Patent ID: 7225040

Claim:
A method for management of a packaging supply chain, said packaging supply chain including flexible packaging materials and/or labels for fast-moving consumer goods, comprising the steps of: (a) entering digital data into a digital computer system, said digital data representing: (i) a packaging design, wherein said packaging design comprises a graphic design to be displayed on a package, (ii) a packaging product design, wherein said packaging product design comprises said packaging design and the structure of said package, (iii) a packaging item, wherein said packaging item comprises said packaging product design and at least one of a product configuration, a bill of material and a routing; and (iv) a packaging order which comprises a specified quantity of said packaging item for delivery on a specified date to an end user; (b) processing said digital data representing said packaging design with said digital computer system to create metadata for item creation, production planning and scheduling; and (c) analyzing said digital data and said metadata with said digital computer system to return a digital output having the information required to fulfill said packaging order.