Two years ago, Konica replaced the offset presses in its in-plant with digital printing and copying equipment. The operation has become a showcase for the company.
Ray Embury looked around the industrial park in Windsor, Conn., where his shop and several other corporate in-plants were located, and noticed some of them shutting their doors. Determined that Konica's Printing Services wouldn't become "a dinosaur" like some of those shops, Embury began making changes.
"A lot of the in-plant operations around us were closing because their work was being outsourced to other printers," says Embury, Konica's manager of office services. "We've never outsourced, but we saw the need to practice what we preach." After all, Embury notes, the company's slogan is "KBT Practices What It Preaches."
Putting those words into action, the company converted its conventional offset print shop into a digital cluster-printing operation two years ago. Replacing three offset presses with six Konica 7075s and four Konica digital color desktop printers (powered by an NT server and an AHT Konica Unified Solution cluster server), the in-plant has become a showcase for the company, contends Embury.
"We're practicing what we're preaching by not only using the POD [print-on-demand] equipment to produce and distribute internal documents, but to generate revenue," he says.
That revenue comes from several areas:
• Increased efficiency in document production and distribution.
• Reduced warehouse/inventory space.
• Enhanced sales and marketing.
• Insourcing commercial work.
"Each year, in-plants have to go through justification of why they exist," remarks Kevin Kern, Konica's vice president of planning and support. But this is good news, he says, since it means the in-plant has to be very efficient, and it must have document reproduction expertise.
"Since transitioning to POD," Kern contends, "our operation is now more efficient than ever."
To understand just how much efficiency has improved, Embury gives a brief background of what operations were like before the digital switch.
"As an offset operation, we were on track of doing anywhere from five to seven million (8-1⁄2x11˝) impressions per month," he says. "Part of the problem was running it on a press, four up, at 17x22˝, and backing it up and making trucks of four or eight pages. Then having to collate and cut them. It was very labor intensive."
This all changed with the arrival of Konica's 7075 Enterprise system.
"It enabled us to remove a lot of the work from the offset presses and take it into the digital production room—our print-on-demand center," Embury says. "Instead of doing it offset, now we do it digitally. Now books are being collated and drilled on the machine. Saddle-stitched, folded books are coming out completed, as opposed to coming out piecemeal and having to be put together."
Impressed with this new 75-ppm production environment, Embury decided it would be the cornerstone of the in-plant's operations. All other aspects of the digital transition and building the POD facility would revolve around the 7075s.
Reduced Warehousing
One of the very first indicators of the POD operation's success was the amount of warehouse space it reduced.
"Konica warehouses a lot of product before shipping it out to be sold. And cubic foot storage area is very expensive space," says Embury. "So our goal was to eliminate the printed matter that was on shelf—material that becomes obsolete as soon as it's put there and starts collecting dust.
"Our POD facility allows us to hone our expertise in document distribution," Embury continues. "We get orders on a daily basis from the distributors of our machines...for ad materials, tech documentation, or sales literature. Everything that used to be printed and put in the warehouse, we're now printing on-demand. Because we already have the images and info captured, when reorders come in, we download the info, print it and ship it. And, we only print what we need for orders that particular day."
As a result, about 15,000 square feet of warehouse space that was once used for storing documents can now store Konica products.
"That's one of the hidden benefits of POD," Kern reports, "being able to print only what's needed, so there's no need for inventory."
Another benefit of Konica's POD shop is that operators can run more than one job simultaneously. They can start one machine, then move on to another, explains Kern. The machine features self-checking imaging, so operators don't have to make adjustments.
"One operator can run several machines, and jobs, at once," says Kern.
A Multitasking Environment
"When we had five presses, we had to have five operators on the floor," Embury adds. "As the result of this new room, I can allocate my labor force wherever they're needed.
"I have responsibility for printing services, document distribution and mailing services. So when mail is heavy some days, such as Mondays, I can take my labor force and put them in the mailroom, or wherever they're needed. This helps me keep the labor force working in the most efficient way."
The department processes about 2,500 invoices, as well as all outgoing and incoming mail, he says. The mailroom's goal is to "ship clean every day," Embury notes—meaning there's no mail left over and every piece has been sent out. "I've been able to do this, because I can take my labor force and put them where I need them," he explains.
Mailing services is "mission critical," Embury declares, and getting thousands of invoices processed each day is one of the biggest challenges facing Konica's Printing Services.
"Expediting invoices, reducing warehouse space, and shipping clean—these are the key aspects of transitioning from a traditional in-plant to a POD facility," Embury says.
Because it has been operating more efficiently, Konica Printing Services has been able to take in more high-value work, says Embury. Last January, the in-plant started accepting outside commercial print jobs.
"We work one shift, eight hours a day, five days a week," Embury says. "Outside work is helping to keep the POD center running at 80 percent capacity. Impressions per month have decreased, but our monthly billing has increased. That's because the commercial work and internal work is more high value. Instead of producing black-and-white pages, we're producing more color."
The in-plant held three open houses to generate commercial sales business. The first was for the city of Windsor Chamber of Commerce. The second was for various nonprofit organizations throughout Connecticut. The last was for a health charities organization.
The open houses brought the in-plant a lot of business, Embury says, noting all sales are by "word of mouth." There are no sales people selling commercial print, he says.
"The in-plant sells it, invoices it and generates the revenues," he says. And with money coming in, the in-plant is also establishing revenue goals, he reports, adding that he's already exceeded those goals.
The In-plant As A Sales Tool
Konica Printing Services, stresses Kern, is "not just a print shop, but a key strategic asset of production, distribution and fulfillment functions—everything from invoicing to collateral materials to commercial print." One of the in-plant's most instrumental roles, he adds, is that of a dynamic sales tool.
"We have major accounts that come to our facility," says Kern. "Sales reps want to show customers our in-plant so they can see the equipment in action. So, we bring customers in-house and let them see it in action. We give them a tour."
Customers are welcomed to Konica's corporate headquarters and are given a tour. When they arrive, a digital snapshot is taken of them. They complete the tour by visiting the in-plant. After seeing the equipment in action, and getting to ask questions and interact with operators, customers are given thank-you cards with their pictures in them.
"We show our reps what Konica is doing with its in-plant, because seeing the products in action helps them sell the products. It's a first-hand look, practical experience, of what they're going to be seeing in the field," Embury maintains.
"Our in-plant is a great example of taking an asset that was already there, realizing its value and potential, and making it practice what we preach," Kern concludes. "Konica Printing Services is now a very strategic asset to the company. It's even bringing in revenues."
by CHERYL A. ADAMS
- People:
- Embury
- Kevin Kern
- Places:
- Windsor, Conn.