PEIR Group Member Recognized by North Carolina Governor

PEiR Group Member LSG Recognized by North Carolina Governor

In the governor’s address she mentions how she is supporting small businesses and how PEiR Group member, Wayne Branch (LSG) , has transformed his business from simply a printer to a full service digitally enabled service company!

Watch the video:

Manage Your Social Media Efforts with Ease

Social Media is a great way for small businesses to improve their brand awareness and at the same time improve their level of customer service. Today, more than any time in the past, it is imperative to stay close to your customers and to monitor their feelings about your products and services. Also, it is important to stay in touch with what your customers are thinking about and doing!

Using social sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can help but, how do you use and manage them? These social networks are very powerful, low cost and extremely effective at keeping you in touch with the needs and interests of your customers and industry. However, many of you fail to understand or to take advantage of these technology initiatives.

Why you may ask? It is probably because you don’t know how to use these tools efficiently. For many it seems to be so confusing and for others they cannot see spending the time to stay informed on what is going on in the social network world and at the same time contribute and share tweets, photos, videos and links.

There are some great tools that can help and outlined below are a few I would suggest you consider:

A couple of ones I would suggest checking out are: TweekDeck and Seesmic. These are fantastic applications that allow small businesses to use Personal Computers, Smartphone’s and PADs to search and seek out what people are saying about their businesses and to join in on the conversations. Both of these products are so easy to use and are available for free. The idea, behind these tools, is to make it easy for a business or person to connect and share relevant content across all the major social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Google Buzz and others; all within one application eliminating the time consuming efforts involved with posting to each social network site separately!

So if you think you would like to use social media more effectively and efficiently to communicate with your customers and prospects consider using one of these tools mentioned above. And, if you don’t have a Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook account for your business, you absolutely must!

Shaun

Cloud Computing has Started a Revolution

Over the last few months I have made mention of the Cloud and how it will become a major talk track among businesses in 2011. As a follow up to my previous articles (outlined in the list below) I would like to share some interesting marketing points that EMC has been using in their advertising about their Cloud Strategy!

• "Cloud Printing Services" Reprographics on the Cloud  
• 2011 the Year to Emphasize your Managed Services  
• PlanWell Collaborate & AbacusPCR Awarded BERTL's BEST  
• HP and Canon Announce Game Changing Wide Format Technical MFP Devices.
• On the Road with Fellow Reprographers (Part 1) BIM  

EMC has been advertising almost every week in Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek throughout 2011. Not only has EMC been evangelizing about the Cloud but many of the other leading technology players like Microsoft, IBM, HP, Oracle, Google, Amazon, Dell and Apple are too!

But this one advertising article I read, in the March 28- April 3, 2011 edition of BusinessWeek really summed up what the Cloud means for businesses and why it will be the next big shift in technology for the masses.

EMC begins their article by reminding the reader that all of us are using the Cloud today whether we realize it or not. The ad states “You probably did some cloud computing this week. The last time you posted a photo to Facebook, sent an email with Google account or bought something on Amazon.com, you put a finger in the cloud.”

The article goes on to describe what Cloud computing is and sights the key advantages of Cloud Computing and why it is such an exciting platform and that is should not be overlook by anyone especially businesses. Some of the advantages of Cloud Computing is highlighted below.

Key Benefits of the Cloud:

• Pay as You Go 
• Leaner and Greener 
• Cloud is Power to the People

 Terms you will want to get become familiar with:

• SaaS (Software as a Service or Software on Demand) 
• Paas (Platform as a Service) 
• IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

If you want to read the full article/advertisement please click the link here or read the March 28th edition of BusinessWeek or, better yet, subscribe to the Cloud based version of BusinessWeek by using the application called Zinio. Zinio is my preferred app to use with my iPad, iPhone and PC as it is one of the best ways to read your favorite magazines (electronically) and have them available anytime and anyplace.

So do not overlook the opportunities to position your business on the cloud and be prepared to talk to your customers intelligently about your ability to offer solutions that involve the cloud in some way or another. If you don’t someone else will.

Sincerely …..Shaun Meany

PEiR and PlanWell to Share Social Media Marketing Experiences

Social Media Update

To help our members become more aware of the features, advantages and benefits of social media and social networking, the PEiR Group team will be implementing a variety of social networking initiatives to demonstrate that all  sized reprographic businesses need to embrace this revolutionary  "technology approach" to marketing.

