Top 5 Trends for 2023: Cloud labeling grows in popularity among companies of all sizes

The past few years have brought a rapid upturn in cloud adoption with businesses looking to address “anywhere anytime” connectivity. Now in 2023, the cloud has become the preferred deployment method for business applications and for improving supply chain efficiencies. 

In fact, nearly three-quarters (71%) of companies believe the cloud or a hybrid solution will be their favored deployment method for labeling within the next three years, according to Loftware’s recent annual ‘Top 5 Trends in Labeling & Packaging Artwork’ report. 

Driven by the need to insulate operations from ongoing supply chain disruptions, product shortages, cost pressures, process inefficiencies, and manual errors, the survey also revealed that 50% of businesses already deploy important business applications in the cloud, up 10% from 2022. Gartner, a leading technology analyst firm, mirrors this finding in its own research and believes that more than 50% of enterprises will use industry cloud platforms to accelerate their business initiatives by 2027. 

Why the cloud? Why now? 

Most business leaders surveyed by Loftware (80%) reported that supply chain challenges had directly impacted their business. However, by adopting a cloud-first approach for their labeling operations, companies of all sizes can better prepare for future disruption. That’s because cloud labeling empowers organizations to speed deployment and take fast, corrective actions to eliminate bottlenecks, enhance collaboration, improve time to market, and ensure compliance. 

In today’s business environment, manual processes represent barriers to growth and scale. But once digitized in a cloud-based labeling solution, these manual processes quickly give way to the seamless exchange of data. As such, the cloud allows companies to maintain existing systems and user interactions to improve efficiencies and scale labeling across their entire business ecosystem. 

By implementing a cloud-first strategy, businesses can also accommodate a remote workforce, seamlessly extend labeling to new partners and suppliers, and design and change labels on the fly. The cloud offers important financial predictability by eliminating the need to make extensive upfront investments. Furthermore, cloud technology reduces the need for internal IT infrastructure/IT team involvement, resulting in even more cost savings, less hassle, and increased resources to allocate elsewhere. 

“Cloud adoption is proving to be the cornerstone of impactful digital transformation programs, as evidenced by the strong feedback we have received from our customers and partners. The cloud provides quick deployment times, lower upfront costs, easy access, the ability to scale, and automatic updates," said Josh Roffman, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Management at Loftware. "As companies of all sizes strive to increase profitability, drive growth, and streamline operations, we expect to see a growing number of forward-thinking organizations adopt the cloud for mission-critical business processes including labeling.” 

While businesses deal with the many challenges of the day - geopolitical uncertainty, natural disasters, labor shortages, and more - success depends on supply chain agility. Cloud-first labeling ensures that businesses can adapt and shift as needed without being hung up on labeling issues. There is huge potential to scale, standardize practice, and ultimately drive improvements across the enterprise. Organizations that can effectively pivot and embrace new plans for maintaining business will have a competitive edge and set themselves up for future success in 2023 and beyond. 

Find out more about Loftware’s report 

For more information about the top 2023 trends revealed by Loftware, download the full report for free. Additionally, you can watch a recording of the ‘2023 Top 5 Trends in Labeling & Packaging Artwork’ webinar here.