What's Next for the In-plant?

In-plants, or Corporate Reprographic Departments (CRDs) as they are sometimes known, are facing increasingly tough times. Host organizations are constantly looking for ways to save money and maximize their investment, with senior management often viewing outsourcing as an option—especially when contract or lease negotiations are on the horizon.

To survive and prosper in these difficult economic times, print shop managers need to ask themselves some soul-searching questions to establish why the department exists and confirm what it offers its host organization, both now and in the future.

In my role as an advisor, I spend a lot of time facilitating and running workshops for print department managers. I advocate thinking through the following points at the outset of any strategic planning exercise:

• How do your customers see you?
• How do you see yourselves?
• How do you see the future?
• What are you proposing to do?

Answer all four questions honestly and thoroughly. There is no point in being anything other than honest, because ultimately, if you aren't, the only person you are kidding is yourself.

Consider using a SWOT analysis to swiftly and accurately pinpoint key areas of strength and weakness, as well as opportunities and threats. Bring in feedback from your customer base to help you. Be open, not defensive. Getting this planning right could ultimately spell the difference between job security for you and your team, or redundancy.

Ensuring Your Survival

The majority of in-plants have three broad options available that can help ensure their survival and prosperity:

1. They can seek to broaden their offering to their host organization—this can be through increased efficiencies, adoption of new technology, outward facing customer service and innovation.
2. They can look for supplementary work outside the host to supply additional revenue and margin—likely to be targeted at establishments within their geographical area. For government-controlled establishments the potential impact of such activity may have to be checked by the legal team (certainly within the UK there are legislative restrictions).
3. Those based within educational establishments also have a third option: enhancing and/or increasing their offering to the student base.

What is certain is that whichever of these options are pursued, a very outward-facing sales culture is a must. No longer can in-plants wait for customers to come to them. Instead, the team must proactively seek to communicate with customers, possibly engaging sales staff to carry out this function. If not already in place, the adoption of online ordering systems (Web-to-print) can ease communication with the customer base and should be explored fully.

Broaden your Offering

On the face of it, this is the most straightforward route. Because your customers already know and have a relationship with you, it makes sense to provide as expansive and good a service as you possibly can. Research what they actually need from you—both now, and in the future. Take time to talk to them and find out:

• What do they like about your service—and where do you fall short?
• Where are their needs going to be in the future?
• Will the printed word remain important to them, or are they looking at new and different ways to get their key messages across?

Don't bury your head in the sand when it comes to new technology; if they are looking at going digital with any communications, help them get there. Better to be involved than not. Embrace new ideas. Instead of thinking ink-on-paper, think message-on-a-substrate; the substrate could be paper, a tablet, a mobile device or a Web site. Whatever their preference, ensure that you and your team understand it, and can help them achieve their goals.

Research the commercial market and make sure that you innovate and keep up. Lead the way, whether it be through the embracing of new software, imaging technology or simply staff training. Don't get left behind. Where is the industry heading? Where are your customers heading? Don't assume you can ask once and base your planning on the immediate answer. Keep asking—plans and times change.

Communicate these changes and emerging technologies to your customer base. Hold open houses, send out regular e-newsletters, make client visits, put up posters and utilize any staff notice boards available—do whatever it takes to keep your customers informed and educated. Bring changes to them; don't allow your competition in the form of outside printers and agencies to do it for you.

In other words, go out and sell your services to your customer base. Don't wait for them to come to you; one day they might stop calling.

Sell your Services to the Outside World

First make sure you are allowed to. Are there any legal stumbling blocks? Are you limited in the types of organizations you can deal with? Maybe you can approach non-profit organizations only? Check the facts before you proceed.

If you can expand outside your parent organization, you need to really think this one through. It sounds easy enough on the face of it—market yourself to outside organizations and bring some extra work in for quiet times. In reality, this is a very tough call.

To start with, it is worth evaluating the way in which you think, against how a commercial printer thinks. Compare your values with those of a privately owned commercial company.

In-plant values:

• Quantity of impressions reproduced.
• Quantity of funds saved.
• Enabling efficient company communications.
• Allowing the organization to accomplish its mission.

Commercial printer values:

• How many sheets on the floor?
• How much have they cost, and what is our margin?
• Are our customers happy?
• Are we solvent, are we stable/safe and can we grow?

Once you've done this, then think through the differences in the way you both operate—and the realities. For example, how will you sell against a commercial outfit? Do you have any sales people? Can you extend your shifts, work weekends and add overtime when needed at a moment's notice? How much flexibility do you have on pricing jobs? How quickly can you turn estimates around? What happens when you get a big internal job? How much do you want this business? Do you think commercial printers are going to stand by and let you take it? How tough do you think it currently is for privately owned businesses? What makes you think you can do it too?

It's a tough game. Are you absolutely sure you want to compete? Or are you setting yourself up for failure? Would it be better to partner with a commercial printer for overflow work? Again, be honest; this is crucial. Competing in the commercial world is not for the faint hearted and will often require a fundamental shift in attitude and working patterns.

Expand the Student Offering

This option is evident only for educational establishments. Most I meet are firmly split down the middle—some offer services to students and do it well; others think they probably should, but are unsure where to start, and undecided whether it is worth it or not.

One thing is for sure: you need to control carefully how you communicate with the student base, when and where. Otherwise it will be very easy to get to a point where you find the tail wagging the dog, with your staff bogged down with small, time-consuming, unprofitable orders.

Look to offer a shop environment, at set times, maybe close to the student cafes and restaurants, with a limited and precise range of printed offerings. Consider wide-format printing, color photographic reproduction and thesis printing. Start small and stay in control. Study the buying patterns, then analyze what you are happy with, and what you have to put up with to ensure you get the aspects that appeal to and work for you.

In summary, whatever route (or combination of routes) you choose, think through all aspects of change thoroughly and carefully. Do not set yourself up to fail. Be honest. Be thorough. And above all think about how you will sell the ideas.

As change is what you are advocating, you will spend much of your time selling the ideas and processes involved to a range of people, from senior management, through your colleagues, and on to your customer base. To quote Mark Twain, "I'm all for progress. It's change I don't like." Good luck.