ABOUT US

Officers

D’Juana Ballard – Chair
Packaging Science Center
763-553-1940
dballard@thepscenter.com
Bob Vermillion – 1st Vice Chair
RMV Technology Group, LLC
650-964-4792
bob@esdrmv.com
Randy Phares – 2nd Vice Chair
Paperboard Packaging Group, Inc.
775-443-5529
drbox@live.com
June Anderson – Secretary
Packaging Knowledge Group
248- 310-1145
june.anderson@packagingknowledgegroup.com
Eric Faber - Treasurer
The Westside Company
310-422-6661
eric@thewestsidecompany.com
Andy Malcolm – Immediate Past Chair
P.Andrew Malcolm Consulting, Inc.
925-997-4626
andy@malcolmconsulting.com


Mission Statement

To provide a value to our members and to the packaging industry by enhancing our individual
member performance and contributions as packaging consultants.

Vision Statement

  1. Provide differentiation between professional and casual consultants.
  2. Establish strong ethical standards among professional packaging consultants.
  3. Increase professionalism in the packaging consulting field.
  4. Improve the professional image of packaging consultants.
  5. Educate industries on the benefits of using packaging consultants.
  6. Provide information and tools to assist companies in identifying qualified experts.
  7. Increase member performance by complying with Standards of Ethical Conduct.
  8. Build and share professional networks; discover new industry technology and resources.

How and When to Use a Consultant

The IoPP Packaging Consultants Council offers the following step-by-step procedures to help
you find the best consultant for your specific needs:

  1. Determine the nature and scope of the assignment and what the consultant is expected to achieve.
  2. Search the online IoPP Directory of Packaging Consultants to find professional consultants with the specific expertise you need.
  3. Review the information in the Directory to conduct a preliminary assessment of the most promising candidates.
  4. If you have questions about a candidate's professional background, call and ask questions. Professional packaging consultants are happy and proud to discuss their professional experience, offer references, and supply any information needed to help you make your decision.
  5. Contact and interview - by phone or in person - the most promising candidates. If the consultant is a member of the IoPP Packaging Consultants Council, you can be sure that s/he is a professional packaging consultant and has passed a rigorous membership review process. If the candidate is not a member of the Council, verify that s/he has not just packaging experience, but packaging consulting experience as well. Find out if the candidate is an active, professional consultant, or a moonlighter or unemployed packaging professional doing a little consulting between jobs. Make sure that the consultant is, in fact, an objective, independent consultant and not a vendor or manufacturer's representative who calls himself a consultant. Be sure to ask any questions that might have a bearing on the consultant's qualifications for the job. What types of projects has the firm worked on in the past? How long has the firm been in operation? How big is the firm? What size company does the firm most frequently work with? How are fees typically determined? How many of the consultant's accounts are repeat business?
  6. Once you've finished the interviewing process, request project proposal(s) from the consultants whom you are seriously considering hiring. Make sure the final proposal(s) contain well-defined "Scope of Work," "Services to be Provided," and "Description of Fees/Fee Schedule" sections. (Note: Resist the temptation to base your decision on price alone rather than value.)
  7. After you've fine-tuned details and reached an agreement on the consultant's proposal (particularly the "Scope of Work" section), sign a contract and/or issue an appropriate purchase order.
  8. Introduce the consultant to your staff and anyone else who might be involved with or might feel threatened by the consultant's work for your organization. With the consultant by your side, explain in detail why the consultant has been hired, discuss the scope of the project, and give anyone who might become involved an opportunity to ask questions.
  9. Provide input and on-going interest to the consultant at the beginning of and throughout the project.
  10. Be sure the consultant is working for an executive within your company with sufficient authority to ensure the full cooperation of everyone involved with the project.

Ethical Conduct

If you believe that a member has violated the below code of ethics and you have an unresolved issue, you may submit a formal complaint by completing the complaint form. Email it to the Packaging Consultants Council Chair and phone the Chair who will inform you of the process and begin processing the complaint.

  1. Professional packaging consultants shall - to the best of their ability - protect the safety, health, and welfare of the public and the client in the fulfillment of their professional duties, and will refuse assignments rather than compromise personal standards of integrity.
  2. Professional packaging consultants accept only those contracts in which they have complete competence.
  3. Professional packaging consultants do not accept assignments from two clients at the same time which relate to competitive products without the knowledge and consent of both parties.
  4. Professional packaging consultants treat all information relating to the business affairs of a client as confidential, including the client's anonymity (if requested).
  5. Professional packaging consultants conduct business in a professional and dignified manner, and will uphold the honor and integrity of the packaging consulting professional, opposing incompetent consultation and the design of deceptive or misleading packages.
  6. Professional packaging consultants continue to pursue knowledge and professional development in packaging to provide clients with state-of-the-art advice, contribute effort and funds to the furtherance of packaging technology, and share experience and knowledge with other members of the profession.
  7. Professional packaging consultants provide services to only one client in the conduct of a project. In the event the consultant perceives a potential conflict of interest, all relevant parties are made aware of the potential conflict and do agree to the consultant’s participation.
  8. Professional packaging consultants are truthful and forthright in observations and recommendations to the public, clients and vendors. Professional packaging consultants make clear the significance and limitations of reported findings and make every effort to prevent the misuse or misrepresentations of such documentation.
  9. Professional packaging consultants interact with clients and other packaging consultants at all times in a professional manner befitting the status of the Council, avoiding any nonprofessional communications, personal attacks, dissemination of confidential information, and grossly offensive or unprofessional e-mails or postings.

Proposed and adopted by the IoPP Packaging Consultants Council November 1987. Revised August 1990, May 1996, and November 2008.

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