From the Editor: Stress Your Value
IT'S BEEN kind of a snowy winter out here in Philadelphia. For those of us who like the snow (me), it's been nice. For those who don't (everyone else) it's been tough. But we've had our share of warm winters in the past, so I say it's about time (no matter how many icy glares I get).
There hasn't been much activity in the in-plant world over the past month, at least nothing that took me out of my office. I'll be paying for this sedentary interlude next month, though, when I head out to Oklahoma for the In-Print contest judging, then down to Washington, D.C., for the On Demand show, followed by a jaunt up to Rochester for a Xerox in-plant event. Even February holds a plane ride for me; I'm scheduled to give a presentation for in-plant managers in Minneapolis as part of a Canon open house event called "Take Your In-plant Operation to the Next Dimension."
Though my presentation is still a work in progress, one topic I plan to discuss is how your in-plant can add value to your parent organization—because let's face it, saving money just isn't enough any more.
Adding value might mean offering new services, especially non-print services, like document scanning, photo ID cards, engraving, fulfillment or e-marketing. Bring QR codes to the attention of your organization's marketing people so they see the in-plant as the resident QR expert. Take the lead in implementing an organization-wide print management strategy to eliminate wasteful desktop printers. Make it very easy for customers to send you work by implementing a Web-to-print solution.
Adding value might mean going out of your way to help your customers, so they're blown away by your service and come to see you as mission critical. Having people in your organization's marketing or fund-raising departments go to bat for you when your shop is being considered for outsourcing will go a long way toward keeping you in business.
Showing how your in-plant contributes to the organization's mission will also demonstrate its value. Sit with your staff and develop strategies to further the organization's goals so you're not seen as just "the print shop." If one of those goals is to be more sustainable, take the lead by demonstrating how "green" your in-plant is. Get involved by heading up a committee to explore sustainable actions the organization can take.
Of course, while you're doing all this, you still have to be saving the organization a good deal of money—and you have to be able to prove it, too. Calculate your in-plant's financial contribution, then make sure your CFO is aware of it.
Just doing all these things isn't enough, either. You have to market your contributions and clearly articulate the value your in-plant brings. We've covered all of these areas in past articles (all available on our online archives) and will continue to do so. For now, though, I'd better get busy pulling these ideas together into my presentation. (I have to prove my value, too.)
I just returned from Minneapolis, where I gave my presentation to a handful of in-plant managers from places like Cargill, Coburn's, the University of Minnesota and several others. It went well, and it was great to meet all those managers and hear a little about their shops. The weather was a bit chilly; it was -4 degrees when I went out for breakfst. (But it did warm up to 0 later.)
While I was in town, I also visited John Barron, who manages the University of St. Thomas' in-plant. Read his story in this issue.
Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 180 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.
