Business Management - In-plant Justification

Today, insourcing accounts for more than half of the revenue generated by the 14-person in-plant at Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge. "Becoming a profit center has greatly, if not completely, eliminated outsourcing threats," proclaims Dale Johnson, manager of Graphic and Mail Services.

Even though the pages of In-plant Impressions are filled with articles about successful in-plants that save their organizations tons of money, this information doesn't seem to matter to some executives out there, who naively believe they will get a better deal from a facilities management company.

The proposal to perform a fleet analysis and recommend real savings could just as well come from you as from an outside vendor, but you have to let people know you can do it.

Just before July 4th we got word that another major university is closing its print and mail facility and writing specifications to outsource these services.

Knowing your sweet spot and making sure it evolves as your customers' needs change is more important then ever. If your sweet spot does not align with customers' needs, then you're not making the products your customers want at a competitive price, or offering the services they need most. This can result in questions about the value of your in-plant.

The 2010 In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA) conference brought close to 100 in-plant managers to New Mexico's largest city. The topics, speakers and enthusiasm were almost as hot as the weather.

Cedarville University’s Postal & Print Services has earned the prestigious Management Award from the In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA). This award is presented annually to one outstanding in-plant that excels in efficient management practices to further the objectives of its parent organization.

As managers we should use metrics to support every major decision (and most minor ones as well). Everything can and should be measured, and those measures should be the foundation of your decisions.

Do you treat problems as ways to help your customers, or do you have a bunch of ungrateful, whining customers with unreasonable demands?

Forty-four in-plant managers from 24 universities got together in Rochester, N.Y., last month for a Xerox-sponsored Higher Education Thought Leadership Workshop.