From Recycled Fiber Risk to Margin Certainty: The FiberTrace & Performance Optimizer

By Thierry Laugerette, on March 10 2026

Raw material volatility is squeezing margins across the Paper & Packaging industry. FiberTrace & Performance Optimizer fights back — combining AI-powered fiber quality control, blockchain traceability, and dynamic blending optimization to turn procurement complexity into a competitive edge. From the supply chain to the sales floor, protect your margins and prove the value of recycled fiber, with data.

Focus: From Recyclability to Margin Protection

IT Technology

Blockchain-Enabled Tracking: A secure, immutable ledger that tracks the origin, quality grade, and chemical composition of secondary fibers throughout the global supply chain. This ensures the authenticity of recycled claims and provides a verifiable audit trail for "green" certifications.
AI-Driven Quality Control Computer Vision: Deployment of high-speed cameras and sensors at the production line. AI models analyze fiber variability in real-time, predicting material performance (such as bursting strength or moisture resistance) and automatically adjusting machine settings to maintain consistency despite raw material fluctuations.

Commercial Excellence

Dynamic Margin Optimization: The AI engine assists procurement teams in real-time, identifying the cheapest possible mix of recycled and virgin fibers that still meets the customer's technical specifications. This "blending optimization" protects the gross margin against spikes in raw material prices.
Consultative Selling as "Material Engineers": Sales representatives transition into strategic advisors or "Material Engineers." Using data-heavy dashboards, they can provide empirical proof to skeptical clients that high-recycled content will not compromise their brand’s aesthetic or the integrity of their products during transport, overcoming the traditional bias against recycled materials.

PAPER & PACKAGING

Discover our expertises

Fiber Yield & OEE Optimization

The Trend
High-volume packaging production is increasingly constrained by machine downtime, fiber loss, and rising energy intensity across legacy mill environments.

Consequences on Value Creation
Fragmented mill-floor data limits real-time performance visibility, resulting in excessive broke generation, unplanned shutdowns, and margin erosion.
Our Solution
We deploy a Connected Mill layer over existing PLC/SCADA systems to enable predictive maintenance, real-time fiber recovery monitoring, AI-driven pulper and refiner optimization, and digitized shift performance benchmarking.
Financial Impact
- OEE Improvement: +14% total equipment effectiveness
- Waste Reduction: –5.5% trim waste and broke generation
- Energy Savings: –10% kWh per ton of finished product

The Engine of Profitable Growth

The Trend
As firms scale, misalignment between Sales, Delivery, and Finance increases operational complexity.

Consequences on Value Creation
Poor resource forecasting and delayed project visibility lead to margin erosion and extended billing cycles.
Our Solution
We integrate CRM and PSA systems to enable pipeline-based staffing forecasts, automated SOW generation, and real-time project margin tracking.
Financial Impact
Improves resource utilization, shortens billing cycles, and increases project-level profitability.

Pricing Strategy & Sales Transformation

The Trend
Packaging firms continue to rely on cost-plus pricing models, limiting their ability to respond to volatility in raw material and energy indices.

Consequences on Value Creation
Delayed price adjustments and unmonetized engineering input result in margin compression and an overexposure to low-complexity, low-profitability orders.
Our Solution
We implement a Margin Shield combining dynamic pricing engines linked to industry indices, real-time cost-to-serve modeling, TCO-based sales enablement, and customer portfolio optimization to eliminate low-margin SKUs.
Financial Impact
- Margin Protection: +3–5% gross margin uplift
- Portfolio Health: –20% low-margin SKUs
- Sales Efficiency: –40% custom quote generation time