LAST CHANCE TO SAVE! New Trends for Food at PACK EXPO Southeast
Discover all the latest packaging & processing solutions for food products at the all-new PACK EXPO Southeast in Atlanta, GA, March 10-12, 2025
Register ASAP for just $30!

The factory faces the Amazon effect

Confronting new consumer demands for customized products—from food to pharma—manufacturers are in search of technology that can economically move them from mass production to batch of one.

The “Amazon effect” hits food and beverage processing, where consumers expect buying convenience, visibility and accessibility every step of the way.
The “Amazon effect” hits food and beverage processing, where consumers expect buying convenience, visibility and accessibility every step of the way.

Getting lunch delivered to the office has never been so easy. From a smartphone, you can find a nearby restaurant, scroll through the menu of options, add extra toppings to your sandwiches, pay electronically, include a tip for the driver, and get alerts telling you exactly what time your food will arrive.

It’s an experience experts are calling the “Amazon effect,” in which consumers expect buying convenience, visibility and accessibility at every step in the process. Retailers and restaurants are delivering on those expectations. Now, manufacturers in high-volume industries like CPG, food and beverage and pharmaceuticals are feeling the pressure to cater to these new consumer needs as well.

“It’s called the demand market,” says John Kowal, director of business development for B&R Industrial Automation. “The consumer wants what they want when they want it.”

Though this demand-driven market might feel very out of reach for manufacturers that are using legacy systems to mass produce products, it is actually a great opportunity. Investing in new technology and business models that cater directly to the customer can reduce inventory and order fulfillment times while significantly slimming down the supply chain.

The manufacturing process for the demand market is referred to in many different ways: flexible manufacturing, adaptive machines and batch of one. But the goal is the same. “The idea is that you can economically produce one product,” Kowal says. “Whether it’s customized to an individual or one of many choices, you produce it to order.”

Imagine a filling line that can mix and match drink recipes based on individual orders. Those personalized beverages flow down the bottling conveyor system to be put into different bottle sizes with customized caps and customized packaging that corresponds to individually printed recipes and individual tracking. The batch-of-one production could then move into a multi-pack before heading to the case packer. In summary: Just-in-time filling of small batches executed in quick succession, with no equipment changeover, and put on mixed pallets directly on the line and ready for dispatch—without moving to the warehouse.

You don’t have to imagine it because Krones, an OEM that develops machines and complete lines for process, filling and packaging, showcased a Bottling on Demand system at drinktec 2017. The Krones system setup uses technology from B&R called Acopostrak, which will officially be unveiled this month at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago.

According to B&R, Acopostrak is a generational leap in intelligent, flexible transport systems. It includes high-speed diverters and passes shuttles from one track circuit to another at full production speed. The hot-swappable shuttles are on a purely magnetic hold and accommodate pit lanes for changing and service, enabling zero downtime. The flexible track design can be morphed into any form, and the system software can merge product flows and sort at full production speed, using parallel processing and load balancing. Acopostrak also includes simulation software—providing a digital twin that enables design optimization.

Digitalization is an important element in the system, noted Andreas Gschrey, head of digitalization and data technology for Krones, in a video made at the drinktec show. “Acopostrak enables us to make lot size one possible,” he says. “It is using an electromagnetic track that brings the bottle from module to module, so the bottle gets intelligent and controls itself through the whole manufacturing line.” Though the bottles themselves are not embedded with intelligence, the flexible control design of the transport system enables the movement of each individual unit, thereby customizing the control of each bottle.

As a result of new technology like Acopostrak, the manufacturing industry is finally arriving at a place where it can produce—and benefit from—batch of one. And that is a result of not just the sophistication of automation and control logic, but the evolution of the entire plant floor infrastructure.

The world—or at least the factory—is flat

The digital factory is an enormous enabler for the move from make-to-stock to make-to-demand. As a result of standard Ethernet networks penetrating the production line, as well as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and intelligent devices, there’s a heightened level of connectivity.

The network, in particular, is key. Batch of one calls for tight integration between manufacturing and business management assets, which in turn requires a high level of interoperability. Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is one such emerging standard delivering the data and communications standards to connect these assets in a multi-vendor environment.

LAST CHANCE TO SAVE! New Trends for Food at PACK EXPO Southeast
The exciting new PACK EXPO Southeast 2025 unites all vertical markets in one dynamic hub, generating more innovative answers to food packaging and processing challenges. Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity for your business!
REGISTER ASAP FOR $30!
LAST CHANCE TO SAVE! New Trends for Food at PACK EXPO Southeast