“The key to savings is to measure performance, integrate the design and supply chain strategy, reduce complexity, and train the team.”

Ken Rohleder

Ken Rohleder has been working in the packaging industry for 18 years. A graduate of the University of Louisville School of Business, he is an accomplished graphic artist and packaging designer for both retail packaging and industrial packaging. Ken is considered an industry expert in high graphics and has worked in that capacity for two large packaging companies.

In the 1990’s Ken managed the day-to-day operations of a large, integrated corrugated packaging manufacturing plant. In that role, he was an authority on packaging manufacturing processes, machinery, cost drivers and quality control.

Ken has been Senior Vice President/Creative Director and partner of a Cincinnati based packaging design and supply chain management group. There he consulted to Fortune 1000 companies on Marketing and Supply Chain Management strategies for large packaging and commercial printing spends. He led a team designing packaging graphics and structure for retail and industrial applications.

Ken began Rohleder Group, Inc. to address the need for objective, practical expert advice and training for companies with large, complex packaging spends. In his words:

“Many packaging consulting firms are really there to sell you their machine or their packaging product. Consulting is just a Trojan Horse for selling so the advice isn’t completely objective. And there are consultants who are very good at structuring buying events to reduce price. Supply Chain professionals tell me that bidding events generally only address the low-hanging fruit and they are concerned that heavy-handed tactics will ruin the relationship they have with their supplier.

My approach is to develop a strategy tailored to the organizational structure, a strategy that will reduce complexity, facilitate measuring results, and reduce costs in a dramatic way. My clients get the benefit of 18 years of industry experience from design to manufacturing to supply chain management. I help them to understand the selling tactics being used against them, I help them make their spend attract a very good price, and I help them simplify the commodity so it can be managed more effectively. I value-engineer their packaging and help them develop practical metrics that work within their existing IT structure. My strategy has created savings of 25-50% at companies who felt their cost was at bottom. I’ve reduced inventories 90% at factories who considered themselves JIT. Applying the fundamentals can produce audacious results, if the strategies are in alignment.

There are no tricks or shortcuts in getting real results. The key to savings is to measure performance, integrate the design and supply chain strategy, reduce complexity, and train the team.”