Gartner’s Market Guide PPSM Analysis: The Benefits of 4Pack Software

In September (2022) the 4Pack solution was listed in Gartner’s Product and Packaging Specification Management (PPSM) Market Guide. This objective publication is used by Executives and their teams to enable them to understand the positioning of solution providers in different sectors, analyse new market offerings and requirements, as well as provide insight and recommendations about the market itself.

Gartner develops rigorous research methodologies to ensure insights are ‘independent and objective’, with a global team of over two thousand advisory experts. Every year they thoroughly vet 300 practitioner-sourced case studies, cultivating advice for business leaders.

This (September 2022) specific guide focuses on packaging and product specification management (PPSM) – software applications and services that “govern data related to product and packaging from raw materials through to […] finished goods enterprisewide.” Users and businesses can use this software to effectively address challenges disclosed by the data, and make informed decisions towards growth. The data can inform development, purchasing, pricing, quality management and sustainability tracking.

Gartner’s provides context to why in vesting in PPSM is important for businesses launching products, including:

• Unsupported applications and processes can no longer keep up with corporate growth.
• They also cannot meet the demands of customers and consumers and specialised requirements such as tracking sustainability commitments.
• Manual processes lack the capability to effectively gather, maintain and utilize PPSM data.
• Organisations lack detailed visibility of their specifications, delaying time to the market.
• Manual processes incur increased costs, regulatory violations and inefficiencies.
• Increasing legislative and stakeholder demands are driving organisations to seek alternatives [such as 4Pack].

Manual process are static, and cannot show the relationship of individual components within a project. PPSM replaces manual data management processes such as:

• Email
• Word
• Shared Drives
• Excel Spreadsheets
• Paper Tracking

4Pack was listed amongst vendors with a solution in PPSM, in three key categories.

• “Purpose Built”
• PLM Applications
• Specification Content Management Enablers

“Recent entrants to the market include 4Pack […], leveraging the power of digitized specification content to solve supply chain business challenges. 4Pack provides the ability to centralize and integrate data across artwork, specifications, and supply chain partners.”

The benefits of 4Pack’s digital processes are clear:

• Curated scope for corporate growth, as products reach the market more efficiently, more accurate, and with the correct branding.
• Access to a curated dashboard, allowing for ease and flexibility when developing new projects.
• Capacity to utilise PPSM data, detailed visibility of specifications data, for reporting and strategy. Lower risks of regulatory violations, unexpected costs, or losses to key information & artwork.

“The leading PPSM solutions drive visibility and speed decision-making through data analysis and reporting.”

We’re pleased to be recognised by Gartner, as it reflects our commitment to creating software that advances the CPG brands, manufacturers, and retailers that we work with. 4Pack’s PPSM applications addresses the specific needs and challenges of creating and maintaining specification data, and it is what differentiates us from other services. 4Pack’s wider capability includes content, artwork, asset management, which combined with the PPSM provides a solution that is unique in the market; digitally transforming product launch projects, driving efficiency, profitability, and accuracy.