Quietly intelligent, he is the opposite of some of his more tub-thumping peers. He refuses to name any of the firm’s clients, as much out of loyalty one senses as any non-disclosure agreements, and appears to be almost happier talking about market trends than his own company. That said, he is rightly proud of the niche he and his cohorts have carved out as very much a market-focussed print management company.

We’re consultants, not buyers, says Peppiatt. This isn’t semantics – Paperhat’s revenues include flat consulting fees, with no buying attached. What’s more, he describes his team as procurement consultants, production consultants and risk management consultants, all rolled into one.

If you wanted to print something in the UK, or in the Middle East for 20% less, then we would advise on time to market, cost and risk for producing in either location, says Peppiatt. The company’s business model is based on collaboration – with everyone from procurement and marketing departments to creative and design agencies. This means Paperhat is involved in the whole production process and not just the print buying.

The race for saving money has been run. It’s now about process improvement and cost control, says Peppiatt. If we’re sitting here buying print in five years time we’ll be dead. We’ve got to do more than that.

It is this philosophy that has led Paperhat to reduce the amount of print-related work it does to around 75%. We did a huge photographic project with Sony where we didn’t touch print, says Peppiatt. Paperhat seems set to become to print management what Tag has to repro. But, as Peppiatt stresses, asset management had long been around before Steve Parish took Tag in that direction.

Controlling output
If there’s one lesson Peppiatt has learned, presumably aided by his 20 years of experience in repro, it is that if you control the front-end data, you must control the output. We want to get in at the creative stage where possible and add value through re-engineering materials, he explains. And if we genuinely believe something, we’ll challenge our clients.

A case in point is a client for whom Paperhat achieved a £250,000 saving through using a production technique that was supposedly inferior to the one specified. We went in and asked the client and the agency: is this really the best way? says Peppiatt. We came up with a supposedly inferior alternative that saved money and which the agency preferred.

One secret to Paperhat’s continued success has been its fussiness. We won’t work with every client, says Peppiatt. We look for clients who really understand what they want from their marketing communications. More often than not problems arise when a client’s procurement and marketing departments aren’t singing from the same hymn sheet.

In this case, or in the case where Paperhat was invited to take part in a tender for a prestigious client that involved 84,000 separate prices, Peppiatt and his team will walk away. Sometimes you’ve got to have the courage of your convictions, he says, You can say ‘no’.

Long-term clients
This refusal to be drawn into playing the price game is one of the cornerstone’s of Peppiatt’s business plan. If you’re predominantly price chasing then you will end up dealing with a diminishing group of clients, he says. If you’re turning over millions of pounds but not making any money then that just makes you a busy fool. Peppiatt says his ideal client is the one that comes to them and says we want to work with you.

Not only do these tend to be the smarter clients who understand that their print manager also needs to make some money – we are after all not a charity, says Peppiatt – but they also tend to be the stickiest clients. The majority
of Paperhat’s new business comes from referrals and the majority of its clients have been with the company for more than five years.

For the future, Peppiatt expects to see more consolidation. We will continue to acquire, continue to broaden our service range, providing it’s an absolute strategic fit, he says. And whilst some are predicting the end of print management, Peppiatt isn’t nearly so glum. Everyone thinks print management is a mature industry and it’s nowhere near, he says. There’s still a lot of headline growth to be had – it comes down to making the client feel comfortable.

PAPERHAT FACTFILE
Managing director Tim Peppiatt
Based South London
Staff 44
Incentives 10% company owned by staff
Suppliers 700+ worldwide
European operations France, Germany and Spain
Services Market intelligence, audit, strategy and planning, implementation and management, procuremen