Impact of COVID-19 on Active, Smart and Intelligent Packaging in Chemicals and Materials Industry
The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the whole planet with its major impacts on the economy and businesses across the globe. The COVID-19 spread worldwide in unprecedented ways due to its high infectious and contagious nature and lack of availability of its vaccine. As a result, the greatest medical challenge in the 21st century is yet to be faced by physicians worldwide. Though the emergence of the virus can be traced back to Asia, many European countries along with the U.S. have been struck massively by the pandemic. The virus has spread across all regions ranging from North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa up to South America. The COVID-19 has been declared as a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) due to its increased spread across the globe. After the declaration of the pandemic, various countries announced the complete lockdown such as India, China, and other Asian countries to decrease its spread. According to the latest situation report by World Health Organization (WHO) stated 175 million cases of Corona have been reported globally and 4 million patients are dead due to the coronavirus. On a slightly positive note, a total of 158 million people have recovered and a total of 2 million vaccine doses have been administered as well.
Manufacturers mostly utilize active, smart, and intelligent packaging to preserve the nutritional content and freshness of their products. This worldwide trade is driven by sophisticated and improved transportation infrastructure that allows items to be moved from one location to another without damage. External factors, such as air and temperature, do not affect the real operation of active packaging, which is referred to as product packaging.
However, the spread of COVID-19 is an unprecedented worldwide public health crisis that has impacted nearly every business, and its long-term consequences are expected to have an influence on industry growth throughout the projection period. COVID-19 has resulted in changes in consumer behaviour and demand, purchasing patterns, supply chain rerouting, current market dynamics, and substantial government engagement. Economic insecurity caused by the pandemic had also triggered the investors in both public and private sectors to reconsider the
STRATEGIC DECISIONS FOR MANUFACTURERS AFTER COVID-19 TO GAIN COMPETITIVE MARKET SHARE
The manufacturing sector of smart packaging materials was one of the most damaged sectors by COVID-19. The new Coronavirus developed in China, which is home to the vast majority of facilities supplying raw materials to various production units across the world. Several steps were taken to increase international cooperation among the countries to promote investments and also to improve the ease of doing business inside the nations. Also, various relief measures were provided for manufacturers in the packaging industry. New and existing projects were given a kick start by inviting technological innovations supported by the government.