SUPDMC: A Southern In-plant
 Reunion

About 30 in-plant managers met in Auburn, Ala., in October for the 35th annual Southeastern University Printing and Digital Managers Conference (SUPDMC). It was hosted by Glenda Miley, manager of Auburn University's CopyCat operation, who put together an informative, interactive and fun agenda that kept all attendees involved. The conference included not only educational sessions, but a tour of Vulcan Information Packaging, a game show and a visit to Auburn's Raptor Center.

Though most attendees hailed from the southeastern region of the United States, attendees came from as far away as Arizona and Wisconsin. The theme this year centered around survival and maintaining a viable print operation in this still uncertain and shaky economy. Sessions encouraged managers to be proactive and covered topics like justification reports, strategic relevance, rebranding your in-plant and proving your value.

One popular session, by Kodak's Debra Benson, detailed how in-plants can use military strategy to prevail. She based her lessons on Sun Tzu's treatise "The Art of War." Ricoh's Greg Cholmondeley told managers about free Ricoh software they can use to help them write a justification report and prove their value to their parent organizations.

Gary Williford, of the University of Tennessee, gave a presentation on preparing a proactive in-plant justification report, which his in-plant recently did. He went over the report with attendees and also gave them copies. He encouraged everyone to prepare a report of their own and have it ready. The report data can serve as a benchmark for ongoing improvements, while justifying your in-plant's value to the university. Williford also shared managerial tips on dealing with change in business and personal situations.

Host Glenda Miley gave a talk on the value of student employees and how to run a successful student center, where students copy and print their projects. Student workers save money for your university, she noted, while giving them work experience. She also said that employing students can be challenging, as they have a lot of interruptions in their day and can only see advisors at certain times.

"But the good ideas they bring and the cost savings to the operation are worth it," Miley declared.

The Association of College and University Printers (ACUP) made a presentation too. ACUP officials Tom Tozier and Jennifer Bowers explained how the newly incorporated ACUP would work and detailed their progress to date. The session engendered lots of discussion and questions.

Attendees also went through a personality assessment to figure out which type of personality they have, so they can use that information in their work and personal lives. Miley capped off the conference by taking her fellow managers on a tour of her CopyCat operation.

SUPDMC 2011 will be held in Nashville, October 9-13. It will be co-hosted by the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and The University of Tennessee-Martin. IPG