Overcome Print Industry Changes, Save Money and Improve Efficiencies

The printing industry is undergoing transformationyou want. There will be no printers in your database
changes as printers close and consolidate. In somethat you have not researched and approved. This is
ways, this is happening quietly because when a smallimportant because when a bid comes in at a
or a medium-size printer closes, it does not makedeep-discount price, you know the printer and know a
national or even regional headlines. Also, sadly to say, itquality job will be produced on time. Low pricing does
has become commonplace.not mean corners are being cut. It means the printer
According to the Printing Industries of America (PIA),has downtime to fill.
almost 3,000 printers have either closed their doors orThis strategy is further enhanced by suppliers now
merged so far during the prolonged economicbeing able to eliminate price precedent. Suppliers
downturn. At year-end 2009, there were 33,565normally price work based on how much the buyer is
printers in the United States compared to 36,508 just awilling to pay. If suppliers price too high, buyers shy
year earlier.away from dealing with them. If suppliers price too low,
So what does this change in the printing industrythen buyers want to hold suppliers to the prior price. By
landscape mean to print buyers? A lot, especially ifeliminating price precedent, suppliers can be allowed to
your trusted, favorite printer has been bought bybid high, low, or not at all with no repercussions on their
another printer or even worse closed its doors. Youreceiving other work to price for which they are
may have others to turn to, but they have never beenqualified. Suppliers can now base their pricing less on
your top choices.what they perceive the buyer is willing to pay and
You could begin visiting, meeting with and evaluatingmore on the instant need to fill their production gaps or
printers again. You do not want to do that because it isdowntime. That is how the 25% to 50% in cost
time consuming and there is no assurance that thosereductions are achieved.
printers also will not become victims of the economy.Driving this advancement in procurement is a unique
Also, the associated cost performance forcommunications and workflow system that requires full
relationship-driven buying is usually poor.interaction and documentation between the buyer's
You could try negotiated methods based on most ofteam and the supplier's team. Hands-on involvement is
your work going to one or two printers, but that is sortnot minimized and control by the buyer is strengthened
of like putting "all of your eggs in one basket" and notrather than weakened.
knowing when the chosen printer will have technical,Every task is benchmarked and whoever is
labor or other problems. You could be left without aresponsible for that task must verify changes, its
printer.completion and make notations as needed. Because
You could resort to a reverse auction, spot bidding andof that sophisticated level of information sharing,
other competitive e-procurement techniques that haveaccountability is fully assigned and documented.
their roots in the 1960s. Most are cumbersome to startBecause all actions are available for everyone who is
and stop and procurement professionals often aregiven access to see, the total process is 100%
uneasy about using them. Savings are not predictable,transparent. Because every action and notation is
and there is no guarantee that you will be getting thedocumented and archived, the system becomes a
lowest price. You more than likely will not be familiarpowerful resource for reference and planning.
with the printer that ends up with your job. Some evenThis process is repeated for every print project that
say reverse auctions may encourage imprudentyou have. With the click of a mouse, you will have bid
bidding practices.results in seconds rather than hours or days. You also
The good news is significant advances have beenwill have built a trusted pool of suppliers. No more
made in how printing can be procured. They expandsearching for qualified printers.
your options, increase your control, provide you with fullWhile there is no question that the print industry is
transparency and, maybe best of all, make it possiblechanging and that there are fewer printers today, the
for you to reduce your costs for procured print byprint buyer actually has better options for getting the
25% to 50%. When referring to procured print, I meanjob done. The predictability of new methodology and
direct mail, marketing materials, commercial printing,technology improve and strengthen the print buying
labels, customized packaging, promotional items, CDprocess. This new approach is being embraced by
ROMs and anything else that requires producing anprinters because it allows them to be matched
image on a substrate (paper, plastic, metal, magneticautomatically with their print buying customers and to
media, etc.)increase their work and cash flow by filling production
New procurement methodology and technology,gaps that otherwise would have produced no revenue
developed during the 1990s and introduced to printat all.
buyers over the past three years, combine the bestAbout e-LYNXX Corporatione-LYNXX Corporation,
features of relationship-driven buying, negotiatedthe North American procurement authority, is
methods and traditional e-procurement techniques.exclusively endorsed by Printing Industries of America
Here is how it works. You select the printers,(PIA) and Educational and Institutional Cooperative
thoroughly vet them and if you need more you havePurchasing (E&I). Founded in 1975, e-LYNXX has three
access to a national database of printers who aredivisions.
prequalified and fully capable of delivering for you what