Brian Higgins, KPMG’s U.S. Industrial Manufacturing Sector Leader, stated, “Uncertainty in the business operating environment is casting a very, very long shadow for manufacturers. Economic policy uncertainty has been difficult to navigate, to say the least.” His warning comes amid sobering findings from the KPMG 2025 U.S. CEO Outlook:

•  89% of CEOs say tariffs will impact operations over the next three years, and
•  68% have made AI a top investment priority, with nearly 70% dedicating up to 20% of their annual budgets to it.

“CEOs must push management teams to think differently and act boldly,” said Tim Walsh, KPMG U.S. Chair and CEO. “AI isn’t a long-term strategy anymore — it’s a near-term imperative.”

That message reverberated through the halls at PRINTING United 2025. Across the show floor and in breakout discussions, one truth was clear: in a time of economic uncertainty and rapid disruption, those who embrace AI now won’t just survive the next wave — they’ll define it.

From estimating and job onboarding to supply chain optimization, the drive toward AI isn’t theoretical — it’s operational. Manufacturers are tired of uncertainty; they want control, speed, and visibility.

And AI is delivering all three.

PRINTING United 2025 became a hub for discovery as CEOs and senior leaders attended to better understand how AI can reshape operations, boost efficiency, and safeguard profitability.

According to Alliance Insights, PRINTING United Alliance’s market-intelligence arm, the report “AI Adoption in the Printing Industry: From Curiosity to Competitive Advantage” found that 85% of respondents see AI as essential to staying competitive, while 83% view it as a source of new opportunity

Pressures come from every direction. Brand owners are demanding faster turnarounds, smaller runs, and tighter margins, yet 58% of converters admit they still rely heavily on manual processes. Meanwhile, buyers are already using AI tools—from ChatGPT and Claude to Gemini, Perplexity, and Gong—to craft RFPs, compare suppliers, and negotiate pricing. The result? A widening gap between those who use AI to accelerate response time and those still buried in spreadsheets and email threads.

What once felt like a futuristic conversation about “AI someday” has become an operational imperative today. In sales and estimating alone, AI is slashing tasks that once took hours into minutes. One session at Alliance Insights AI pavilion highlighted how AI-powered estimating can reduce quote turnaround time from four hours to two minutes—a transformation that directly impacts customer satisfaction, win rates, and cash flow. The next step: finding a reliable vendor who can work with companies to implement the ROI that AI can bring.

The same shift is happening across the workflow. AI in logistics, scheduling, accounts payable and purchasing is now linking what were once disconnected systems—helping companies forecast capacity, validate purchase orders, and register deliveries automatically. As AI integrates finance and operations, decision-making becomes faster and better informed, giving executives a real-time, holistic view of profitability.
And yet, the recurring theme throughout the sessions was clear: AI still needs a human at the wheel. Automation delivers scale and speed, but human oversight ensures validation, interpretation, and trust. The best implementations combine automation with empowering teams to adopt AI. 

The most powerful insight from Printing United’s AI focus? AI success isn’t about company size—it’s about mindset. Smaller, entrepreneurial converters are often the first to experiment, starting with clear, narrow use cases like automating purchase order processes or automating supplier price list updates. When executed with purpose, these small automations produce big ROI: less rework, fewer errors, and faster order processing.

For many packaging manufacturers, the key is knowing where AI can deliver the biggest return first. Industry leaders urged attendees to start with back-office workflows—purchase order processing, estimating, shipping and accounts payable—before expanding into production applications. These areas offer immediate efficiency gains, measurable cost savings, and low implementation risk.

But the call to action is more than technical. It’s cultural. To unlock AI’s full potential, companies must educate their teams and integrate AI into daily decision-making. One expert put it simply: “AI moves from thought to execution in seconds. The question is—can your organization move that fast?”

Source: Alliance Insights

KPMG’s survey found that while manufacturing CEOs anticipate initial costs with AI adoption, the majority expect a positive return on investment within just one to three years. But achieving that ROI depends on more than technology alone — it requires a trusted partner who understands both the complexities of packaging and print manufacturing operations and the realities of implementation.

AI adoption in print and packaging is no longer a question of if but how. The industry is searching for guidance: which tools to prioritize, which workflows to automate first, and how to measure impact. The most successful early adopters are taking a phased, strategic approach — defining their “why,” collaborating with experienced technology partners, and targeting high-ROI use cases that deliver visible results fast.

AI doesn’t replace a plant’s production workflow — it supercharges it. By automating the processes that surround production — from estimating and logistics to purchase order and delivery management — companies can shorten cycle times, boost profitability, and empower their teams to focus on innovation and customer value.

In short, AI is transforming packaging operations from reactive to predictive, from fragmented to fully connected. And those who start now—learning, implementing, and adapting—will set the pace for the next era of intelligent manufacturing.

For companies ready to take that first step, HiFlow Solutions provides the foundation. Twenty five years in the making, an ERP/MIS platform built specifically for the packaging and label industry, HiFlow integrates AI-powered modules that bring automation, intelligence, and speed to the most time-consuming processes — from purchase order management and estimating to scheduling, analytics, and logistics.

HiFlow is at the forefront of incorporating AI innovation deeply into its platform, and its modular design allows manufacturers to adopt AI at their own pace, targeting high-ROI areas first while ensuring seamless integration with existing workflows. Its Microsoft-based architecture and dedicated implementation support turns data into insight and insight into action — without disruption or downtime.
As the industry moves toward connected, data-driven manufacturing, HiFlow stands as a trusted partner helping print & packaging manufacturers navigate the shift — empowering them to make faster, smarter, and more profitable decisions in an AI-driven future.