Beyond ink and paper to promote the new concept of printing technology

In this age of technology and information explosion, the theme of big printing has gone far beyond the narrow category of “printing paper”. Perhaps one day, paper printing companies will face the end of their demise. Therefore, more and more manufacturers, industry analysts, consultants, and professional media are all guiding companies to provide various complementary services in order to increase their value.

In the past two years, as the economies of Europe and the United States continue to decline and their spending power has declined, the demand for advertising and packaging products in the associated markets has also shown a downward trend. Therefore, the most serious issue facing printing companies is insufficient business volume. There is not enough business to offset fixed costs, let alone gain more profits and benefits. Many printing companies are facing a crisis of growth and profitability.

At present, some avant-garde printing companies have gradually realized that as a low-margin, low-cost product processor is not competitive and a way out, so it is necessary to make reforms and turn itself into a provider of different services. For example, Instant Web was one of the first companies to realize that they could not only insist on operating at a low cost. They were not content to be merely an envelope processor and rotary printer, but were merged with a local company to convert the original 800,000 square meters. The factory area of ​​the ruler has been reduced to 650,000 square feet, and an integrated workflow solution has been installed to provide a full range of solutions to the direct mail market. After the merger, the company received an investment of 8 million U.S. dollars, and the company also gained double-digit growth.

With the continuous progress of the times, the needs of printing customers have also been greatly changed. If the traditional set of services is still far from adapting to the changes in the market, the development of printing companies must be based on the constant changes in customers. of. A printing company with future awareness and great potential should be able to provide a range of capabilities from design, printing, post-processing to distribution. At present, our printing companies are still limited to the front end, but only provide print products with a certain quality.

A few days ago I was privileged to visit the China Business Security Printing (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. This is a security printing company with a long history that is full of the spirit of the times. The main customers are some large banks and insurance companies. According to the needs of these customers, security printing companies can not only process ordinary products for them, but also provide various personalized services, such as personalized printing, logistics distribution, inventory management, and even assist banks in certain credit situations. Check credit card information, etc. The person in charge said that by providing such high value-added services, the company has gained more profits and benefits, and customers have enjoyed intimate services. At the same time, customers can also reduce their own equipment and labor costs by enjoying such services. Really achieved a win-win situation. From what we have experienced, the printing business model of “paper-ink” alone is no longer able to meet the needs of customers. In addition to guaranteeing high-quality printing products, printing companies should provide diversified value-added services.

Reforming existing business models is not a simple matter. Not only should more products and services be invested, it will even face the danger of failure. The following describes the major issues for the 7-point enterprise reform and is for reference only:

1. Develop a feasible policy and strategy. Do not try to attract customers through investment. It is necessary to clarify the current market position and formulate feasible strategies. Selecting advanced products is a very dangerous thing. However, this does not mean that it does not have strong sensitivity to the future. The unique vision of managers is crucial to the development of the company.

2. Diversified services. The old way to persuade customers is to use a known method to determine and meet their needs, but it is not enough. The new method requires a completely different sales and service model. He is a packaged service plan, requires excellent communication and communication skills, and provides training to customers so that they can have a deeper understanding of the process. When visiting a Chinese company, the main feeling is that they not only perform production for customers, but also provide effective training to customers and achieve seamless communication and understanding.

3, listen to customers. The best way to innovate a business is to communicate with customers. Companies should give the customer a plan for reforms to listen to their opinions and suggestions. Some companies provided customers with web-based order production services after listening to their opinions. Can not determine the needs of customers by feeling, but to do a real analysis, to the greatest extent to avoid investment mistakes.

4, find the problem. Before making major changes, we must promptly discover the problems that exist in the company, that is to say, we must have a deep understanding of the operating mode of the company.

5, have enough patience. For example, Mail-Well company reformed the company two years ago, costing 10 million U.S. dollars in capital and countless hours of work for employees, but they think it makes sense. They developed a system called Vista, which means Vision Information Standards and Technology in Action. Contains a database of 175 standard operating procedures, based on consolidated financial statements, quotations, and the collection of various types of information. With such a system, the Mail-Well network consists of 35 companies, ranging in size from $5 million to $180 million, and operates 86 devices.

6. About employees. One issue that enterprises generally agree with is that the talent is hard to find, and the mobility of the staff is too large. Some employees are impetuous. Some employees cannot recognize the culture of the company. There are also some employees who stay in a company for various periods due to different concepts of welfare treatment. Not very long, this brings certain difficulties and troubles for the management of the company. If an enterprise wants to develop, there is no stable team and hard-working employees who simply cannot talk about it. How to retain employees is a topic that many companies are discussing.

7. In order to ensure stable growth, we must take a long-term perspective and we must not rush to achieve success.

In the past few years, many experts in the industry have promoted the commercial operation mode beyond "paper-ink". Although everyone is talking about the importance of providing value-added services, few companies can really do it. Later we will We will also give you more guidance. I hope that Chinese printing companies can get better and better.