Consumer product packaging has long been scrutinized for structural and aesthetic performance. Now, though, a more important characteristic is at the fore – intelligence. Packaging can be smarter and ‘digitally connected’ when combined with distributed computer systems and the web. This change will revolutionize productivity and quality while delivering new capability in a variety of product packaging applications. This capability has led to the fourth Industrial Revolution for manufacturing, or Industry 4.0, where data is dominant, and the Internet of Things (IoT) provides greater connectivity than ever before. Packaging took a technological leap forward in the mid-1970s when it began carrying a printed UPC barcode that provided automatic price scanning at retail checkout – a foundational moment when new symbols on packaging, combined with sensor technology and computing power, provided a digital link to point-of-sale systems. In the 1980s, manufacturers discovered the power of 2D barcodes and machine vision to automatically identify objects to match with the right product or to assemble multiple packaging components.