IPMA Flashback: Seven Habits of Successful In-­plants

During IPMA's 50th anniversary conference in 2014, in Milwaukee, Wis., Analyst Barb Pellow gave a presentation in which she revealed  the seven habits of successful in-plants in a digital world. Five years later, her list is just as important.

1. Be unreasonably aspirational. She urged managers to set goals in order to get results, and pointed to the winners of the IPMA awards as examples of in-plants that have done this to great effect.
2. Be digital…be big. She noted that process color printing is growing rapidly and that inkjet will account for 58 percent of the industry’s print volume by 2017, according to InfoTrends.
3. Be different. “Beyond print, what services have the most value?” sh
4. e asked, pointing to value-added offerings like fulfillment, mail, mobile marketing, email messaging, website design, cross-media and others
5. Follow the money. Be efficient, and create value by reducing costs, Pellow said, noting that for every dollar spent on print, $3 is spent on overhead. Add automation to reduce this, she encouraged.
6. Be quick and easy to work with. She stressed that Web-to-print gives customers 24/7 access, and brings many other benefits.
7. Acquire the capabilities to be a full-­service provider. Take a long, hard look at the skills your in-plant will need, and acquire them by hiring the right people.
8. Be customer-­obsessed. You have only one boss, Pellow said, and that is your customer. He can fire everyone by spending his money elsewhere.