Business Management - In-plant Justification

A chargeback system can help an in-plant acquire the latest technology, improve service, grow business and secure its future. By Mike Renn Why charge back? Wouldn't time be better served selling services, justifying equipment or working on process improvement? Wouldn't an across-the-board allocation of an in-plant's operational expenses be simpler? There would be no worries about cost recovery or justifying the operation's existence. Leave chargeback to the entrepreneurs. Correct? Don't bet the shop on it. You'd lose it. Even in-house printers that currently utilize a chargeback can learn how to better leverage the benefits of this billing system. A chargeback system can

By uniting data center and in-plant printing services under one roof, organizations are discovering extreme workflow solutions. By Maggie DeWitt With today's emphasis on doing business better, faster and more cost-effectively, it was inevitable that management would see the wisdom of merging in-plant printing services with data centers. For those who have not done so already, there is good news and bad news. The bad news is, with each day that goes by, your parent organization is squandering resources, losing operating efficiency and wasting money. The good news is, the task is not as daunting as you might think, and the two departments

As offset printing gives way to high-speed digital printing, your operators may need time to adjust and accept the changes. By Erik Cagle When Georgia Perimeter College installed an HP Indigo digital color press a year ago, a special training challenge lay ahead for Barbara Lindsay, assistant director of Printing Services. Among the offset press operators who needed to learn how to use the digital device was a 65-year-old man with limited computer experience. "Other than surfing the Web, he was not a computer user," Lindsay relates. "But he was courageous enough and interested in learning a new technology. Plus, he thought it would

Making money for your organization's bottom line by insourcing can mean all the difference in whether or not your in-plant survives.

Why on earth do some departments in your organization not send their printing to the in-plant? Supporting your in-plant is, in effect, supporting your organization from within. An organization that is strong from within can stand on its own and support those around it.

By focusing on financial management, customer focus and marketing, one can develop their in-plant to run more like a business. But what does that mean and how does one run an in-plant like a business?

While Xerox technicians were developing the new DocuTech 100 and 120 copier/printers, they did a lot more than just talk among themselves. Xerox assembled two customer advisory councils to look at its plans and offer advice. One of these teams was made up entirely of in-plant managers. "In-plants represent a substantial part of our current market placements," explains Peter Fallon, Xerox product marketing manager. Consequently, Xerox wanted to make sure it was developing a product that met in-plants' needs. The in-plant panel comprised seven managers. One of them was Susan Anderson, director of Printing Services at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In a

The secret to surviving as an in-plant is to become indispensable. By Mike Renn What is your cost per color copy?" The potential client telephoned looking for a simple answer that would help her decide on a print provider. I couldn't fault her. It would appear that digital copiers have overtaken the printing services business. Everything has been reduced to cost per copy and clicks. Or has it? "We don't have an off the rack cost per copy. We customize the price to the project," I replied. In this case, the volume and simplicity of the specifications allowed me to use a less-expensive process

"All printing is created equal." It's not true, of course, but this is what our customers tend to believe. They've come to expect things like fast, dependable service, a quality product and value for their money. So when they try to differentiate between printers, they often focus on price. And while price is important, the best way for an in-plant to distinguish itself is through superior customer service and satisfaction. Technology is driving our business forward but is also driving our

Don't jump into the Request for Proposal process unprepared. By Mary Hegarty Let's face it, most people cringe (or worse) when faced with the prospect of initiating or responding to a major Request for Proposal (RFP). The RFP process doesn't have to be a cause for undue stress, though. Done right, RFPs can be a valuable learning experience for both the buyer and the supplier. An in-plant manager has challenges that the average buyer does not. You are faced with buying equipment that will meet all the needs of very diverse customers, each with their own budget, time and requirement constraints.