy, operations, material transition and packaging innovation within global consumer goods companies, including Philip Morris International, Zhanar has seen from both sides of the table what goes into print supplier decision-making.

While print quality, price and reliability all matter, suppliers are judged on far more. Here she provides an insider perspective on how printers can move from a supplier that brands buy from to a strategic partner and supplier of choice.

Read on for her insights on what brands actually want and the six areas they’re really focused on.

• Deliver business outcomes with print
• Meet different stakeholder priorities
• Deals made on more than price
• How brands see geography
• Create future value with innovation
• Be product launch ready

Having worked on both sides of the table, first in packaging development and later in direct materials procurement, I’ve learned that brand owners aren’t simply buying print. They’re buying confidence that their packaging will support the business.

Ask a printer what brands buy and the answer is usually the same: outstanding print quality, competitive pricing and reliable delivery.

All three matter, but these don’t explain how a supplier becomes a strategic partner while another competes for individual portfolio packages.

Every supplier decision ultimately comes down to one question: Will this supplier help us achieve our business objectives with the lowest possible risk?

That changes the conversation completely.

“It’s consistently surprised me how quickly commercial discussions move beyond price… conversations often center on operational performance, responsiveness, quality trends and confidence.”

Suppliers often tailor their message to procurement or packaging development, but one of the biggest misconceptions about brands is that supplier selection is driven by a single decision-maker.

The strongest partnerships are built on understanding the priorities of every function involved in the decision. Packaging supplier selection is a cross-functional decision where every function evaluates suppliers through a different lens.

Procurement focuses on commercial competitiveness, total cost of ownership, supply security and long-term supplier performance.

Packaging development evaluates much more than technical capability. The team is responsible for ensuring packaging performs throughout its lifecycle, balancing printability, product protection, recyclability, regulatory compliance, brand consistency and successful commercialization.

Quality and manufacturing excellence assess process stability, repeatability and supplier quality performance. Through quality KPIs, incident statistics and operational performance reviews, they provide critical input into procurement’s periodic supplier evaluations, business reviews and future volume allocation decisions.

Different lenses, but shared objectives: reducing uncertainty and increasing the likelihood of a successful product launch.

It’s consistently surprised me how quickly commercial discussions move beyond price. During supplier reviews, conversations often center on operational performance, responsiveness, quality trends and confidence a supplier would successfully support the next project.

Price will always matter, and procurement has clear cost objectives, but experienced buyers rarely evaluate price in isolation.

They ask whether a supplier improves manufacturing efficiency, reduces waste, shortens qualification time and avoids costly disruptions. Total cost of ownership matters far more than unit cost alone.

The same applies to quality. Excellent print quality is expected and is a license to compete, but not the only reason to win. Suppliers earn a larger share of business by consistently delivering reliable performance over time.

“The suppliers who stood out weren’t necessarily those with the newest equipment. They were the ones who challenged assumptions, proposed alternatives and helped us make better decisions.”

Over the years, I’ve noticed that geography is rarely about distance. It’s about accessibility, responsiveness and the confidence that someone would be there when the business needed support most.

So, while geographic footprint is often only viewed as a way to reduce transport costs or shorten lead times, proximity creates a much stronger competitive advantage.

Local suppliers can attend packaging line trials, respond quickly to quality incidents, support urgent reprints and maintain regular face-to-face contact with customer teams. That close collaboration provides insights into operational challenges long before they become major issues.

Global capability is still important. Many multinational brands require suppliers who can support multiple manufacturing sites while delivering consistent quality and sharing best practices across regions.

Looking back, the suppliers who stood out weren’t necessarily those with the newest equipment. They were the ones who challenged assumptions, proposed alternatives and helped us make better decisions.

The most valuable innovation isn’t always a new technology. Sometimes it’s helping a customer avoid a problem they didn’t know they had.

Today, innovation is becoming one of the strongest differentiators between suppliers. That’s not innovation for its own sake – brands look for suppliers that can bring ideas before being asked, evaluate new substrates, simplify material transitions, identify risks early and recommend practical alternatives.

The suppliers who consistently contribute ideas become involved earlier in projects and are more likely to participate in future developments.

One pattern that’s clearly emerged over the years, is in the suppliers invited into the earliest development discussions. This was rarely because of price: these suppliers had earned the trust to help shape a solution before specifications were finalized.

For established products, supplier decisions are largely driven by proven performance, cost competitiveness and reliability. New product launches are different.

Customers look for suppliers who contribute during development, understand technical and commercial trade-offs, identify risks early and accelerate qualification.

A trusted partner becomes part of the development team rather than simply executing specifications.

Looking back at global sourcing decisions, I rarely remember price being the deciding factor. Final supplier selection and volume allocation were always made together with regional teams, and they almost always had the final say.

Why? Because they were the people working with suppliers every day. They knew who responded when production stopped, who solved problems without excuses and who could be trusted when the unexpected happened.

As packaging becomes more complex, price, quality and delivery remain essential, but they are no longer enough on their own.

The suppliers who earn the largest share of business combine operational excellence with business understanding. They recognize customer priorities, anticipate risks and help reduce uncertainty throughout the development process.

Ultimately, brands don’t just buy print; they buy confidence that projects will launch successfully, operations will run reliably, and challenges will be solved before they become problems.

That’s what turns a supplier into a partner of first choice.