Business Management - In-plant Justification

Invariably in a plane or at a hotel I'll get into the typical "So what do you do?" conversation with another fellow road warrior. My answer has been boiled down to a classic elevator speech. "I'm a consultant in the wood and paper industry, primarily dealing with chain-of-custody certification, which tracks trees and reclaimed material from their source all the way to the end user through transparent, credible, third-party auditing systems. FSC, the Forest Stewardship Council, and SFI, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, both offer labeling systems where certified organizations are licensed to apply trademarks to their products and advertising. Anything made from wood or wood fiber, like paper, can be certified to ensure that the material used came from legal, ethical and responsibly managed sources."

Océ, a Canon company, has sponsored a new study titled "In-Plant Printing: Bringing Value to Colleges and Universities"

While I was touring the University of St. Thomas' in-plant in St. Paul, Minn., last month, Director John Barron revealed some wonderful news. In September, the board of trustees at the private, Catholic liberal arts school granted his in-plant the right of first refusal (RoFR) for all university printing—the holy grail for in-plants everywhere.

In the December 2010 issue of In-plant Graphics, I recommended that every in-plant manager conduct a rigorous financial and business analysis, and then size up the results like a savvy investor would. In short, ask yourself if your in-plant is a "Buy" or a "Hold."

Will outsourcing the Washington State Department of Printing really reduce printing costs? Really? Closing a self-supporting in-plant print shop doesn’t make the demand for printing in the organization go away.

The battle to close one of most well-run in-plants in the country rages on in Washington state. State Printer Jean-Luc Devis offers his view.

The legislature has convened for the current term in the State of Washington, and it looks like business as usual, at least for that state’s Department of Printing (PRT). A group of Republican and Democratic Senators, including Senator Rodney Tom, who sponsored a similar bill last year, has introduced Senate Bill 5523, which would eliminate the state printer.

IT'S BEEN kind of a snowy winter out here in Philadelphia. For those of us who like the snow (me), it's been nice. For those who don't (everyone else) it's been tough. But we've had our share of warm winters in the past, so I say it's about time (no matter how many icy glares I get).

At last fall's TACUP (Texas Association of College and University Printers) conference, I used the term "naysayers" to express my frustration in trying to battle the politics of a tough consulting assignment. After that, I wondered what the opposite would be, and discovered the expression "yea-sayers."

As in-plant managers, we are often expected to confirm our value to our parent organizations. We are asked why the organization needs an in-plant. The following is a true story. Only the names have been changed to protect the...Well, bear with me.