Do we have an identity crisis?
Is print a manufacturing or a service industry? And does it matter which it is?
If we find it difficult to ‘brand’ ourselves how can we expect the outside world to understand what we’re about?
Within the last few weeks the BPIF has expressed disappointment that printing did not feature among the examples of successful advanced manufacturing activities listed in the Government’s recent Growth Review Framework for Advanced Manufacturing. BPIF corporate affairs director Andrew Brown argues that “since print is self-evidently about a production process, it’s credentials as a manufacturing industry are beyond doubt. It’s also one that is of major economic significance to the UK as a whole. Print adds relatively more value than any other manufacturing industry apart from pharmaceuticals, and generates a GVA of £6.4 billion annually from a turnover of just £14.3 billion.”
But is it in our best interests to be seen as a manufacturing industry? Last July the Leader in Image Reports raised the issue of the sector’s evolving identity as many print companies (especially those in large-format output) develop to offer a much wider portfolio and increasingly wish clients to see them as a ‘service partner’. So what are we – a manufacturing industry or service industry – and do the blurring of the edges make for a confused and damaging message to an outside world already happy to dismiss print?
Brown’s view is thus: “Print is a major investor in capital equipment and cutting-edge technologies. The cost of printing equipment can run into millions, with payback periods of many years in some cases. Efficiencies in equipment utilisation and labour practices are essential to optimise productivity. Continual reinvestment and re-equipping is essential, in order to reduce waste and cut costs (in order to compete with low-cost producers in emerging economies and with alternative electronic media) and in order to improve sustainability of production and reduce carbon footprint.
“Printing companies excel at developing and bringing to market innovative products and print solutions that enable customers to access new markets. They are increasingly re-engineering their businesses as multi-channel marketing solutions providers, delivering in-house design and personalised print services as part of an integrated cross-media mix. And as befits the world’s fifth largest printing industry, much of UK print faces global competition.
“In fact print meets all the characterstics of an advanced manufacturing industry, as set out by the Government in its new ‘Advanced Manufacturing Growth Review Framework’, published last December. So having established that print is not only a manufacturing industry, but an advanced one to boot, can it be considered a services industry too?
“‘The Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary’ defines a service industry as one ‘that provides a service for people but does not result in the production of goods’. Given that print is essentially a communications medium by which information is conveyed from one person to another, it would seem to meet this definition too. In essence, the customer is seeking to use printing services to publish information or creative content to other people, usually in order to educate them, inform them, engage them, entertain them, or sell things to them.
“And this is where the challenge lies. Naturally printed materials must be manufactured to the highest quality, at a competitive price, and delivered on time and to the right place. However, the value perceived by the customer is not so much contained within the print itself, but in the extent to which the printing company can provide him with services that help him meets one or more of these objectives. Print businesses therefore need to adopt a strategy that is primarily customer-centric, rather purely production-focused.
“Of course the nature of the services being demanded by clients is changing too. While print is still a major part of the modern, digitally-based communications landscape, it is now one of a number of channels that clients are using to engage with their markets in a multi-media world. With clients increasingly looking for cost-effective campaigns rather than commodity print, the future for print lies in offering them integrated marketing and communications services that add value to their businesses. Going forward, it is how effectively printing companies are able to help their customers reach target markets - and demonstrate tangible ROI on the money customers spend with them - that will be the key factor in determining whether printers win, or retain, profitable business.”