IPG Webinar on Justification Draws a Crowd
On Wednesday, IPG presented a webinar on how to justify your in-plant's value that drew a large in-plant audience from all over North America. More than 250 in-plant managers registered for the event, which was sponsored by GMC Software Technology and featured IPG Editor Bob Neubauer along with a panel of three speakers: Consultant and former manager Ray Chambers; Richard Beto, director of Document Solutions for The University of Texas at Austin; and Jon Finley, vice president of Production Services at Transamerica Life & Protection. Each offered suggestions of ways in-plants can better prove their value—and stay in business. (The webinar has been archived. You can listen to the whole thing, and pick up some valuable tips sure to help your in-plant, here.)
Neubauer stressed the need for in-plants to remain relevant and indispensable to their organizations. They must reevaluate their services based on today’s needs, he said. Ask customers about their goals, he suggested, then brainstorm ways you can help them get there. He went over a number of new services in-plants have added, such as envelope printing, engraving, shredding, scanning and records management.
Chambers stressed the important of knowing precisely what’s happening in your in-plant: the volume of pages printed, the number of jobs at any given time, the types of items you print by volume and sales, changes in job volume, etc. You can’t show your value without measuring what you do and having that data ready to show your boss. Also, he said, relate everything you do to the mission of the parent organization so you can show how you contribute.
Beto detailed ways his in-plant demonstrates value. His staff approaches departments that use e-mail as a marketing tool and offers to increase response rates by combining this with a printed piece. The in-plant provides educational videos on its website and offers educational classes. Beto advised managers to walk where their customers walk and see the operation through their eyes. He said he benchmarks twice a year with a variety of jobs to see how his shop compares.
Finley also stressed the importance of benchmarking, which he does regularly so he’s always ready to prove his operation is the most cost-effective solution. His in-plant has great management support. Fifteen years ago, the company decided to leverage the in-plant’s capabilities and bring work back in-house, which it has done with great success. It produces more than 300 million images and 150 million pieces of mail a year, even taking in work from outside. Because Finley runs the in-plant like a business, and employees understand how important quality and service are to the company’s success, Transamerica Life & Protection recognizes the value Production Services provides.
Access the archived webinar at bit.ly/XLRD7W.
