The Polarity of the Packaging supplier and the Machine Packer

Most often than not for the large volumes of your Brands, we need heavy mechanisation on the packing and the filling lines and at the same time you need a large volume packaging supplier. It is interesting to see how the two are at the polar ends and very often large projects get hugely delayed just trying to get the two meet at the Equator.
Recently a very large project was to be worked upon paperboard and needed very special creases on the board to ensure proper running on the machine and above all a proper pack formation and a stable pack in the hands of the consumer. The volumes being large the Packaging supplier was very clear that the paperboard needs to be in the long grain. On the other hand given the complexity of the pack, the machine supplier was very clear that the paperboard has to be in the short grain. The Packaging supplier explained that in case they were to supply in the short grain the machine speeds are to come down drastically and impact the costs adversely. They agreed to supply in the short grain but came up with the issue of the ability to supply the required volumes given the machine speed retardation.
Negotiations of any sort did not work and every discussion led into a deadlock. The big question, where should we go from here , scrapping the project was not a solution given the competition pressures and going up to the Board and expressing this confusion was too much of an embarrassment for the senior managers.
These experiences are not uncommon and one could relate many more, however the solutions are extremely difficult and the challenges become insurmountable.
Often the solutions exist but need a technological breakthrough , which is time consuming and also cost consuming. One could say that one needs to build in timelines according to the project requirements, but the other side is the market pressures to implement the packaging change right away. You need both the supplier and the packer as both have their technical edge and unique competencies.
This polarity needs to be bridged, we need to work at an approach that the two parties can look at a single point or perhaps make an effort to look at a single point. One clear point emerges that on should not be dependent upon a single source for anything. A constant and persistent effort should be made to have alternatives and build competencies accordingly.
One clear challenge for the Sourcing manager should be supplier development and he needs to put in energies into building up multiple long term relationships in the supply chain. On the other hand the Organisation should seriously discourage rigidities , as this leads to the polar positioning.