Simon Ward, chief executive commercial division, St Ives:
MAYBE... Online print management tools allow people to access the market more easily than they have ever done in the past. If a print manager simply aims to deliver the ‘cheapest price’ for jobs then these tools will indeed cause them concern. But if a print management company also wants to deliver value-added services and products, then online communication tools will help it deliver genuine value. These tools are an issue for ‘poor’ print managers and a resource to the ‘good’ ones. It is this last point that will cast a shadow over print managers and it is the same for printers and any other business.

Simon Biltcliffe, managing director of Webmart:
NO...  It is quite the converse; we use them and benefit from them every single day. We buy, sell and project manage using our WebSmart system. It lets clients buy print easily and guarantees good value and suppliers get work. For Webmart, it means we are more efficient than our rivals in turnover and staff, which means that we can pay people more but sell our service at half the price of our competitors. Life is much easier using this technology. Anyone who disagrees has not been shown how it can work.

Matthew Parker, director of Print & Procurement:
NO... Many traditional print management companies have relied on following the downward trend of print prices in order to show savings to their clients. But print prices have to rise in the future. Online tools can allow print management companies to reduce the cost of the purchasing process and provide alternative ways for their clients to offset rising print costs. But this is also an opportunity for printers to provide new customer solutions or for companies to take print purchasing back in-house. There is a window of opportunity for those able to adapt first to a different purchasing culture.

Steve Vaughan, chief executive of Communisis:
YES... There’s no doubt that online tools are automating the print-buying process. It won’t be possible to offer a print management service unless you have made, and continue to make, a big investment in IT to support the process. If all you have to offer is a few people who have contacts with printers, then you won’t be making a profit for much longer. To be successful, you’ll have to be expert in something valuable to your customer, or know how to improve their way of working. It won’t be enough just to buy the same stuff for a few quid less.