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Business Printing Technologies Report TABLE OF CONTENTS The BPTR is best viewed through a web browser.
In spite of dramatic restructuring by many large forms producers, FORMTRAC 2002 shows that overall industry product sales will remain stable in the $13.8 to 14.6 billion range through 2005, excluding possible large non-forms acquisitions. Distributor’s share of total product sales at retail value will continue to hover in the 56% - 57% range. Beneath this overall stability, FORMTRAC 2002 shows that the industry is experiencing major shifts in product mix. Can a "Forms Industry" exist without forms? The core conventional forms product group that defines the forms industry will drop from 62.5% of total product sales in 1997 to 43.4% in 2006. The ten-year view of actual and projected industry sales by product category in FORMTRAC 2002 raises serious questions about the real identity of the industry. Some of the critical issues facing the industry today are: There are confused market channel definitions. Non-independents have entered into traditional distributor markets. End-users have placed more of an emphasis on cost vs. benefit in the buyer/seller relationship. End-users are looking for efficient procurement assistance with no
hassles. End-users want to work with as few vendors as possible. At all levels, the end-user has come to expect the services typically provided by large companies. End-users want proactive suppliers that seek to understand their business. End-users perceive documents and printing as commodities. End-users want vendors who provide services that justify their selection and possible higher costs. Diversifying distributors have caused traditional forms manufacturers to use alternate channels of distribution. Non-independents have created programs to recruit distributors to sell specific product lines. 41% of DMIA distributors own printing production equipment.* Distributors are becoming manufacturer's reps. There is a continuing emphasis on vertical market
integration. In-plants, ad agencies, and other non-traditional participants buy more products through independents. The major direct-selling forms manufacturers purchase product from outside sources, including independent manufacturers. 61% of independent manufacturers print for the majors on a regular basis.* As the majors downsized their internal production capabilities, the amount of product that they outsource through independents will grow. Mergers in the 1990s produced a small number of "Goliath" distributorships, many of which included major regional commercial printers. (* According to a December 2001 DMIA survey)
INDUSTRY RESTRUCTURING Definition of what constitutes the forms industry and analysis of industry
shipments has become very difficult due to major structural changes over the
last ten years. Wallace Computer Services now produces more commercial printing
than forms and is also a large supplier of labels. Standard Register has formed
an alliance with Consolidated Graphics and will become a distributor of
commercial printing. Moore is undergoing extensive corporate restructuring and
product mix shifts, including acquisition of new service and commercial printing
businesses. Reynolds & Reynolds has executed the most radical strategy by
selling most of the forms plants to a new business called Relizon. Reynolds
& Reynolds is now partly a service bureau and partly a forms distributor
with selective forms production capabilities. Relizon is partly a direct-selling
forms manufacturer and partly a trade supplier with Reynolds & Reynolds as
their main distributor account.
The total market for forms, related products and services is larger than the
"Forms Industry" because forms are also produced in many plants that
traditionally have not been considered part of the "Forms Industry." Formtrac
2002 provides an estimate of the total market for forms, which is part of the
even larger Printed Business Communications Industry. Traditional Forms Industry
participants have substantial new business opportunities under the broad forms
market definition used in Formtrac 2002. "Traditional" forms industry $14,712 million FORMTRAC is the only industry study that shows shipments by direct-selling
and trade manufacturers on a comparable basis--retail value of products and
services. This approach recognizes the value added by distributors, which has
traditionally been omitted from manufacturer shipment statistics compiled by the
US Department of Commerce and other consulting firms. Since the independent
segment represents over 50% of the industry, the value added by distributors is
a large component of total industry sales to end-users. * "Traditional" Forms Industry Annual changes by market segment and product category in both the "traditional" Forms Industry and the broader forms and printed business document market follow a relatively consistent pattern, tied to gradual shifts in specific technologies and to general economical conditions and trends. In some periods or product categories, unusual economic conditions, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures or other strong external influences may disrupt the pattern. Formtrac 2002 methodology includes determining the typical product and market segment growth or decline pattern combined with analysis of factors that cause deviations from the typical patterns. For the "traditional" Forms Industry, analysis of major external influences is combined with information on individual company results or initiatives that cause abrupt increases or declines in product shipments. The following is a summary of factors considered in market and product category shipment estimates and forecasts: * Market conditions that cause gradual increases or declines in
specific product category annual sales.
