DISCUSSION QUESTION
2
Warehouse Management Discussion Question
The product that I frequently use, and I hope it might be redesigned to make it easier to
manufacture and possibly more helpful to me, is the Colgate toothpaste. The Colgate toothpaste
package is a cylindrical tube with a plastic cap or lid at the top. Because of the cap and the shape
of the packaging tube, it becomes tough for the user to get all the toothpaste out of the tube.
Towards the end, when the paste is almost finished, it is very stressful and takes a lot of energy to
get all the toothpaste out of the packaging tube. Most of the paste remains at the circular corner.
To curb this problem, the Colgate packaging tube can be redesigned by getting rid of the lid and
making the shape of both sides the same. This way, both sides of the Colgate packaging will be
flat; there will be no lid. By doing this, three advantages will be achieved, as explained in the
paragraphs below.
First, it will become easy for the user to get all the toothpaste from the Colgate
packaging. By getting rid of the circular-shaped corner around the lid, there will be no place to
hold extra toothpaste. The user will squeeze all the toothpaste with ease. There will be no corners
to hide or hold the toothpaste while the user squeezes it from the packaging tube. For instance, in
the current toothpaste packaging tube, around the lid, a circular corner makes it hard for all the
paste to come out while being squeezed, especially towards the end of its usage. It is constantly
frustrating for the user, and if it can be redesigned to get rid of this circular corner, it will become
easy to get all the toothpaste out of the packaging.
Secondly, the redesigned Colgate toothpaste packaging is aesthetically pleasing.
According to Pathak (2019), since its founding, being one of the most recognized and oldest
brands, Colgate has not changed its packaging design. Therefore, by changing its design, it will
be beneficial to the user and aesthetically pleasing to customers. This will help in attracting
newer customers, hence increasing sales and eventually profiting the company. The new
packaging will also stand out from the packaging of its competitors, thus making the Colgate
company more competitive in the consumer goods industry.
Thirdly, redesigning the Colgate toothpaste packaging will reduce the cost of
manufacture for the company. Because the new packing does not have a cap or a lid, it will help
do away with the cost of lid production. It will also help do away with machines used to
manufacture the lid and place it on the packaging. All these eradicated costs will help reduce the
cost of manufacturing the new packaging tube. To put this into perspective, take, for example,
assuming that it takes $1 to manufacture a lid; this means that it will cost $100 to manufacture
100 lids. By getting rid of the lid, the cost of manufacturing one Colgate toothpaste packaging
tube will be reduced by $1. In essence, redesigning the packaging tube of Colgate toothpaste will
help reduce the cost of manufacture.