Business Management - In-plant Justification

Customers are the only reason businesses exist. Therefore, a basic customer satisfaction survey can provide a lot of the information you need to run your in-plant. It can identify areas where you are doing well and areas that need improvement.

You can't just sit there waiting for customers to find you. They'll find the local quick printer first. Promote your in-plant. Here's how. By MIKE LLEWELLYN &012; "Upper management has a hard time understanding why we would need a sales staff," says Manager Russell Gayer. It's a busy morning at Tyson Food Corp.'s Printing Services Division, down in Springdale, Ark. But Gayer says it could be busier—a lot busier. "The company loses people over a period of time, whether they retire or find other jobs, or whatever," he says. "A lot of times the [new] person that comes in doesn't know what

Newsletters can be inexpensive revenue generators. These three in-plants have had great success using them as marketing tools. By MIKE LLEWELLYN &012;One self-promotion technique that many in-plant managers have found indispensible has been the newsletter. "It's a cornerstone of our overall marketing strategy," notes Kelly Kellerman, marketing director for the State of Washington, Department of Printing Services. "It's our best way of reaching our customers." At Arizona State University, Bob Lane agrees. "It's an important tool for making sure the administration knows we're here," says Lane, assistant director of Document Production Services. Both managers say the newsletter should not only contain information,

Being cost-effective is great, but in today's outsource-driven environment, in-plants must contribute to their organizations' growth. Here's what one consultant looks for when he analyzes in-plants. by Ed Daniel Since beginning my consulting career in 1987, I have had the privilege of consulting for a variety of in-plants for a number of different reasons. The direction and scope of a consultation is typically driven by the sponsor. For instance, an in-plant manager may wish to validate the addition of a new multi-color press or the introduction of digital equipment. A vice president of facilities, on the other hand, may wish to evaluate

The debate about whether to institute a right of first refusal policy continues, but many in-plants find it does more good than harm. by CAROLINE MILLER Right of first refusal: Benefit or death knell? Critics of the right of first refusal claim it amounts to a monopoly and will only breed bad service; proponents say it makes in-plants even more valuable to their organizations and improves service. "The fact that we don't have right of first refusal does force us to focus on customer service more," remarks Ted Bailey, manager of Boise State University's 15-employee Printing and Graphic Services department. "I think it does

Working in an in-plant can sometimes leave you feeling unappreciated. You spend all your time trying to make your organization look good with quality printing, but at the first sign of fiscal trouble, where does your CEO look to cut expenses? Fortunately there are still a few places an in-plant manager can find respect. You're looking at one of them (this Web site, not your coffee cup). You'll never feel unappreciated after reading an issue of IPG--online or on paper. We know how valuable you are. Your fellow managers know it too, and you can always find support—not to mention good ideas—by getting

I've interviewed a lot of in-plant managers over the years. Some of them have revealed that, before they started, their in-plants were in bad shape. The previous manager was obstinate, disorganized and afraid of new technology. This got me wondering: what does a "bad" manager look like? And could it be you?

With about 100 In-Print prizes being awarded, your odds are pretty good. We'll try to make them even better by revealing some secrets to winning. Why you should enter by Bob Neubauer You say you don't do much color offset work any more? You don't think your in-plant has produced anything worth entering in In-Print 2002? Think again. In-Print has changed. Last year we added a host of new categories for the "non-offset" in-plant. And guess what? These categories are still a secret to most in-plants. The year these categories were introduced, only 10 percent of the entries were in the non-offset

Feeling distant from your organization's marketing department? It's time to get closer. Printing marketing materials just might save your shop. by Vic Barkin "That dang marketing department! They never talk to us, always go outside to other printers, and have no idea what we do around here!" Sound familiar? In many corporations, organizations and universities, the printing and copying operations were not created to aid their parent's external marketing efforts. As a result, many in-plants are still segregated from those who determine the marketing strategies. But with the Web and the desktop printer conspiring to steal certain traditional sources of in-plant work, the

A chargeback system will help you build a successful, outsource-resistant in-plant, but first you must sell the idea to management. If you know the benefits and drawbacks up front, it will be an easy sell.