Telenet – Belgium’s largest provider of cable broadband services – brings internet, telephony and television services to households and businesses all over Belgium. Motivated by ambitious sustainability goals and an increasingly complex logistic chain, the company’s digital television setup box was lined up for a revamp. How could the cardboard packaging become more ecological, user-friendly, cost-efficient and optimized for transport, all while remaining compliant with packaging norms and regulations? That’s what Creax found out with an extensive innovation study.
A telecommunications company in motion
Telenet attaches great importance to innovation and development, both by exploring new technological possibilities and by continuously optimizing its existing product and service offering. The ultimate goal is simple: ensuring the best possible customer experience. At the same time, Telenet is very much aware of its increasing corporate responsibility. Facing this challenge, the company launched the ‘Linking Environment and Profit’-programme (LEAP), which features a set of ambitious environmental goals.
The challenge: a box that ticks all boxes
‘One size fits all’ is probably the best way to describe Telenet’s previous cardboard packaging for digital television setup gear. One single box – containing the decoder, cables, remotes, booklets and a bunch of other stuff – served multiple installation needs. No matter if it was a DIY installation, a professional setup, an upgrade or the replacement of a broken unit. Because of this, the packaging was bulky and often contained unnecessary components. Other points of improvement surfaced: the box was not optimized for palletization, nor was it designed to be reopened – which is often necessary to add custom parts. Looking for a new perspective, Creax was called in.
The solution: a holistic approach
Better customer experience and ease-of-use, less costs and more eco-friendliness. Finding a solution to all of these challenges required a holistic approach. First of all, we deeply examined every possible aspect of the box: its contents, the logistic chain, distribution and customer needs, installation requirements and disposal options.
We identified key properties and functions by talking to users, installers and distribution points. Combining existing packaging solutions with the CREAX methodology led to a wide range of possible innovations. These were further refined into concepts, which were then shared with Telenet through an interactive workshop.
The outcome: big results with small innovations
The concept was translated into a fully functioning product by a packaging specialist. The result is a drastically optimized box, showing that a combination of small innovations leads to big results:
- The box is smaller, lighter and easier to use.
- It has a built-in handle, so no extra bags are needed for consumer transport;
- The handle contains the remote control, to save space (and cardboard);
- The box has two opening flaps: a big one for standard gear and a small one for custom parts;
- Almost all plastic is eliminated. The remaining plastic is of plant origin.
- The new design offers a better resistance to pressure during transport.
- The optimized shape enables twice as many boxes to be shipped in one container, which cuts both CO2 emissions and transport costs.
- 45% decrease in total weight
- 95% less plastic used
- 50% less containers used for transport
- 609 tons of CO2 eliminated annually
- 179 tons of paper and cardboard saved annually
- 1,200 kilometers of cables recuperated
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