The print and packaging forum: a report on the print industry’s review of its own performance

This report is presented to the Print and Packaging Forum in fulfilment of the activities envisaged under Research Agreement signed between the Leadership, Innovation and Knowledge Research Centre DCU and the Irish Printing and Packaging Forum dated 15 July 2010. The remainder of this report sets out our research findings and response to the requirements set out in the Research Agreement. Section 3 sets out our approach and research methodology including limitations on this study and subsequent findings. Section 4 details the research findings. A survey was conducted of the industry to provide information on various aspects of its performance. Unfortunately no firms operating in the newspaper or paper sectors responded thus impacting on the representativeness of the survey. The main findings are summarised below. The vast majority of companies surveyed continue to be private Irish-owned firms. Sales performance of surveyed companies is in decline. The Industry faces competition internationally; the overwhelming majority of companies surveyed do not export. The respondents considered themselves relatively capable against Irish competitors however less competitive across nearly all areas against International competition. Particular factors in their lack of competitiveness are seen as raw material costs and access and overall relative cost position. Average employment is 20 persons, inferring a significant decline when compared to the 2005 Report. This confirmed supporting data from Forfas. On average over 55% of employees of respondent companies are operatives or crafts people. Less than 20% of respondent companies had vacancies compared to over half reported in 2005. Both overcapacity and low capacity usage remain features of the industry however expected lead times and time lost due to breakdowns has improved when compared to the 2005 Report. Average capacity utilisation for companies in the survey was 69% with over a third operating at below 60%. Over 80% of companies surveyed indicated that they undertake benchmarking; this is a significant increase on the level reported in the 2005 Report

North Tyneside Printing Sector Training Needs Analysis

The printing sector in this region has a proportionately low level of employment compared to the UK as a whole. North Tyneside provides the location for some 36 print-based firms, which account for only 11% of Tyne & Wear’s total print employment. However, this survey indicates that the official data significantly under-estimates the employment size of the sector in North Tyneside

Print media distribution: Process, profitability, and challenges

Today the distribution of printed media is viewed as a value added or ancillary service. Ancillary services have been identified as a key printing industry growth opportunity in a recent PIA/GATF report (Davis & Gleeson, 2005). Distribution is a customer service offering that starts when the job is scheduled. Efficient distribution involves the use of market expertise to negotiate freight rate and logistics services, routing, and overall compilation or management and organization of products and distribution. Other aspects of distribution include warehousing, shipping, inventory management, fulfillment and kit packing. The objectives for Phase Two of this research project were to: * highlight the importance of print media distribution as part of the print production process, * gain a clearer understanding of the costs and profitability of distribution for graphic communications companies, * develop a graphical model of select distribution applications, and * document solutions utilized to address key distribution challenges. Four printing companies that offer distribution services participated in this phase of the research study. The participants were asked ten questions about distribution workflow, challenges, profitability, and future trends within their companies as well within the printing industry as a whole

Evaluating the use of the web by print firms

The disruptive impact of electronic commerce on the print industry has the potential to radically transform its value proposition. The challenge for the industry is to utilise the disruptive aspects of emerging technology to offer customers greater variety in the delivery of information and communication, and take advantage of potential cost innovations to improve declining rates of return. This paper reviews these developments and reports on an exploratory study of the Australian print industry that suggests that the extent of transformation has, to date, been limited

IS Strategy in SMEs Using Organizational Capabilities: The CPX Framework

Developing appropriate information systems strategies (ISS) is vital, yet problematic, especially for small firms given their organizational context. However, resource-based theory may offer a solution. Building on earlier work that identified the potential from resource-based strategy for ISS, this paper considers the role of core capabilities in organizations competing in dynamic markets. Core capabilities are deconstructed into competences, processes and externalities to enable identification of future information systems. A fourth element of the analysis, evaluation, provides an opportunity to address issues that affect potential solutions. These four components form the \u27CPX framework\u27. The framework is applied to a case firm to demonstrate its value within the overall development of an ISS. Discussion of the framework\u27s potential and issues for future research are identified

Media Distribution in the Printing Industry: A Study of the Movement of Printed Materials and Electronic Files

