Something About IPMA...

There was something about the recent In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA) conference in Charleston, S.C., that really made it stand out; something more than the great sessions and packed vendor fair; something beyond the fact that Ricoh Americas launched a major color print system there, bringing the event into the national spotlight.

There was an enthusiasm among attendees that exceeded all previous years. Perhaps it had something to do with the 42 percent increase in attendance this year; or maybe it was the 44 first-time attendees strolling the halls of the Charleston Marriott. Whatever the reason, the spirit of camaraderie among in-plant managers was at an all time high.

The fact that numerous managers who had not attended for several years due to travel restrictions returned this year lent an upbeat mood to the event—not quite signaling the end of bad economic times, but certainly hinting that better days are coming fast.

"IPMA is in awesome shape," declared IPMA President John Sarantakos, of the University of Oklahoma, at a membership luncheon. He revealed that the association is solvent and operating in the black—great news for a group that was in the red not too many years ago.

Industry wide, optimism seems to be on the rise, as indicated in an InfoTrends in-plant survey, cited by Marianne Morrison in her Tuesday morning keynote. She reported that 56 percent of in-plants expect to see revenue increases this year, compared to just 42 percent who were optimistic last year.

Her presentation was just one of nearly 30 excellent educational sessions at the four-day conference—the biggest in-plant event of the year. Those sessions covered dozens of themes designed to help in-plants get the equipment they need, increase their value and improve their operations.

The conference officially kicked off with a Sunday evening reception (watch video), where old friends were reunited and new attendees fit right in. More than 135 in-plant managers made the trip to Charleston this year, where they found daytime temperatures in the humid 90s, but pleasant evening weather.

Effective Leadership Skills 
For Managers

Dr. Jairy Hunter Jr., president of Charleston Southern University, gave the opening keynote presentation, in which he discussed effective leadership skills. Visionary leaders, he said, function in four roles. They are direction setters—mission oriented and focused; they are change agents, setting high expectations and thinking strategically; they act as a spokesperson, generating trust and developing consensus; and they act as a coach, helping others to achieve peak performance and practicing hands-off management.

Hunter challenged those managers who are just trying to hang onto their jobs until retirement.

"When you lose the joy of your profession, you're headed for real disaster," he said. "We can't accept 'surviving.' You've got to be thriving." He encouraged them to stay on the cutting edge and be proactive.

Self Promotion: 
An Investment That Pays

Winners of IPMA's Promotional Excellence Award, The University of Texas at Austin Document Solutions brought three people to the conference. They gave a presentation, led by Director Richard Beto, explaining why they market their in-plant internally.

"To me it's an investment," remarked Beto, adding that his operation has invested an average of $25,000 a year on marketing for the past three years—far below the 3 to 8 percent of total sales that companies typically spend on marketing. In a bad economy, he stressed, marketing is crucial.

The in-plant's marketing efforts are all about making the in-plant more visible on campus. The shop has created vehicle wraps to distinguish its vehicles from other delivery trucks. It holds classes, luncheons, barbecues and other social events to bring customers into the shop. In-plant staff also participates in numerous university events to increase visibility.

Beto noted a few promotional techniques that are often overlooked, such as soliciting customer testimonials, creating videos for the in-plant's Web site, e-mail tag lines and voice mail messages. The best marketing tool, though, is exceptional customer service, he declared. (Watch video of Richard Beto interview after his session.)

Market When You're Down

Promoting during bad economic times was also a message in a presentation by Ricoh's Mike Loyd, who noted that, as print shipments have decreased, commercial printers are tightening their belts and cutting their sales forces. This opens an opportunity for in-plants to step up their marketing and get more business.

The demand for color printing continues to climb, Loyd said, with studies showing it will grow exponentially in the next decade.

"This is where you need to focus your effort," he said. He also encouraged managers to expand their portfolio of services so their in-plant becomes too crucial to outsource.

This service expansion should include cross media services and QR codes, stressed Marianne Morrison, of InfoTrends, in her keynote talk. Personalizing printed pieces is no longer enough, she said. These days it's all about engagement and interaction. Print needs to be married to social and mobile media. QR codes on printed pieces will drive people to the Web, where their information can be collected.

"Your marketing department is looking for customer data," she noted. You should be thinking about how you can help them build good databases. She urged managers to meet with their marketing people, ask about their business issues and discuss ways the in-plant can help—because they are already talking to outside companies about these issues, and some of those companies may also be handling the printing.

Go From Average to Awesome

Transforming your in-plant from average to awesome was the theme of a presentation by Shana Farrell, of Fox Valley Technical College. She described how she brought changes to her operation. In 2006 she walked into a union environment that hadn't updated its products or services in years. Employee morale was low, training was nonexistent and the in-plant's reputation was poor.

Over time, with good communication to union representatives, she created a training plan that eliminated territories and created opportunities. The excessive overtime was reduced with new policies, reviewed by the union. New products and services became a reality, and staff buy-in was achieved by getting them involved and developing a shared vision. She addressed poor behavior and morale with a written list of guidelines/expectations.

