The Print Production Trap

Not too long ago the Direct Marketing Association conducted a survey asking what was the most important attribute considered when your company selected printing and lettershop vendors.

The response: 86% fast turn-around and only 14% capability. Further explanation of this response showed companies select their vendors based on how well their suppliers keep them out of trouble.

If you want to be successful, the production process can not be an afterthought driven by poor project management to make up for lost time. A lot of strategic planning must be done long before the electronic files are sent to the production house.

Capability is the most important attribute you should consider. On every project there is always some production function that controls the entire project. Sometimes it's budget. Sometimes it's timing. Sometimes it's design. Sometimes it's equipment. But, never, never should it be because you forgot or be because of bad internal project management. When selection of suppliers are reduced to these reasons, it's much too easy to select the wrong vendor.

Now you are faced with accepting a job that doesn't fit your specifications 100%. What's more, you are forced to accept the way a vendor does business and their corporate culture ... which may not match yours. Hardly this method allows you to have control over your success.

Here's what you should do. Make the Production job in your company the same level of management as your senior executives. Invite that person into each strategic and creative meeting you have. If your production function is handled by the purchasing department or at a support level, hire a consultant with a vast amount of production experience. Then, give that person the power to do their job. If you do this, make sure the charges for their services are directly linked to the service performed. For instance, with proper project management, we showed one client how to save over $350,000 annually in their printing requirements. Our yearly fee was far less than half of the money they saved.