Bobst is embarking on a new strategy to engage with its customers, whilst simultaneously reducing its environmental impact.
‘Smart Factories’, technology lounges and customer reference sites are set to be its preferred engagement model with clients going forward. This new strategy is intended to support Bobst’s vision to ‘shape the future of the packaging world’, and reflect its values and responsibilities. One of these is its environmental footprint.
A major consequence of this is Bobst not to attend the rearranged drupa, and other industry tradeshows in 2021. It will maintain a limited participation in Asia.
The 2021 event calendar has swollen as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic causing events around the world to be postponed and rescheduled, many for 2021. This includes drupa and sister show interack, and Labelexpo Americas 2020. All three take place in the first four months of next year, alongside other events such as the combined ICE/CCE/InPrint in Munich.. The next instalment of Labelexpo Europe 2021 is also scheduled for later next year.
In a statement, Bobst noted, ‘The number of industry events and tradeshows has increased significantly over the last decade and at the same time, the communication technologies offer new ways to share content. To engage with our customers more effectively, Bobst will evolve its current Competence Centers ‘to the next level’, providing all customers and prospects with new ways to access product and solution demonstrations. Over the last few years, the Competence Centers have been growing and the investments made are quite significant. They have become the preferred place to showcase live customer experiences and to validate investments.
‘This transformation will lead into new Smart Factories, which will encompass technology lounges, partnerships and application experts to demonstrate complete end-to-end solutions where customers will be able to touch and see everything required to produce a label, pouch or box. From substrates processing, to job preparation, colour management, printing, tool preparation and converting, all with the option to test specific jobs from converters.
‘We have started to virtualise the customer experience with live streaming demonstrations, across all equipment in our existing Competence Centers, providing an engaging customer experience with less traveling constraints. There will be further information on these new ways of engagement soon.’
Bobst is, ‘at the start of a new journey,’ the company added, ‘which will enable us to engage with our customers in a quicker, more effective and more personalized manner, reducing the environmental burden and shaping the future of the packaging world.’