FORMS INDUSTRY OUTLOOK FORMTRAC 2002 points to a fragmented industry that is experiencing growing
overlap between product categories and threats from new technologies and new
suppliers that can shift work from conventional forms presses to alternative
production systems. The most serious industry challenge, evident in compiling
FORMTRAC 2002 data, is a lack of clear industry leaders and business models. The
major directs who formed the industry leadership core in the past are no longer
effective in that role due to ownership changes, internal restructuring focus or
diminished identification with forms. If the industry cannot develop a new
definition of itself and unite under a leadership core of major participants it
may evolve into a variety of product specialties and merge into other segments
of the larger printing and business communications industries. * The forms industry is gradually dissolving as a clearly identifiable product or market specialty. Technology and market forces are transforming it into a segment of a much larger ($30+ billion) printed business document industry. * Document processing and printing technology advances are gradually reducing demand for conventional forms, but the industry is not likely to experience a sudden steep drop in conventional forms sales. * Traditional forms industry participants have been successful in replacing losses of conventional forms volume with a multitude of products that can complement forms and utilize existing sales skills and distribution practices. * Distributor product mix and growth strategies are diverging from the capabilities of their traditional forms suppliers. * The greatest current strength of the forms industry is its role as a large distribution network for products and services needed to operate and promote businesses and other types of organizations. Manufacturing, with huge excess capacity, has shifted from a dominant to a supporting role in the industry. If you would like to purchase a copy of FORMTRAC 2002, click on this link <http://www.dmia.org/about/formtrac02.html>http://www.dmia.org/about/formtrac02.html, or call DMIA’s product sales at 800-336-4641. Want to join a discussion on this article? <http://www.dmia.org/sol_center/UBBbptr/Forum21/HTML/000001.html>Click here to go directly to the BPTR Discussion Bulletin Board.
DMIA TRAFFIC BULLETIN Truckers to Establish New Description and Ratings for "Cards or Tickets,
Paper or Plastic, With Magnetic Stripes" That Will Vary According To Actual
Value ITEM ARTICLES CLASS 40750 -- Cards or Tickets, paper or plastic, with magnetic Sub 1 -- Actual value not exceeding $10.00 per pound, see Note, item 40752 --
55 40751 -- NOTE – Applies on cards or tickets with magnetic stripes, including Credit Cards, Gift Cards, Phone Cards, Fare Cards, Toll Cards or Tickets, and Parking Garage Tickets. 40752 -- NOTE – Shipper must certify on shipping orders and bills of lading at time of shipment the actual value per pound of the property or the value group embracing the actual value per pound of the property. If the shipper fails to so certify the actual value, shipment will not be accepted, but if the shipment is inadvertently accepted, charges will initially be assessed on the basis of the class for the highest valuation provided. Upon proof of lower actual value, freight charges will be adjusted accordingly. All shippers of these articles using carriers that participate in the NATIONAL MOTOR FREIGHT CLASSIFICATION (approximately 1,600 truckers, primarily less-than-truckload carriers) should begin using this description on and after July 27. If you have negotiated FAK (freight, all kinds) ratings with one or more of your carriers, you may not be required to use this description. Check with your carriers. If you have any questions, please contact DMIA’s freight transportation consultant, Ray Bohman, His direct line is 508-945-2272. Want to join a discussion on this article? <http://www.dmia.org/cgi-bin/UBBbptr/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro> Click here to go directly to the BPTR Discussion Bulletin Board.
THE BPTR DISCUSSION BULLETIN BOARD <http://www.dmia.org/cgi-bin/UBBbptr/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro>The
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