Changing the way packaging is sourced - Packaging Manager

Yet another trade directory has come onto the market promising to bring with it the holy grail of sourcing engines. That one stop place where you can find all the companies that you need to find when you need to find them. So what's it all about is it all just hype or does it have a practical place in your list of bookmark, must visit pages, when the the order comes in that "we have to tighten our belts in these difficult times go forth and find me cheaper|better|quicker suppliers".

Off you go checking our results in your favorite search engine only to find most of the first spots are dominated by trade directories. After wading through all this often duplicate copy and 2 hours later you have a short list of potential suppliers.

So who wouldn't welcome a really usefull tool that enables you to find who you need, at the time you need and at the price you need to get the job done. So does it do the job.

After heading over to there site www.packaging-manager.com in I went. Straight away you can tell that someone has put some thought and energy into design and layout of the page.

This usually means that long hours and both programmers, marketers and users had some imput at the result is pleasingly simple. No need to spend lots of time how to figure out the site works just dive striaght in there so I selected Flexible Tubes added then clicked next and onto the the next add and the next add click personal care select on Turkey only to find 1 result. Does that mean that there is only 1 company in the whole of Europe that is can provide Tube flexible> personal care packaging in Europe!!

Off I went again but this time encountered there Sorry page! Error!

This is all beginning to take just a little too much time.

So is it "Changing the way packaging is sourced?" - Well in my humble opinion I think that it could do but it has to be more than just a slick design looking good it has to be practical and usefull and bug free ( I can forgive them the few bugs as you will get that at the launch of a website ) but waht i can not forgive is the missed oppertunity of a really great user interface experience. I don't doubt for a moment that they have a great database and great information needed by people who need to source but if you can not get to that information or it takes too long and if you still have to checkon the search engines just to see if you have missed someone. But don't just take my word for it maybe it will work better for you. I would definatly give it a go and when you have found the company that you are looking for all you have to do is to convince your department that the 347 euro asking price is worth the results that you are going to bring them.

It needs a better way to get the users in front of there quality database some little tweeks maybe using a bit of ajax or a download application, some more intuative simple selections and then and only then could it "change the way packaging is sourced"

The brainchild of’ ‘Packaging Europe’, providers of print-based and on-line information to the European packaging industry, Packaging Manager claims to offer only impartial and objective information – there are no paid-for entries and no advertisements. To build the database on which it operates, more than 400 researchers, speaking 38 languages, contacted all 53,000 companies.

Go and check it out don't forget to come back an let us know how you got on.
www.packaging-manager.com