Stay Relevant, Be Indispensable

As we look ahead to the next year, amid widespread technological transformation and the associated challenges, in-plants will need to evolve in order to thrive. To remain relevant in a rapidly changing environment, in-plants can take several concrete steps to help reinvent themselves. They can expand their service offerings while improving efficiency; explore additional sources of revenue; and clearly report and articulate their value-add proposition to their parent organizations.

Doing More (And Doing it More Efficiently)

People are printing less and printing differently today. They are executing multimedia campaigns that involve a variety of graphical elements. Much like commercial printers are evolving towards becoming commercial services providers, in-plants need to recreate themselves as one-stop shops, able to fulfill a range of demands and stay relevant in today’s advanced printing environment.

To do so will require a deep understanding of the competition and the factors that are driving customers towards a commercial printer. The perception is often that commercial printers provide a higher quality product with an easier process and more product offerings. According to research sponsored by Canon U.S.A., 81% of in-plants reported that the top service that they offer to their parent organization is copying. In-plants operating as a basic copy shop and offering a limited variety of services need to expand their capabilities to include large-format printing, signage, displays, laminating, graphic design, multimedia campaigns and more.

This is also where the transition to inkjet can play a role, providing the opportunity to capture pages that are traditionally printed on offset. By bringing the equipment needed for a wider variety of offerings in-house, in-plants can help provide those services conveniently and at a lower price than commercial printers.

An online submission process is also crucial to helping the in-plant function as a valuable one-stop shop, making the submission of jobs as seamless as possible. Automating the process can help reduce operating costs, allowing for less work to be outsourced. The ability to do more with fewer people and less equipment can help facilitate the survival of the in-plant.

Move From the Transactional to the Advisory

When an in-plant cannot deliver on the scope or timing of a project, it should play the role of trusted advisor, providing counsel on who to send the job to and managing the overall process for its internal customers. This helps make the job completion easier for the customer and can demonstrate the multi-dimensional value of the in-plant.

When it comes to adding value to the organization, in-plants can play a key role by looking for revenue from other sources. We’ve begun to see some of the better in-plants insourcing — going outside of their walls and bringing in work from other organizations.

As a hypothetical example, imagine a government agency in the state of New York has a considerable scope of offerings and abilities. It could sell its services to a government agency with fewer resources, supplementing its income. Some are also seeking out commercial printing jobs and doing that work in-house.

Know How to Show Your Value

Implementing the aforementioned strategies to help expand service offerings and potentially bring in more revenue is futile if the in-plant manager is unable to articulate and report the in-plant’s value using data and metrics. Calculating and presenting the monthly, quarterly and annual savings that an in-plant brings to the organization is crucial. It’s important for in-plants to market themselves with their results, selling their offerings, convenience and cost-effective value.

It is possible for in-plants to see growth if they are able to expand their horizons and make themselves relevant and indispensable to their parent companies. By articulating the savings that they provide and by casting a wider net — looking at other services and products that could be brought in-house — in-plants can be positioned not only to survive but ultimately to grow and expand.

The in-plant needs to recreate itself as a one-stop shop, able to fulfill a range of demands and stay relevant in today’s advanced printing environment.