Actively promote your  in-plant’s strengths, key advantages

Know Your Mission

Do you understand why your in-plant exists and what its purpose is? As a manager, you must be able to articulate this information at a moment’s notice.

One way to keep your purpose and goals clear in the heads of you and your staff is to create a mission statement that supports your organization’s mission and emphasizes your value as part of that mission.

For example: The mission of Document & Design Services is to provide accessible, high-quality materials for the organization’s staff, faculty, customers or students. Document & Design Services is dedicated to being a reliable, full-service source for professional printing and graphic design support for the organization. Our mission is to provide superior printing and services that exceed each customer’s expectations while using technology, innovation and efficiency to control costs.

Also, define your in-plant’s purpose and objectives, and share them often with your employees, customers and management. For example:

Purpose: Our center provides department copiers for light-duty copying; high-quality digital black-and-white and full-color on-demand printing; course packets for bookstore resale; CD/DVD duplication; and the distribution of material. The Mail Center provides the organization with a complete menu of mail services including inter-office mail, U.S.P.S. mail, bulk mailings, shipping and receiving.

Objectives: To support staff, faculty, students, etc. by providing professional services; to provide outstanding quality and excellent customer service; to maintain an efficient and cost-effective production schedule; and to provide accessible, high-quality document and design services.

Never assume, just because your in-plant has been around for ages, that everyone knows about it. Employees come and go, and some of the new ones may never have dealt with an in-plant before, and thus have their own ideas about how print jobs should be handled.

As an in-plant manager, you must continually market your services. To convince the uninitiated, provide a multitude of documented reasons they should use your in-plant. To help you, here's a list of key benefits to publicize:

• Promote synergy. You have an experienced and professional staff that understands the needs and goals of your parent organization. You will work with customers collaboratively to help them achieve their goals and the goals of the entire organization.

• Promote your in-plant's allegince to your parent organization. Customers should understand that the vendor's mission is to make a profit from your organization. Your mission is to support the customer and ultimately the organization for which you both work. Promote that you will work with customers to find money-saving solutions, provide quality and support them in any way possible. The in-plant is solely committed to serving the best interests of the organization.

• Promote how every member of your team has a vested interest in the organization. All of the in-plant's employees have a sense of ownership. Everything they work on or produce reflects directly back to the organization. Your staff looks good only if the customer looks good.

• Promote budget recycling. For example, when customers use your services, the funds are recycled back into the parent organization, and can then be used to provide improved services to them.

• Promote the in-plant's ability to save the customer money. Adjusting a publication's size can have a dramatic effect on both printing and mailing costs, without limiting a piece's effectiveness. Reducing a postcard's size by even a fraction of an inch could cut mailing costs by more than 35 percent.

• Promote how the in-plant ensures that all materials are designed and printed to conform to the organization's branding policy and standards. (Correct colors, logo usage, design standards, etc.)

• Promote that you are your organization's liaison between the U.S. Postal Service and other mail vendors for correct mailing procedures. For example, you may have negotiated discounted shipping rates with vendors to provide the organization with the best mailing and shipping rates available.

• Promote that printing is a profession, and those on your staff are trained professionals. A slight error or omission can render a printed piece unusable. Your staff is trained to run through a list of prepress precautions to catch potential problems before a job is produced. For that reason your experienced design staff can help customers avoid costly mistakes.

• Promote that you exist so your customers can focus on what they do best. Let the print professionals handle printing so that your customers can focus all of their energies on their responsibilities (e.g., teaching, administration, sales, etc.).

• Promote convenience, ease of access and security. The in-plant will deliver jobs right to their site. And because employees of the organization are producing/delivering materials, security is ensured. Emphasize the convenience of your online job submission capabilities.

• Promote how you are reducing the organization's carbon footprint. For example, your installation of a particular piece of equipment has reduced your CO2 output. Make them realize that just by using your services, they are helping to limit the number of vendor delivery trucks needed. And if your in-plant outsources any work, it will ensure the vendor selected offers a sustainable and environmentally friendly business model.

• Promote that even digital communication has an environmental impact, so saying that digital communication is "green" and printing is not is inaccurate. Electronic communications require a lot of electricity, both to operate and cool data centers and to run computers and other electronics. This adds up to about $2.8 billion of energy annually (and most of it is not generated in a sustainable fashion). The average e-mail spam causes emissions equivalent to 0.3 grams of carbon dioxide per message—and in 2008, there were 62 trillion such messages. Emphasize the existence of forestry certification and recycling programs that limit the environmental impact of printing.

• Promote that print outsourcing firms typically don't understand customers' requirements or specific needs. Outsourcers may initially quote a low per-copy cost, but other prices may be higher, such as the cost of paper. Also, prices may rise once the outsourcer understands more about the complexity of the job. Over time, the outside vendor's service may become lethargic and they may have equipment and deadline limitations. Your in-plant, on the other hand, has only one customer—the organization—and only one goal—to support the organization in any way possible.

• Promote that if your in-plant can't produce the job, you are in the best position to manage the outsourcing of the project. Emphasize that customers can relieve themselves of the hassles and burdens associated with selecting the best outside printer for their job. You can handle the process for them, get the best price and track and monitor the job to ensure the best quality. Promote how by bundling jobs you can maximize the organization's buying power. Emphasize that by building alliances with key vendors, you will ensure the organization receives consistent quality and quick turnaround.

Above all, promote your in-plant to your customers as well as to management. You know the benefits that your in-plant provides. Your job is to spread the word to current and potential customers and management.

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Promote Your In-plant's Value