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| DMIA's Award-Winning E-Mail Newsletter for Members Only | October 8, 2004 |
PRINT SOLUTIONS CONFERENCE & EXPO COVERAGE
Chicago is known for the blues, but printing pros who gathered there for DMIA's Print Solutions 2004 Conference & Expo were decidedly upbeat. Their chorus: Business is picking up for most distributors, manufacturers and suppliers. Technology, value-added services and the industry's optimism are striking chords with end users. The annual event, held Oct. 5-7 at the Donald E. Stevens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill., drew 1,543 attendees. The show floor featured 368 exhibit booths, including 32 first-time exhibitors, showcasing the latest solutions in promotional products, labels and tags, commercial printing, e-commerce systems and more. For a list of all conference exhibitors, click here. To view a floor map, click here. "The people here are a monitor for what's happening in the economy," said Pat Taylor, secretary/treasurer at Taylor Business Products, North Wilkesboro, N.C. "I think everyone is more upbeat [than in the recent past]." At the show, she received a hospital form that she plans to give to a salesperson at the distributorship. Solutions on the Show Floor While visiting Label Art's booth, Heather Langston of distributorship Cook Business Products, said, "We found some information on thermal transfer labels and tags that made the trip worthwhile." The Wilton, N.H.-based manufacturer offers flexographic pressure sensitive labels and has sold exclusively to the trade since 1963. Three companies—distributorship Superior Business Solutions, based in Kalamazoo, Mich.; manufacturer Wise Business Forms Inc., Alpharetta, Ga.; and TopForm Software Inc., Norcross, Ga.—promoted a software solution for eliminating manual data entry associated with closing a purchase order, creating an account payable and invoicing. A program based on industry standard XML automatically compares the vendor invoice to the purchase order data. If data is in sync with the values authorized, the purchase order is closed and the vendor invoice is generated automatically in accounts payable. If all associated order costs have been received, the customer invoice is created automatically. Industry experts discussed 17 products that generate more than 30 percent gross margin at special Product Theaters on the show floor. Topics included "Card/Form Combos for Customer Loyalty Programs," "Check 21-How it Affects Your Customers," "Direct Mail for the Banking Industry." For a list of Winners' Circle sponsors, click here. For a list of Major League Manufacturers sponsors, click here. New Leadership for DMIA Outgoing DMIA President Phil Schmidt, president of distributorship Advanced Systems & Forms Inc., Livonia, Mich., thanked Board members, the PERF Board of Trustees, 2004 Regional Directors and Print Solutions 2004 Conference & Expo sponsors. In a speech, DMIA Executive Vice President Peter Colaianni, CAE, told attendees he had asked 40 distributor members to list their major concerns. The top three were need for distributors, manufacturers and suppliers to work together; need to change compensation plans; and need for distributors to add value. He encouraged attendees to continue striving to meet end user needs and to analyze how their firms can improve internally. Sessions Offer Top-Notch Education At a session entitled "Suppliers and Manufacturers: Understanding Your Customers Concept of Value," Robert Nadeau, managing principal of Northfield, Ill.-based Industrial Performance Group, said customers now define value. For manufacturers and suppliers to succeed, he said, they must match the value needs of their customers. Harish Mehta, group managing director of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa-based manufacturer Universal Print Group, flew to Chicago with three employees to attend the event. He said it was interesting to see that the printing industry in the United States faces similar challenges to the industry in South Africa. He said his employees gained tremendously from the sessions, including "Common Myths and Misconceptions About Value." Robert J. Cronin, managing partner at The Open Approach, a Westmont, Ill.-based firm that provides consulting, mergers-and-acquisitions and recruiting services to printing firms, led a presentation entitled "Now Is the Time for Selling Large Accounts." "The opportunity is ripe for distributors to sell to large accounts," said Cronin, former CEO of Wallace. "Also, for the first time, the ability of independents to sell to large accounts has been announced publicly." Cronin was referring to the Novation contract. The largest volume group purchasing organization in the health care field recently reached tentative agreements with two national distributor organizations for its document management needs. For details, click here. Cronin said distributors should take advantage of their strengths, including strong sales workforces focused on customers and the ability to create unique solutions for each end user. Wes Maughan, founder and president of Portland, Ore.