How does one describe the value of packaging? Packaging helps to define a product, differentiate it from similar products, provides protection during shipping, and conveys important messages. According to Hine (1995) packages are an inescapable part of modern life yet are caught in a dichotomy: packaging is omnipresent and invisible, deplored and ignored. However, for most manufacturers packaging is the crucial final payoff to a marketing campaign.If packaging is so important to manufacturers how can this dichotomy exist? This describes the situation the Packaging discipline faces within most companies; packaging is an integral part of almost any product and manufacturing cycle but is often overlooked, misunderstood, or undervalued. This paper will outline why the packaging enterprise in Hewlett-Packard is using horizontal process management to compensate for this dichotomy and to redefine and promote the value that Packaging adds to the company.

Reprinted with permission from www.hp.com