PRINT MANAGEMENT
Tight budgets have forced health sector organisations to drastically curtail their printing costs – but the industry is already diversifying into data management, marketing and mailing, says Freddie Kienzler of the British Association for Print and Communication (BAPC).
T
he last year has seen a decline in the rate of spending on print by public
sector bodies, in particular since the Octo- ber 2010 spending review.
The message apparently going out from Government is to only print what you are legally obliged to print, and to use electron- ic media and the internet instead of print.
Stories abound of departments slashing their spending on print by 50, 60 and 70% or more. These ‘across the board’ cuts can cause immeasurable damage to SMEs who are already faced with ever-rising costs, particularly paper, fuel and energy, and are dependent on public sector spending for their wellbeing.
Successive governments have stated that they would ensure that SMEs would get their fair share of government spending and it would not all be directed towards the big businesses in the industry. What we have seen is exactly the opposite, with large contracts consistently being awarded to the multi-national companies to the exclusion of the smaller print suppliers.
On a more positive note, the health sector is going to continue to spend money on print and it needs to endeavour to try to get the best value for money. So how best to do this? In some situations there will be no choice given the value of the work in ques- tion and EU legislation will dictate that a formal public tender process be instigated. In other cases, assuming there is no access to internal resources, there will be a choice between a local printer, a national printer or a print management company.
Each of the above options has reasons to use them depending on the quantity, complexity and type of work that is being considered.
One important point to remember is that 62 | national health executive May/Jun 11
many printers have now developed the range of services they offer well beyond their original services and now often in- clude data management, marketing cam- paign design and management, fulfi lment, mailing and often a complete print man- agement service.
So is print management for you?
If you do not have the technical knowledge, or feel your time is better spent concentrat- ing on the core business of running your organisation, then yes, it could be for you. Private print management companies can save you money in the right circumstanc- es, such as designing and implementing a comprehensive personalised marketing campaign with excellent ROI.
However, if you are going the print man- agement route simply to reduce the cost of buying print, then you should question carefully whether you could achieve those savings or more by buying through your local printer with whom you may already have an established relationship.
Buying Solutions, which is part of the Of- fi ce of Government Commerce, maintains a roster of approved printing businesses which is fully EU compliant. The Pan Gov- ernment Print Framework, as it is known, enables any public sector organisation to work with these approved print businesses.
Buying Solutions specialist advisers are well placed to select the most appropriate suppliers for your print requirements and there is a useful print purchasing tool at
www.buyingsolutions.gov.uk/servicefi nd- er/
print-selection-tool.html where you can locate the ideal printing company for the type of work you are looking for.
When selecting a printer independently, what should you look for? You should en- sure that they are a member of either the
BAPC or the BPIF or one of the specialist trade associations such as SPA or FESPA. They will all have codes of conduct to which their members have subscribed.
With the growth of electronic communica- tions, and in particular with the growth of web ordering systems, your selected print- er does not need to be local to you unless you are having daily deliveries or you need regular visits from your printer in order to go through the work.
Unless you want to go through the pro- cess of selecting a printer frequently, you should check that your printer has a well- established track record: How long have they been in business? Are there signs of growth in the business? Have they invested in new technologies in order to improve productivity? Do they appear to have ad- equate resources? Visit them to make sure.
Are they accredited to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 27001, FSC, PEFC? Do they do work for organisations similar to your own? Can they supply good third party ref- erences? And do check them out; have they won any industry awards?
Are they interested in your business and in helping you to achieve effi ciencies? Do you like them and can you get on with them? Are you confi dent they will deliver on their promises? This is a relationship that will hopefully last some years.
Do they offer you value for money? Re- member that what appears to be the cheap- est in the short run may not turn out that way in the end.
Freddie Kienzler is deputy chairman of BAPC and managing director of Formara Printers.
FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit
www.bapc.co.uk
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