"The whole point is that by working together we can make both organisations stronger and offer a better quality, and more unified service," said ViP chief executive Richard Gray.

The services that will be managed by ViP from the 1 October include: business strategy; health, safety and environmental management; sales and marketing; benchmarking; technical services; and accreditation.

Details of exactly how the arrangement will work, and prevent overlaps, will be clarified in the coming months. Gray was confident, however, that it would be "business as usual".

"By combining the excellent productivity programmes of ViP with the bespoke consultancy support of BPIF Business, the printing community will get the best of both worlds," said BPIF chief executive Michael Johnson.

Meanwhile, a ViP report has found that the majority of printers are failing to manage their purchasing practices effectively. According to the research only 50% of printers operate any structured supplier assessment, and only 22% use regular key performance indicators.
The full results of the Purchasing Best Practice study will be published at a seminar to be held in Stratford on the 22 June. The event will also introduce two "toolkits" to aid buying.

Visit: www.visioninprint.co.uk

Story by Darryl Danielli