Day2_Pg15

GraphExpo Show Daily September 14 2015

EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK Pulls No Punches on Theme of Transformation GRAPH EXPO’s annual EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK Conference opened Sunday morning to a packed house. The theme? Business transformation. Topics included radical change in business direction to M&A forecasts, growing your customer base, and vertical and horizontal growth strategies. The theme of transformation could not have been better represented than by opening keynote speaker Neils M. Winther, former President and CEO of Heidelberg North America and now Co-owner of Think Patented, a marketing execution company in Dayton, OH. Winther, who left Heidelberg 10 years ago to take on the new role, wasn’t shy about where printers need to be going or what will happen if they don’t. “Ink on paper is not dead. Nor is it dying,” he told the audience. “But if all you do is ink on paper, you don’t have much of a future.” Currently, 60% of Think Patented’s business is ink on paper, but growth is coming from the other 40%—creative, digital, mailing, and fulfillment. Winther drew a laugh from the audience when he openly admitted that 80% of his salespeople “will never get it,” and while they are still a valued part of his team, new hires will be more marketing oriented. Many new hires, including the vice president of sales, already come from outside the printing industry. Ralph J. Nappi, President Graphic Arts Show Company One of the biggest changes brought to the company under the new leadership is that it no longer advertises or promotes to companies with print buying departments. It only targets marketing departments. “That is a change we drove from the inside,” he says. “It was a fundamental decision to change our type of customer.” Winther placed a heavy focus on education and the “dire need” to bring up new talent from the high school and college levels. Think Patented is actively involved with SkillsUSA and opens its doors to interns, as well as offering other training. Other observations shared from the podium? “Seventy percent of people attending the show have told us how important it is to see applications for equipment and their business,” said Ralph Nappi, President of the Graphic Arts Show Company. He pointed to this as the reason for the addition of Applications Island (Booth 3602), which focuses on applications and implementation. Nappi also pointed to the new Materials Matters (Booth 3002) pavilion, which focuses on substrates. “I don’t have to tell anyone in this room how important it is to branch out well beyond the basic substrates we’ve used so long.” The economic forecast came from Mark Hahn, Managing Director of Graphic Arts Advisors, who provided the economic perspective as it relates to M&A activity. News for the industry is generally positive, reflecting ( L to R) Neils M. Winther, Co-owner, Think Patented and Ralph J. Nappi, President, Graphic Arts Show Company general stability in the marketplace. The greatest growth and activity? “Anywhere we can apply data analytics and target the audience we are trying to reach,” Hahn says. The greatest pressure for consolidation is coming from general commercial printers and copy shops, where businesses are most undifferentiated. Direct mail continues to be strong, but Hahn waves a caution flag regarding the impact of the younger generations. “Will they continue to use print the way we do?” he asks. Transactional and transpromo are also showing robust growth, but there is stress on companies not offering e-statements as well. Companies offering both and manage the entire process are thriving, while those just delivering transactional printing are struggling. EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK rounded out with presentations from print shops and print strategists talking about growth strategies that work. One of the themes was horizontal (offering a standard set of services to a broad audience) versus vertical (creating customized services that integrate with the operations of a specific group). While much focus has been placed on the value of vertical market strategies, it was pointed out that, like the Eiffel Tower, vertical market strategies are built on a solid horizontal base. Brian Schott, President of AdMail Express Mark Hahn, Managing Director, Graphic Arts Advisors (Hayward, CA), gave a spirited presentation on ways for printers to grow their marketing lists. Discussion ranged from the need to access salespeople’s prospect lists to little known — and free — places to find key business contacts such as the websites of municipalities, many of which offer downloadable .csv files with names, addresses, business classifications, and key contacts. In the end, Schott emphasized the need to spread the message that direct mail still works. “Yesterday, I had 1100 emails in my inbox trying to sell me everything from flexible hoses to health aids. Yet there were only 15 pieces in my mailbox. Direct mail stands out—and we need to be more proactive about spreading the word.” Hal Hinderliter, Principal, Hal Hinderliter Consulting Services, presented the 2015 MUST SEE ’EMS “Best of Category” award winners. Colter & Peterson P7 Sheet Counter Adds Up for Imagine CPrint Solutions’ Kitting and Fulfillment Needs olter & Peterson (Booth 3625) is demonstrating the Function Control P7 optical sheet counter at GRAPH EXPO 15. Featuring the latest technology, the P7 makes it possible for offset printers to accurately count a complete stack of paper without ever touching it. Rick Neumann at Imagine Print Solutions in Shakopee, MN was the first believer in the U.S. He had the P7 installed at the suburban Minneapolis facility in May to get a better handle and more accurate solution for his company’s Kitting & Fulfillment operation. Imagine provides mostly large amounts of signage to a nationwide and Canadian store customer base. Ranging from department and big box retailers to clothing, grocery and specialty providers, they typically fulfill 10,000 kits per day. “The P7 is meeting our expectations while saving us time and avoiding shortages with our store counts. We used to go through a three to five step process to verify quantities. This machine narrows down the chances of us having errors in our auditing process,” says Neumann, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing at Imagine Print Solutions, which handles a variety of commercial, packaging, and point-of-purchase printing. Colter & Peterson is the U.S. distributor for Function Control, a leading European company. With an upright design that takes advantage of small spaces, the P7 has door panels that can open on multiple sides and a touchscreen panel that can be fitted on three sides of the machine in different working heights. Overall, space isn’t much of a concern at Imagine; the Kitting and Fulfillment division has 100,000 square feet of dedicated space in a facility that totals 750,000 square feet. “There are some height limitations depending on if you are kitting thinner or thicker stocks, but that’s manageable. We use it 30 to 40 times a day, and some days not so much, depending on the job,” says Neumann, who oversees a 24/7 operation in Shakopee. Available in two speed versions - standard or high speed - the P7 has an LED indicator that indicates when the stack is in the correct range. The counting phase is completed by simply pushing a button, printing a label or uploading data to an external database. Imagine Print Solutions is “We previously had the first U.S. customer to difficulties staging our install the P7 sheet counter. product and finalizing quantities for each of our lines and printing categories,” Neumann explains. The P7 is helping us confirm our numbers and we’ve reduced shortages at each level. It’s not a complex machine to operate and our crew needed very little training. Servicewise, we had one minor issue but Colter & Peterson was quick to make an adjustment and we are very satisfied with it.” Official Show Daily | PrintingNews.com GRAPH EXPO | September 14, 2015 | 15


GraphExpo Show Daily September 14 2015
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