Speaking to The Australian ahead of Amcor’s official opening of its Botany paper mill in Sydney, Garrard said the mill would provide a quantum leap forward for customers by offering them “innovative packaging solutions” designed to cut supply chain costs and enhance the shelf presence for their products in supermarkets.

He told The Australian: “It is early days for us, but shelf-ready is a new market opportunity for us. It will give our customers a cost-effective option versus what they otherwise would be able to get. We will be at the cutting edge. I think we will have a very competitive advantage as result.

“The supermarkets are already saying it is a condition precedent that their products are sold in shelf-ready trays. Our customers are, therefore going to do that. Customers buy with their eyes. The way the product is packaged and presented is absolutely paramount.”

Amcor’s new $500m mill will produce lightweight recycled paper at a rate of 180km/h and will replace three existing mills, according to media reports.

Elsewhere, Amcor said that it was rolling out an e-commerce initiative called iReplenishment, delivering its customers a 24/7 online, on-demand packaging shop allowing the group to make inventory adjustments in real time.