Industry Benchmarks: Measuring Performance

While these findings represent some of the key metrics that print shop owners and operators need to use to manage their operations, it is important for each shop to build on these to help grow the business and improve their financial performance.

There is another set of issues, the side of the original diagram called value innovation and business development, which was also measured with this survey. Eight key enabling capabilities and certifications were chosen to measure the extent to which a company can enable the widest range of business opportunities. What the figure illustrates is how many of the total of 377 shops (229 print-for-pay and 148 in-plant operations) reported having different capabilities and certifications. Overall, what the findings suggest is that print-for-pay shops are routinely more highly invested in some of the more advanced capabilities that should enable new business. This is due to print-for-pay shops having a need for a wider range of capabilities. For example, many in-plant print shops have no need to allow retail style, online ordering, whereas many print-for-pay shops may want to invest in this capability even if it is seldom used.