The digitization of a food package's life cycle: Existing and emerging computer systems in the pre-logistics phase

Traditional design and production methods for food packages become less and less suitable to rapidly respond to ever-changing requirements and regulations. Computer systems applied in discrete manufacturing (ranging from computer-aided-technologies to image analysis systems) are now also specifically developed for and gradually adopted by the food package industry to improve efficiency in terms of material usage, operational costs, and food loss, and to allow the development of more performant and sustainable food packages. In this paper, an extensive overview is provided of such systems that, when combined, offer the perspective to realize a more holistic research, design and production approach that fits within the spirit of the fourth industrial revolution. Special attention is given to the importance of information from and knowledge about the logistics and post-logistics phase of a food package's life cycle in the manufacturing process. The main purpose of this review paper is to provide, for the first time, a complete and coherent overview of the digitization of a food package's life cycle that can be used as a blueprint for future research, development and discussion in this emerging research topic.