Change, according to Phillip Ruggles (2005), can be advantageous to one\u27s business. It can sometimes be exciting and economically rewarding. At other times, change can be challenging and risky, bringing about chaos and disruption. The printing industry is undergoing both structural and cyclical change. Meeting the challenge to remain competitive in today\u27s printing industry relies heavily on providing value for customers. Thus, print service providers are offering a variety of value added services in an effort to meet customer demands and to remain competitive. One such additional service is distribution (both physical and electronic), which includes shipping/delivery, mailing, warehousing, and inventory management. As print technology advances, the offering of distribution services by print providers is becoming a trend in the industry. The objectives of this research were to understand distribution and distribution workflows, to understand the utilization of electronic distribution of files and the distribute-then-print model, and to understand how printers are incorporating e-commerce as a tool to distribute print. This thesis research also looked at the challenges, issues, and future trends anticipated by print service providers for their distribution operations. To achieve these objectives, selective answers from the 2005 Printing Industry Center (PIC) research on Media Distribution (Cummings & LeMaire) and another research on the Utilization ofE-commerce (Cummings & LeMaire) were used to support vi this thesis. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with six print service providers to further understand distribution operations within the printing industry. The research results revealed key findings in the areas of physical distribution, distribution workflows, electronic distribution, e-commerce, and distribution challenges and trends. Questions addressing physical distribution and workflows yielded the following results: the definition of distribution from all the responses can be summarized as the movement of printed and finished materials from the printing plant to an internal storage location, to a distribution center, to the customer (the print buyer), or to the enduser. Various processes were described by research participants to represent their distribution operations. Figures 12 and 13 are representations of the two main workflows: a simple workflow for small companies, and a more complex workflow for larger companies. Electronic distribution findings showed that this model has not had a great impact upon the participants\u27 distribution procedures or their businesses in general. Only four (25%) of the companies interviewed have used this distribution model. Additionally, questions addressing e-commerce utilization showed that participants\u27 definition of ecommerce can be summarized as a system that allows customers to perform transactions over the Internet. Participants all agreed that e-commerce is a value-added service that benefits everybody. It was also apparent that most printers are not utilizing the full capabilities of e-commerce systems. Research participants discussed various challenges faced while offering distribution services. Among those challenges are storage and warehousing, customer information flow, fuel surcharges, postage increases, and trucking. Participants also vn anticipate the following trends relating to their distribution operations: advancement in technology, improved customer relations, and electronic flow of communication. This thesis research is valuable and contributes ample literature on the topic of distribution in the printing industry. As no research is exhaustive, opportunities remain for further research projects within various aspects of this study

Influence of Physical Distribution Strategies on the Performance of Service Firms in Kenya: A Survey Study of Print Media Distribution in South Nyanza Region, Kenya

Digital media introduced to the market the quickest form of print content distribution man has ever seen; since its inception the print media industry is under several challenges. The current physical distribution efforts and sales results are not satisfying in the print media industry. Stiff competition exists among the media service providers and players where the print media is under a threat by the digital media as its market share is shrinking at a margin of 27% daily.  The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of the distribution strategies on the performance of service firms in Kenya with particular interest on Print Media Industry. The study adopted a survey design. The target population was 53 respondents selected using Census sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics which involved the use of percentages and frequency tables.  Simple regression analysis was used to assess the degree of association between the variables under investigation and ANOVA for the level of significance between physical distribution strategies and performance of print media in the region. The findings were: customer service strategy and transport logistics strategy were the major physical distribution strategies adopted  and  had a mean weight of 4.5094 in a 5 point loaded scale; this result showed that their use in the industry was of high significance in contributing towards performance of the print media industry; a strong and positive correlation  existed between  physical distribution strategies and performance of the print media industry (R= 0.971a;  and  R2 = 0.943);   the ANOVA results indicated a significant relationship between the predictors (independent variables) and the dependent variable ( F= 271.918; p<0.05); customer service strategy has a positive contribution to the performance of the print media industry; the adopted regression model showed that Performance   = -1.230 – 0.011 TLS + 0.784 CSS + 0.074 RLS; hence increase in use of customer service strategy as physical distribution strategy causes a positive increase in performance of the print media industry in the area under study. Keywords: Distribution Strategies, Transport Logistics, Print Media, Performanc

An Investigation into printing industry trends

The Printing Industry Center (CIAS) at RIT hosted a colloquium to discuss methodologies used to measure, track, and project the future of the printing industry. Four economists, three with a relationship to the printing industry, responded to a series of questions about the past, present and future of various aspects of the printing business and its relationship to society. A group of approximately 60 RIT faculty, RIT graduate students, and Industry Partners of the Center attended

Books.Files: Preservation of Digital Assets in the Contemporary Publishing Industry

Final report for a sponsored research project.The book industry is an important social, cultural, and economic institution whose records deserve to be preserved for the public good. Books.Files was an exploratory project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation aimed at assessing the archival value of digital assets in the contemporary publishing industry for stakeholders in the cultural heritage sector (libraries, archives, and academia) as well as in the industry itself. The report addresses the changing technological and organizational circumstances in the creation and collecting of publishers' archives, with an emphasis on the enumeration of the types and variety of digital assets that may form the primary basis for such archives in the future. It emphasizes the extent to which every book published (not just ebooks as such) is in fact "born-digital," and the implications of this shift for future historical and bibliographical scholarship. It concludes with a set of recommendations.The Andrew W. Mellon Foundatio