At Graph Expo in Chicago this week, I’ve had the opportunity to see some amazing technology – color inkjet printers producing output cheaper than black and white devices, software that integrates physical and digital messaging, and hundreds of finishing devices that will cut, perf, bind, insert and palletize your finished product.
The show demonstrates that print is still a vibrant market and method of communication. But if you’re focused only on production speeds and cost-per-piece, instead of adding value, then you’re headed in the wrong direction. You need to devote your attention to reviewing the entire process - not just the printed document.
Until recently, print was the preferred means of information distribution. Other methods – fax, diskettes, file transfer, and e-mail were considered alternatives to print, but paper was still the standard. Due to the proliferation of Internet usage and improvements in technology, print is now only one of many options – and there is no standard.
This doesn’t mean it’s time to panic, or to throw out those printers and inserters just yet. It does mean you have to widen your sphere of influence from one step in document production – like print/mail – to being involved with the entire document process.
For many operation managers, this requires moving out of the “comfort zone” of paper, hardware and scheduling, and into the worlds of marketing, databases and information technology. IT and marketing professionals need to learn about the new capabilities available in print/mail, and forge cross-departmental relationships. These new hybrid organizations will work together to develop comprehensive solutions to document processing challenges.
At The Berkshire Company, we call this approach Total Process Management. Not to be confused with TQM, Total Process Management isn’t a methodology to define your procedures. Rather, it’s a business philosophy that emphasizes an awareness of the entire process cycle – those elements that take place before activity begins, the activity itself, and the expected results of that activity.
For example, when mailing statements, you may focus on the pieces processed per hour. However, the entire cycle of the document should be considered. In a typical billing operation, the cycle includes:
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