Evolving into Drupa 2012 —Sherburne

AT THE recent EFI Connect 2008 users conference in Las Vegas, I had the pleasure of participating in a panel discussion with my esteemed colleagues, Dennis Mason of Mason Consulting and Forrest Leighton of Canon USA.

The primary topic was Drupa 2008 and what we thought were the most important aspects of this “Olympics” of the printing industry. I have written extensively on that topic and won’t repeat any of that here. But one of the questions the moderator asked us to consider was:

If Drupa 2008 was the “ink-jet” Drupa, what will Drupa 2012 be?

This soon after a mega-show like Drupa, it is hard it think about four years down the road and heading back to Düsseldorf for another one. But it was a thought-provoking question, nonetheless. While the three of us had some different perspectives on the question, there was one thing we agreed upon: By 2012, lights-out automation across the printing enterprise will be a key topic of discussion.

For print service providers, it is certainly not too soon to begin considering what this means for your operation. You might ask why this topic is being discussed in a marketing column; a fair question. As I have said in this column before, a key focus of marketing is determining the optimum product portfolio that will enable your company to grow, holding on to a base of loyal customers and gaining new ones.

While Drupa 2012 may not turn out to be the “extreme automation” Drupa, one thing is absolutely clear: We are not going to see a reversal of the demand for shorter runs, faster turnaround times and sophisticated services well beyond putting ink or toner on paper.

With that in mind, printing organizations of all sizes must be focusing on the efficiency of their operations. Without a productive, efficient manufacturing operation, and the administrative and customer-facing infrastructure to back it up, today’s printing operation is not likely to be in any position to fund anyone’s trip to Drupa 2012, let alone positioned for growth.

So what does this mean? Should you run out and buy a bunch of JDF-enabled products, so you can leverage the power of this industry standard to achieve lights-out production? The suppliers would love that, of course. But the answer is no—although anything you buy should be JDF-compliant or the supplier should have crystal-clear plans to get there. But even the equipment manufacturers will tell you that buying a bigger, faster, more efficient press will not, in and of itself, make your organization more efficient.

Eliminate Bottlenecks

More importantly, it is critical to keep in mind that automating a broken process may be worse than no automation at all. So what, then, should you be doing between now and 2012? Even if you have no planned capital expenditures, there is plenty to do. The exact steps will vary from business to business, depending upon the segment in which you play, the types of products you produce or would like to produce, and the needs of the customers you serve. There is one common thread, however, and that is a thorough analysis of your operation, including every aspect of a customer interaction from the time the client begins to think about a business communications project to the time when the files are deleted from your archive.

As an industry, we are behind much of the rest of the manufacturing industry in these types of initiatives for all kinds of good and not-so-good reasons. But whatever the reasons may have been in the past, there is no excuse for putting it off any longer.

The good news is that most of the industry associations have terrific programs in place to help you learn the basics of “lean” manufacturing, Six Sigma and other mechanisms that enable an effective analysis of your business and development of a strategy for improving the flow. Many industry suppliers stand ready to help as well, and most of them have their own lean and Six Sigma initiatives in place, with lots of experience under their collective belts. If you do nothing else between now and the end of this year, this should be your highest priority.

Maybe you have already invested in a review of your business and, if so, I heartily congratulate you. But it is also important to keep in mind that this is not a one-time activity; it is a lifelong pursuit of excellence that should be ingrained into every aspect of your organization and your culture.

I believe that the next Drupa is more likely to display evolutionary—rather than revolutionary—advances in technology. We will see more, better, faster, cheaper and higher quality ink-jet. We may even see meaningful erosion of offset volume by ink-jet technology by then.

We will see JDF certification of all of the relevant products and services offered by suppliers, as well as an increased level of cooperation among them in supporting today’s multi-vendor production and business environments.

But it all won’t be of any use if you have not taken the time to seek out and destroy bottlenecks and other inhibitors to business efficiency. And—here’s the marketing pitch—leverage your new, more efficient operating platform to deliver products and services that build long-term customer loyalty. PI

—Cary Sherburne

About the Author Cary Sherburne is a well-known journalist, author and strategic marketing consultant working primarily with the printing and publishing industry. She is a frequent speaker at industry events, a regular contributor to printing industry publications and has written three books, which are available for purchase through the Bookstore section on Printing Impressions’ Website (www.piworld.com). Sherburne can be contacted at Cary@SherburneAssociates.com.