The hottest transformation from printers to commun

Transformation from printers to communication solutions

although customer demand changes and the industry growth is slow, printers still have the opportunity to implement diversification. What is the future of commercial printing? Whether from a long-term or short-term perspective, the answer can be attributed to the following two factors

first, the printing industry is facing structural and cyclical changes. Structural changes such as networking and e-commerce will redefine the way people communicate and the role of printing in communication; The cyclical development of advantageous industries such as machinery and electronics and new material manufacturing refers to the continuous dependence of the industry on the economic situation. When the economy is booming, it develops well. On the contrary, when the economy is weak, it is difficult to take steps

secondly, the industry is in a transitional period. The growth rate of the industry is lower than that of the economy. Since 1998, the average annual growth rate of the industry has been 2% (excluding the inflation rate), which is less than half of the average annual growth rate of GDP of 4.3%

on the surface, our market has been saturated and is being replaced by other means of communication, but a closer look at the plans of printers: Strategic diversification, positioning in networks, target investment in equipment and manpower, you can see that the industry is not declining, and our industry is making difficult investment decisions, which is very important for financing in the future full of long-term opportunities. Where is the change

the industry is realizing its identity as a communicator, not the ink on paper and just doing business, and the mode of communication is changing rapidly. The industry accepted these changes and began to prepare for the adverse effects of slow economic development on the industry

every year, managers of about 200 printing companies, representing about 22 companies, come to the national Assn to carry out a comprehensive survey of the industry. A survey report on the development trend of the printing industry market shows that:

* changes have taken place in the traditional printing business. 61.4% think that the number of colors will change, and 67.6% think that complexity will change. The number of people in these two parts has increased compared with the past; The number of people who think that the delivery time will be shortened has decreased by 62%

* most people believe that digital printing, electronic prepress, prepress and post press are the growth trend

* a small number of people believe that lithography, art design and binding are in a growing trend

* half believe that customers are increasingly completing their own printing business, but two thirds believe that customers demand a wide range of services from printers

true situation

a survey on the source of profits in the next two years by carefully adjusting control parameters and the services most needed by customers shows that:

* most digital printing, database archiving management, network services, CD services, which will supplement rather than replace prepress center and binding services. The profits provided by these core services account for 80% of the company's total profits

* although digital printing is the most concerned, from the management of lithography database with more than four colors to the attention of e-commerce, it shows that printing diversification has formed the consideration of investment direction

what kind of investment do printers think is good for their long-term competitiveness and profitability:

* CTP ranks first, digital proofing, e-commerce, management information system, and the top 10

* binding equipment ranks second because it can greatly shorten the delivery time, and the lag of binding has become a bottleneck in printing

* training and education of professional and skilled employees ranked third

* offset printing with more than four colors ranks fourth

Internet opportunities

printers also realize that Internet provides them with opportunities to strengthen customer communication and improve production output. The survey shows that:

*95.6% will exchange documents with customers through networks, and 91.2% will receive and send e-mail to communicate with customers; 33.8% is used to study the trend of printing industry; 30.9% is used to find target customers; 23.5% received orders and received money, and 11.8% used contacts to place orders and pay

*75.8 companies have their own stations

*83.1 think that the network has affected their business, or will have a great impact in the next two years

considering the changes in industry conditions, it is no surprise that printers are concerned about a series of things. The top five are: the cost of software and hardware; Shortage of skilled production staff; Learning curve of new software and hardware; Wage and marginal profit growth; Most printers pay close attention to the economic trend in the economic landing, and the economic development will slow down in the next two years. The reasons are:

first, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates six times in the past 16 months

second, energy prices soar. If the economic slowdown is as expected, the growth of printing sales will be 3.5% in 2001 to 5% in 2002, but if the speed is faster than expected, printing should increase to 5.5%. Whether the road is flat or rough, the economy will be heading for a "landing"

printers need to be prepared to consider:

* what if major customers cut their printing budgets next year because of the economic situation

* when the industry shrinks, how can we make sufficient cash flow

* how to maintain color changing materials when others are in line with the development trend of "smart cars" and reduce the market and sales budget? Transformation

there are some companies whose development speed and profitability are far ahead in the industry. When asked about how they can maintain the secret of continuous success in a changing and complex industry by helping to improve road safety, someone explained that, first of all, we recognize that the market is changing, and we are also changing to do business with customers, make more contact with customers, distinguish changes, and recognize the value of the new definition in communication, Our main goal is to establish assistance and cooperation with customers. With our new marketing concept, we bid farewell to the period of being only a printer and welcome the era of being a communication solution provider

of course, not everyone has changed from a "printer" to a communication solution provider, but as a part of the industry, these will provide a wide range of communication services, so as to make the industry develop better and faster, and once again exceed the economic growth rate