From the Editor: Getting What You Want

A couple of months ago I got an email, as I often do, from an in-plant manager looking for help. A long-time press operator, he now managed a small in-plant, he said, with basic offset, digital and bindery equipment. These days, he told me, most of the shop's work was being run on the copier, with the press increasingly sitting idle.

The manager told me he yearned for new digital equipment but was unsure how to go about asking for it. Despite decades of pressroom experience, he had never before had to write a proposal, and didn't even know which information to gather or how to organize it.

The dilemma, I'm sure, is familiar to some of you. Many managers are experts at running a print shop and cranking out quality products, yet the art of forging a compelling justification for new equipment is lost on them.

Knowing that other managers would appreciate learning more on this topic, I turned to IPG blogger, columnist and friend Ray Chambers, whose expertise in such areas far exceeds mine. A former in-plant manager himself, Ray now comes to the aid of in-plants in need through his consulting business, Chambers Management Group. Ray agreed to put some thought to it and write a column explaining how to properly produce a proposal convincing enough to get you what you need (see page 20).

Getting your proposal approved, he notes, requires that you demonstrate how the organization will benefit. Saying simply, "our equipment is old and we need to replace it" just won't do the trick. Your in-plant is competing for resources with all of the other departments in your parent organization.

"If the proposal doesn't show a direct contribution to the core purpose of the organization, it is not likely to be approved," writes Ray.

This idea of linking the in-plant's services and performance to the strategic imperatives of the organization is one that Ray has been emphasizing for a long time. He laments that many managers don't do a very good job of telling their stories and expressing to upper management how the in-plant furthers the core purpose of the organization.

If fund-raising is important, he notes, stress the key role the in-plant played in printing the collateral used to raise that money; if the university had a sudden need for media guides on short notice, emphasize how the in-plant got the project done, when outside printers either couldn't or would have billed the school a rush charge. Make sure you're proactively pointing out your value at every opportunity.

One in-plant that does this very well is the subject of our cover story. University of Oklahoma Printing, Mailing and Document Services is thriving, thanks in no small part to its efforts to add services and promote itself. Says Director John Sarantakos: "You have to stay on your toes, thinking constantly of better ways to service the university. The more ingrained you become with your parent company, the broader support you'll receive."