To repair the in-plant's reputation, Farrell focused on customer service, used positive communication with college staff to keep them informed about changes, conducted tours and most importantly reduced what had been a two-week lead time to 48 hours for most jobs. (See sidebar at bottom of first page for link to video.)

Another in-plant improvement story was told by Michael Luzzo, of Fidelity Investments, who described how his team consolidated four printing operations into one, getting leaner in the process. They went from 10 printing devices to six. As a result, costs are now better managed, quality goals have been exceeded and customer satisfaction is high.

Luzzo listed four critical success factors in bringing about this successful consolidation: getting buy-in from key stakeholders, creating an external marketing plan, having an internal communication plan and developing good vendor partnerships.

The in-plant is now implementing EFI's Pace, Digital StoreFront and PrintFlow, which will automate workflows, improve scheduling and billing, and allow the operation to capture more metrics. (See sidebar at bottom of first page for link to video.)

Ben Franklin's "13 Virtues"

Xerox's Tricia Bhattacharya gave an entertaining and informative talk on how Ben Franklin's "13 Virtues" can be interpreted to help today's in-plants achieve success. For instance, Franklin talked of the importance of order and keeping things in their proper places. In-plants should follow this by removing items not used for current tasks, keeping needed items near at hand for quick retrieval and creating a consistent way of implementing daily tasks. (See sidebar at bottom of first page for link to video.)

Franklin talked about frugality and avoiding waste. Today's in-plants can practice this by eliminating anything that doesn't add value in the customer's eyes, like overproduction, idle time between job steps and inefficient delivery processes.

Unfair Competition is Essential

One very eye-opening and insightful presentation was given by Burr Millsap, associate vice president for Administrative Affairs at the University of Oklahoma (and IPMA President John Sarantakos' boss).

A strong supporter of his school's in-plant, he acknowledged that some institutions are allowing departments to shop for deals with outside printers, but he cautioned against this. He urged those institutions to look back at their reasons for creating the in-plant. Likely it was for better responsiveness and availability.

"They support the institution's mission," he noted, and for this reason the competition should be unfair. By letting departments shop for deals, the institution sacrifices flexibility and control. He listed seven key reasons for having captive operations like in-plants: captivity streamlines the shopping-buying-getting process; better availability; quality control; responsiveness; internal control; economy; and financial flexibility.

Sessions Galore

Numerous other sessions at IPMA provided a wealth of information to attendees. Some highlights:

• Fresh from seeing his in-plant spared from the government's chopping block, Washington State Printer Jean-Luc Devis described how his in-plant saves the state money by offering managed print services for agencies. With up to 50 percent cost reductions possible, he called this a gold mine of savings. Devis walked the audience through the print assessment process, which sets a baseline from which to measure improvements. Then he talked about how to facilitate the RFP process to secure the equipment provider and then implement the managed print contract.
• Another session on copier fleet RFPs by Chris Barclay, of Connecticut College, offered tips, such as including a specific turnaround time for repairs (not an average time) with fees if they don't comply. His contract specifies a $100/hour penalty for each hour the vendor is late. His staff interviews technicians and compares their information to what the salespeople told them. They also double check that all terms highlighted in the RFP are actually in the contract. One thing often overlooked, he noted, is a requirement that the contractor supply a criminal background check for all technicians who will be visiting your campus.
• Chris Donlon, of Kohler, related how his in-plant upgraded its digital printing equipment to address quality issues that had been causing work to go to outside printers.
• Kodak's Mark Egeling discussed variable data campaign planning and how to use marketing science and testing to get the best results. Using scientific method means doing background research, constructing a hypothesis, testing it with an experiment, analyzing data, drawing conclusions and communicating your results. He reviewed different types of campaign testing that can be used to determine effectiveness.
• Dwayne Magee, of Messiah College, talked about insourcing as not only a way to generate revenue but a way to build community relationships and even increase your institutional relevance. Explain to your internal customers that the work you insource is also helping them since it allows in-plant employees to improve their skills (and morale) by handling new types of work. Insourcing can also allow your in-plant to broaden its range of services.
• IPG Editor Bob Neubauer gave a presentation full of examples of new services in-plants have implemented to enhance their value, such as scanning/archiving, sign making, e-communications, engraving and even wallpaper.
• Roger Chamberlain, of the Cincinnati Insurance Co., discussed money-saving and money-making ideas for in-plants. Attendees also offered their own ideas, such as address management, consulting with customers about post card design, bringing diploma printing in-house and cross-training to reduce staff.

The conference culminated with an awards banquet, during which IPMA honored three in-plants for excellence in management (Sate of Washington), marketing (UT-Austin) and mailing (Excellus BCBS).

The 75 In-Print 2011 award winners were also recognized. All winning pieces and plaques were on display at a special reception, and Gold winners were presented their plaques on stage. The evening culminated with the announcement of the two Best of Show winners, Brigham Young University (offset) and the University of North Texas (non-offset).

Next year the IPMA conference will move to the Midwest. It will take place later than usual, from June 24-28, in Kansas City. Find out more at: www.IPMA.org