-based Pontil Systems Inc., a company specializing in identification labeling and bar coding, and Mike Harris, CEO of Cortland Manor, N.Y.-based Innovative Equipment Ltd., a company offering RFID label production equipment and methodology, spoke in detail about RFID's advantages, disadvantages, applications and future. Maughan said early adopters of the technology will develop competitive advantages, and companies in the supply chain will have opportunities to improve quality and reduce spoilage. Industry pros discussed their perspectives on independents and the industry's future during a session on "The CEO Perspective from the 'Majors". Richard Egan, former president at Corporate Express Document and Print Management, said majors have ceded the small market to distributors and large commercial printers. "The opportunity for distributors in the large market is there," he said. "We will see increased penetration from distributors." Paul Reilly, president and CEO of Cenveo, said distributors have the opportunity to become ultimate solutions providers and capture an increasing share of the market. He said their innovation and flexibility will allow them to achieve that. SIG Members Share Ideas Approximately 30 DMIA members attended the Fulfillment SIG session. Ernie Schell, president of Marketing Systems Analysis Inc., discussed the challenges of offering catalog fulfillment versus literature. Schell said one challenge companies offering catalog fulfillment face is lack of seamless integration among e-commerce, retail and supply-chain operations. Dan Bergren of Allied Associated Material Handling Industries Inc. spoke about issues at distribution centers and trends in warehouse storage mediums such as shelving. Earlier, DMIA members visited a fulfillment center run by CBI Corp., Lincolnshire, Ill. CBI's Cliff Bregstone, CFC, the Fulfillment SIG co-chairman, organized a tour for DMIA members to a customer's facility where CBI runs fulfillment operations. Attendees saw mailing, warehousing, printing and fulfillment operations during the 3-hour tour. 29 Complete In-Residence Program Best Booths at Print Solutions Expo Most Helpful Staff Outstanding Design Best Use of Technology Most Creative Best Overall Booth Best Implementation of Show Theme
RR Donnelley to Close Plant Earlier this year, RR Donnelley acquired Moore Wallace Inc. in a deal the companies valued at $2.8 billion. The deal occurred only months after Moore Corp. Ltd. bought Wallace Computer Services for $1.1 billion in cash and stock. Quality Park Brands Introduce Product, Contest Another Quality Park Brand, PrintXcel, announced a sales-contest award named "Print and Play" that DMIA distributors can win based on their new orders for continuous forms, unit sets, label/form combinations and the company's VersaSeal print-to-mail solution. The winner and a guest will receive an all-expenses-paid trip (including airfare, lodging, food, and golf) to the Marriott Grand Hotel Resort in Point Clear, Ala. The contest runs from Oct. 1 to Jan. 31. To receive complete details, call Quality Park is a market identity under which Discount Labels, Dealer Label, Gould Packaging, Lancer Label, PrintXcel, Quality Park Products and Wisco Envelopes operate. American Solutions for Business Names Novation Project Manager Murphy will work closely with American's internal staff and sales associates to identify needs and requirements of the Novation opportunity and will collaborate with various groups at American to find solutions to those needs. The implementation of the program and ongoing maintenance of the opportunity will be coordinated through the company's Strategic Operations Support Department in Glenwood. American hired Murphy, 28, in 1999, and he most recently served as a supervisor in the Product Support Department and as a strategic operations support specialist. |
Sales and Marketing Tip E-Commerce Spotlight Product of the Week Hot Sites The Living Room Candidate |
TOP TEN
Here are this week's top unusual source requests received by DMIA:
If you have a source request—for anything—call the Hotline at (800) 333-2828 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, or use the Source Hotline Database online. For new sales ideas every day, try our 1,000 Sales Ideas Database. Manufacturers, if you produce any of these items and would like to check your listing with the Source Hotline, please email Cheryl Rush. |
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