DS Smith has launched a new customer innovation hub in Madrid in a move designed to further facilitate both virtual and physical collaboration with customers.
The firm said the synergies established in the centre will provide the opportunity to explore and share sustainable packaging solutions in an interactive environment.
Customers and visitors will have access to digital elements such as 360º cameras and LED screens, and virtual and augmented reality experiences. DS Smith has also installed 3D technology to reveal market-ready solutions to customers in real time and demonstrate the developmental processes behind new prototypes.
The hub is equipped with technology to enable users to participate in face-to-face, virtual, and hybrid sessions, and they are set up to host webinars and seminars on sustainable packaging and dominant or emerging market trends.
Interactive ‘unboxing’ experiences are available to demonstrate the impacts of each packaging on the consumer, and the options to design for re-use from inception.
João Gordilho, customer engagement manager Iberia, DS Smith, said, “The purpose of the DS Smith customer innovation hubs is to foster and support collaboration with our existing and to inspire our potential new customers with regards to what is possible for their products and supply chains. We seek to develop innovative solutions that are bespoke and to work closely together towards a more circular ready future. These tailor-made solutions are also designed to significantly reduce CO2 footprint.”
The hub in Madrid represents the second in Iberia. The company opened its first customer innovation centre in Lisbon, Portugal in 2021, and invested in another innovation centre in Belchatów, Poland, in 2022.
