Best Foot Forward

"It's been working out great for years," he says.

Kaplan started insourcing eight years ago when Meldisco—the Mahwah, N.J., company that owns and operates all of K-Mart's shoe departments—was a division of the Melville Corp. He printed for Melville divisions that did not have in-plants.

"I saw the opportunity to generate income and lower my fixed operating expenses," Kaplan reveals. He knew insourcing was a great way to save money, so even after Melville disbanded in the fall of 1996, Kaplan continued to insource work. He reports that simple word-of-mouth keeps business coming.