DS Smith Modular POS Displays: How Brands Can Stop Paying for Costly Re-tooling Every Season

Lately, several retail brand clients have come to me complaining that in-store marketing cycles are getting fragmented into shorter and shorter windows

To fit the display constraints of different retail channels, POS displays have turned into costly, single-use assets

Every time a new campaign rolls around, you have to redesign the structure, make new dies, and sign off on fresh physical samples

This drags out lead times, and with macroeconomic pressures like projected pulp capacity cutbacks in North America, material waste is quietly eating away at margins

The real problem is that most brands contract out displays as one-off jobs, instead of treating them as a reusable asset system

Confectionery brand Cloetta was facing this exact multi-channel display headache

DS Smith didn't just hand them cheaper cardboard. Instead, they rebuilt the foundation by introducing modular design, breaking a complex product into standardized, interchangeable parts

DS Smith focused on a few core moves:

・Fully standardizing the base and load-bearing structure so dimensions never change between campaigns

・Separating the main graphic communication area into quick-swap panels and inserts

・Unifying the interlocking tab design so retail staff can assemble everything quickly using the same logic

This proves what I often tell print shop owners: break designs into standard modules, and downstream printing and finishing become painless

Printing only the piece that needs changing cuts both plate-making costs and press setup times by a wide margin compared to starting from scratch

To match Cloetta's flexibility, you need to lock in your specs early in the design phase

Here is the structural framework we often bring into our consulting sessions:

1. Review all retail channel dimensions and weight limits from the past year, finding the common denominator to define a standard base

2. Separate the fixed structural skeleton from the interchangeable visual skin. Mass-produce the former to lower unit costs, and print the latter on demand in small batches per campaign

3. Use shared tab-and-slot designs to reduce glue application and make teardown and recycling easier

4. Bring in an architectural review like the Mai Strategy Knowledge Academy consulting team to check module tolerances and load capacities via 3D simulations before sending files to print

Brands cannot just pay lip service to ESG anymore

When you modularize POS displays, the immediate result is a sharp drop in waste

Pros:

・Significantly lowers cardboard consumption and carbon footprint for individual campaigns

・Standardized structures pack flat for shipping, improving logistics efficiency

・Partial replacement design allows the main structure to be reused across campaigns

Cons:

・Higher upfront investment in structural design and testing time

・Standardization sometimes means sacrificing eccentric, highly unusual shapes

From my years observing production lines and client setups, this upfront investment pays off handsomely

Over the past few weeks, signals pointing from material swaps to structural redesign in packaging have grown stronger. If you don't want to get locked into single machines or closed production lines, building your own modular assets is the answer

For high-end or highly customized visual modules, hand them off to specialized printers like MINDS to handle specialty finishes, putting your budget where it counts

・Treat displays as reconfigurable assets, not single-use consumables

・Separate the structural frame from the visual skin right from design, reprinting only the graphics that need updating

・Modular design directly cuts shipping volume and paper waste, making it a great proof point for brand ESG messaging

・The earlier you lock in standard specs, the better you can dodge paper price swings and material shortages

Modular design does not kill creativity. It focuses your resources on the visual touchpoints that actually connect with consumers. For print shops, this means shifting from passive job-order manufacturing to providing structural solutions. For brands, this is an upgrade in supply chain management. Before kicking off your next marketing campaign, get design, procurement, and print consultants around the same table to set modular ground rules from day one

・DS Smith streamlines Cloetta’s confectionery POS displays with modular design