Idealliance Chief Economist Andrew Paparozzi: Economic Revolution Creates 'Historic Opportunities'
Andy Paparozzi
"Our industry is being transformed by history’s third Great Economic Revolution, creating historic opportunities — but only for those who can adapt to the change taking place in our technologies, our markets, our competition, and our customer demands," Idealliance Chief Economist Andrew Paparozzi told attendees at the association’s Idealliance Experience Annual Conference, May 3-5, in Tucson, Ariz.
"Economic revolutions go where they want when they want," he continued. "To position ourselves to be one of the revolution’s winners, we must exercise urgency, discipline, and adaptability. We must build adaptability into our company’s DNA, we must act now—not later, and we must cultivate adaptability and execute our responses to change even as we manage the daily demands and challenges of running our businesses.
"Sales growth and profitability in today’s industry are not based on a company being a particular size, ownership structure, equipment configuration, or even market segment," said Paparozzi. "They are the result of a company’s ability to consistently make superior decisions in an increasingly competitive, complex, unforgiving business environment—and consistently execute those decisions effectively."
Paparozzi’s overview kicked off two days of presentations by industry experts, real-world case studies, and intensive discussions in seminars, open forums, workshops, and roundtables, all designed to help industry executives discover and develop actionable solutions to the problems — and opportunities — current conditions present. In the words of one conference attendee, the interaction helped attendees find "pointed actionable solutions to challenges that have plagued many in the industry" and it "provided a proven road map to overcome many common challenges." Billed as the place "where business and technology meet," it offered attendees a holistic approach to management issues as it brought together information on today’s latest technology advances and business best practices.
Befitting an association that represents the visual communications and media industry, the Idealliance Experience conference offered insights into areas ranging from new printing technology and color management processes to postal and mailing issues, business metrics, marketing, and cross-channel communications. Conference sessions focused on inkjet and direct mail innovations, nanotechnology and industrial printing, digital packaging printing, USPS postal rates, brand management and content creation, integrated marketing, financial management benchmarks, sales practices, and staffing/human resources management.
A series of breakouts on key initiatives and actions by Idealliance’s member-exclusive Working Groups covered activities related to the mail supply chain, color and print workflow standards, automating customized workflows, and business leadership for small companies. In addition, nearly 30 vendors and suppliers provided displays and information on new products, technologies, and advanced business services in a sold-out exhibit hall.
"The breadth of topics addressed at this conference demonstrates the reach of Idealliance in serving companies across the entire industry value chain," said Idealliance President and Chief Executive Officer David Steinhardt, "and the enthusiastic participation of a broad cross section of industry executives and managers underscores the trust they put in Idealliance to provide access to reliable, cutting-edge industry intelligence."
Steinhardt thanked attendees who wholeheartedly joined in the discussions with their questions and ideas and shared their own business experiences, and he praised the more than two dozen session presenters, panel members, and facilitators from companies across the industry who generously contributed their time and expertise to ensure that every session was informative and beneficial.
"Over the last decade our industry has undergone incredible changes and overcome numerous challenges, and we are now poised to take advantage of a vast array of opportunities being opened by today’s new technologies," he continued. "Our Experience Conference attendees are aware of these possibilities and know they can depend on the association’s resources — from events and reports to training and consulting—to prepare themselves to take full advantage of these exciting new opportunities."
The 2018 Idealliance Experience Annual Conference will be June 6-8, 2018, at the Renaissance Hotel in Dallas, Texas. For information, contact Idealliance Manager of Events Julian Greer at (703) 837-1071 or jgreer@idealliance.org.
