A friend of of mine preparing a presentation recently asked me what I loved about in-plants and after hearing the answer told me to write it down. I have and it is included below. But, I also have a question for anyone in an in-plant printing facility which is “What’s important to you?”. I’m preparing my editorial calendar and want to know, what should I research and write about.
Meanwhile here is…. What I Love About In-Plant Service Providers
When I think about what I love about in plant printers, that answers fall into two categories: first is the important role in-plants fulfill and second is the people you meet. In-Plant service providers play a role in the education our children, communication of critical information with us, and support the role of commerce, When you analyze in-plants by the products they create it becomes clear the vertical market they serve. The largest vertical market is education which includes universities and school districts. In-plant printers provide a critical role in helping educators teach our children which is one of the most important tasks in our society.
If we think of the smaller vertical markets we see a long list that includes as insurance, government, healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, and banking. A common responsibility within these markets is the importance of communicating critical messages about policies, government regulations, taxes, healthcare and finances. Many of these companies also print bills and statements which puts them into another category known as transactional printers which if combined them together would be an even larger vertical then education.
Although some would argue that supporting commerce is superficial compared to supporting education, it is one of the most important engines that helps to drive our economy. The last reason I love working with in-plants is because of the people. I have met some of the nicest people in the world in in-plants. They are hardworking people many arriving early and leaving late to ensure they live up to their promised delivery date. They are quality minded and take great pains to ensure that their product are world class. If you ever go to one of the in-plant shows you will see that they are all willing to help one another and share their “lessons learned”.
In summary, I love in-plants because of the roles they play in educating our children, communicating important information, supporting commerce, and because they are among the nicest people in the world.
Lastly, please let me know what you would like to learn more about and I will start to research those subjects. If you don’t have anything in mind at least consider ranking in the importance of these subjects: specific technologies (anyone specific), the estimating process, sales and marketing success stories, cross training staff, innovative production strategies, specific equipment or equipment categories, or new products (vehicle wraps) and services (i.e. database services). Feel free to message me (Howie@howiefentonconsulting.com) or request a phone call.