He has some evidence to back up his position: from the outside, DST Output could be seen to be performing some of the role of a print manager. Although it prints many of its jobs in house, it also outsources some of its work to other printers. It also handles other, non-print, work for clients. So it looks like a print manager. But appearances can be deceptive, says Church. 

“Our ‘lead supply’ model is very different to traditional print management in that we undertake the majority of the production in-house using our extensive production infrastructure,” he explains. “But we are supported by an audited supply chain for work either best suited to another vendor, or where volumes and timescales lead us towards sharing the load with others to meet client deadlines.

“In all cases the client relationship is managed through a single point of contact at DST, ensuring consistency, control and visibility. This single point of contact provides confidence that all elements of a campaign are controlled by DST, whether print, envelopes, display material or even branded merchandise.”

It’s not uncommon in today’s tough print market for work to be taken on by one printer and then subbed out to another, but what the likes of DST Output are doing is formalising that occasional outsourcing to a more structured and regular feature of their work – having a roster of reliable and audited printers and seeking contracts explicitly for their broad remit. 

So how do you move from being one type of printer to the multi-functional other? Church says that for DST Output, it was largely client driven. 

“Having been in the print industry for over 100 years, we have at times outsourced specialist niche print finishing,” he says. “However, in more recent times clients have recognised the benefit of our lead supply model, which was developed in more recent years due to client demand.”

Mike Freely, managing director at Octink, says it was a similar situation for his company. Predominantly a display printer, the company has diversified into other areas of the signage and interiors supply chain, much of it non-print. 

“Our model has always involved co-ordinating and sub-contracting specialist works to complement our own in-house print and production capability,” Freely explains. “In recent years, this has developed to focus on specialist installation services such as assailers or elements of interior fit-out and furniture that complement the graphics or signage work that we have produced.”

Cosistent contact

That clients want a single point of contact is not surprising: the recession and sluggish recovery has meant that all companies are running leanly so the print buying role is often one absorbed into a general marketing team, a team that itself is much smaller than it once was. Hence, offloading all the requirements for a job on a single contractor is appealing, even if it increases costs slightly, 

That the single point of contact could be a printer is not particularly new, either: printers have tried their hand at this for many years. 

What is different now is that those printers that have taken the plunge have done so in a ground up way, turning their whole business into a full managed services provider rather than a printer, with added managed services. 

This has meant new roles and responsibilities. 

“It’s fair to say that our project management department has grown the most in recent years and now includes the diverse range of skills and experience we require,” says Freely. “Recruitment has on occasion looked outside the business, however we will always look to offer up new roles internally first and develop accordingly. 

“Octink has also looked to apprentices to initially support our project management teams and then through experience and training grow into the role we need. Good planning, organisation, the ability to problem solve, and a high level of both written and verbal communication are some of the essential traits our project managers need.”

Church says this has been the same for DST, adding that printers have to be more flexible about how they use their staff, too. 

“For some of our larger clients, our team are based in their offices, building relationships and trust with the client, and developing a deep understanding of their business,” he says. 

Having the right people is only half the battle, though, you have to prove to clients that you can deliver what you say you can. Octink is a good example of what a company might have to undertake as part of that process. Freely says it was tough getting customers to buy into the fact the company had changed in this subtle and yet meaningful way. So it ditched its name, Allsigns Group, and rebranded. 

“We undertook a rebranding exercise in 2009 that created Octink for exactly this reason. While proud of our heritage it was vital that a new name represent what our values and capabilities had evolved to and enable us to have many more conversations with companies requiring print in different sectors and industries,” he explains. 

Keep talking

DST Output has rebranded in the past too, but not directly for these reasons. Indeed, Church says getting clients to see you in a different light is predominantly about communicating the advantages of what you now offer.

He has obviously sold his services well: many of DST’s lead supply customers are existing clients that have been happy to put more work the company’s way. That’s not to say new clients have not been taken on board, too, though. 

“Many of our lead supply clients already trusted us to do one element of their work, and subsequently recognised the benefit of us providing a broader range of services accessed through a single point of contact; ensuring a wide scope of activity is more smoothly, efficiently and cost-effectively produced,” he reveals. “Additionally, we are finding that our unique offering is having resonance in the market, with us having recently won a number of lead supply contracts from customers who are new to DST. 

“There seems to be an appetite for the model we provide, offering impartial advice to clients based on a working knowledge of production, and recommending how we can make client communication more efficient, impactful and innovative.”

The rebrand has worked similarly well for Octink.

“We’ve got a mix of existing clients and new business, albeit our passion as a business is for developing long-term trusted relationships with customers with whom we can grow with and add significant value to their business,” says Freely. “Once you have achieved this status it is very much easier to suggest ideas and innovations or indeed be given the opportunity to expand a product offering. With new customers, getting the pitch right, being enthusiastic about a brand, and offering up ideas to solve problems are key.”

While all this rebranding and communication may work with clients, though, there is no guarantee it will work with fellow printers. The words ‘print management’ carry unfortunate connotations for some in the industry due to past issues with pricing and late payments. It’s telling, in fact, that many print companies that offer a managed services approach declined to comment for this feature – perhaps being unwilling for either commercial or notoriety reasons to confess to treading ever so slightly into the print management arena. 

If Freely and Church are to be believed, that reticence from others pushing on in this area is misguided and any worries unnecessary. Freely says they have encountered collegiality from the industry. 

“I would say that we are similar to a number of companies that have realised that you have to listen carefully to what your customer wants and adapt your product/service offering accordingly,” he explains. “It’s great that the print industry continues to grow its profile and support us all as fellow printers.”

Church adds that if you manage your relationships properly, there should be no issues. 

“We work closely with fellow printers and have a good working relationship with them,” he explains. “We try and understand their business and sweet spots to ensure that any work we offer and place with them is beneficial to their business.”

It all sounds seamless and enticing, then, with only benefits to the approach. However, there is a warning from one printer, who wishes to remain anonymous. They did have a managed services approach, but have recently brought everything in-house as they felt they could not be as flexible as the market required with outsourcing as part of their production capacity. 

It’s an interesting point – turnaround time is paramount for many clients and having an extra cog in the services machine does risk slowing things down.

That said, extra cogs can also make things move a lot easier. It’s all about getting the approach right and DST and Octink are certain that, using the approach outlined here, they have done just that.