Print 05 exhibition: Can your business survive that time?

The printing market in the United States was very sluggish in 2001, and Rosen, the president of a consulting firm with offices in New York and San Francisco, predicted that 2002 may be more challenging.

Ten years ago, Rosen identified seven driving forces for continuous advancement in the field of commercial printing:
1. Actually underutilized production capacity;
2. Deadly price competition;
3. Intensification of sales unknowability;
4. Rapid technological changes;
5. Increasing funding requirements;
6. Increasing customer demand;
7. If there is no satisfactory economic return, the owners are increasingly reluctant to invest.

Rosen pointed out in the speech at the Print 01 exhibition last fall that these factors still affect the entire industry. He believes that only those companies that can obtain sufficient profits (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, that is, EBITDA is higher than 12%) may attend the Print 05 exhibition.

Rosen predicts: “There will still be some companies that have consolidated within the country, but more companies will complete the merger within the regional market for strategic reasons.”

Rosen believes that there is no secret in the success of profitable printing companies: their productivity is often higher than those who are struggling, and their business volume is even greater. One of the main reasons for this is that they understand that printing economics is the economics of manufacturing. They always keep their businesses busy and avoid having months of sales problems ruin sales throughout the year.

He also believes: "Successful printing companies often consider the company's cost consumption and sales levels side by side. Unless there are special circumstances, they will not leave extra people in the company. They understand that there can be no reason for volatile sales, because these Businesses usually need high fixed costs, but this does not deny the diversity of business. Profitable companies will find ways to reduce the magnitude and frequency of monthly sales changes."

Learn lessons

According to Rosen, successful printers generally have the following experience:
You are either busy or dead. People must wake up from those old dreams, and do not imagine that they can make up for small sales at favorable prices.
The market determines the price. If a business is operating normally, there will be more opportunities for business. If the company does not function properly, it may need to make appropriate adjustments to itself. In any case, the market determines the price.
· Printing economics is the economics of manufacturing. You need: (a) sufficient business volume; (b) efficient production; (c) cost-effectiveness. This sounds very simple, but the actual market economy is ruthless.
In addition to equipment and technology, you should also have reasons why customers do business with you. For example, you should be more sensible, have faster decisions, have more feedback, and can provide your competitors with products or services that are complex or almost impossible to achieve. Make customers have to believe that choosing you as a partner is wise.
· Managing sales is the single biggest challenge. Implement detailed and clear plans for salespeople to develop and manage key accounts and use these accounts as the main corporate assets.
· It is very important to become a major supplier. The interdependence between companies is objective. Only in this way can it be possible to form a profitable relationship and provide the best protection in the downturn.
Size is not a problem. It provides the intensity of utilization of factory facilities and is the central demand for profitability. The bigger is not necessarily the better, but the business is always better than the business.
The result of production is not from the equipment. You must have the latest equipment, but this does not necessarily succeed. Unless you have set the appropriate goals and ensure that employees perform their duties at the appropriate level, your investment is likely to go awry.
• Buying a business is more important than buying cheap equipment and paper or changing reports and controls. Successful acquisitions mean additional added value by basically changing costs, increasing sales, and improving performance.

Profitable printing companies should also understand that the slight differences in productivity and total production will make a big difference in profits. Managing the manufacturing industry requires the addition of new equipment, but printing companies can do this by keeping equipment running and running effectively.

Rosen said: “The printing companies that survived all managed factories by setting goals and examining their implementation. They set a production plan with higher productivity as the standard. They adopted a process of simplification and standardization ( In order to ensure that the usual operating period does not require special intervention, to find the fastest production volume, they never compromise on ensuring the promise of transportation or meeting quality standards. The most important point is that they always ensure the operator's work Serious and responsible, it is not allowed to make its own dullness the source of the problem."