First it is important to get a good understanding of what social media actually is!  According to wikipedia "social media is web-based technologies that turn communication into interactive dialogues".

What web-based technologies you may ask?  Maybe you shouldn't?  There are literally thousands of providers of these technologies but for our purposes we have narrowed them down to just the following few:

1. PEiR Group's Web Site http://www.peirgroup.com/
2. PEiR's Point of View Blog http://peirgrouppointofview.blogspot.com/
3. Facebook http://www.facebook.com/arctechnology
4. Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/arctechtweets
5. Twitter http://twitter.com/thepeirgroup

All of these social media sites offer the capability for us (or you)  to communicate an appropriate message about  product and services information  to folks who want want to be informed but do not want to read emails or ordinary mailings because they are; too busy, out of date or not specific to their particular needs or interests.  Social media allows us to reach our unique audience of customers in real time 24/7/360 anywhere in the world; by using both the web and mobile computing devices like iPhone, Blackberry's, iPads and Laptops  that are connected to the Internet wirelessly.

Social Media is not about posting propaganda and advertising about your products and services on web sites but rather; Social Media is about how you can be of service to your customers and prospects.

One of the most important components in successful social media marketing implementation is building "social authority". Social authority is developed when an individual or organization establishes themselves as an "expert" in their given field or area, thereby becoming an " influencer" in that field or area. 

As an industry influencer , the PEiR Group is well positioned to help share information on the trends, best practices, business strategies and technologies that reprographers are evaluating and adopting in their businesses for the future.  How do we get that message to our target audience? Social Media!

I have posted the links to our social media sites above, please take a few moments to note and visit them, follow, and comment on what you think. I will also be updating the Point of View Blog on our next social media effort!

 How can we help you??

 Best regards,

Shaun Meany

A Major New Release of AbacusPCR "Print Cost Recovery and Print Tracking Software" is Announced

Today PlanWell Technologies is pleased to announce a major upgrade to its Abacus PCR print cost recovery software. Used for keeping track of printing costs and reimbursable print jobs in both an office or professional print production environment, the Company highlighted the software’s new features and functionality while maintaining the easy-to-use interface that has been a hallmark of the application since its general release in 2008.

“Once users see how much money they can recover by tracking reimbursable print costs, demand for expanded tracking capabilities spikes quickly,” said Jonathan Styrlund, product manager for Abacus PCR. “While simplicity is the key to Abacus’s popularity, once users see the potential for greater profitability, they want to capture more and different kinds of data and greater interactivity with other systems. Our new functions go a long way toward addressing those needs.”

New features in the latest release include:

• Print Retrieval – allows administrators to hold print jobs in a printer’s queue until the recipient is physically at the printer to retrieve them in order to avoid forgotten or wasted printing, and to increase security for confidential documents.
• Rules-Based Printing – sets permissions and parameters for jobs to be printed on higher-cost devices.
• Color Recognition – detects color print jobs even when sent to [multi-function] printing equipment.
• Cisco Call Manager Integration – allows the ability to track job-related phone calls and other non-printing functions such as laser cutters [and other finishing equipment].
• Third-Party Integration – includes the ability to assign project information from applications such as Newforma and PlanWell EWO to reduce redundant data entry and enhance the level of detail assigned to a print job. Printing equipment from Konica/Minolta and Sharp have also been added to the equipment Abacus can track.

For a complete list of the features and capabilities of Abacus PCR, visit http://www.abacuspcr.com/. 

If you would like to join us for a webinar that hightlights the newest features of  AbacusPCR 3.5 please sign-up by visting the following link.

Thanks.....Shaun

Offer "Self Managed" Project Workspace Solutions to Your AEC Clients

The document management needs of the AEC marketplace are changing and reprographers who fail to acknowledge these changes will be challenged to survive in the years ahead.

Over the last several years we have seen more and more AEC end-users starting to adopt low-cost file sharing tools that are diminishing the needs and value of traditional reprographic offerings, even On-line Plan Rooms.

Owners, GC’s, Sub’s and Design Professionals are aggressively moving towards using self managed solutions for distributing critical project information to project stake holders. Many are choosing to use CD’s, E-mail, FTP and web-based technologies like: BaseCamp, iSqft, SmartBidNet, Yousendit, BoxNet, DropBox, FileGenius, and a slew of others products to share and exchange project documents digitally.

Questions that you need to ask :

1. If you are experiencing these workflow changes with your key clients, what are you doing to stay relevant?
2. Does your existing plan room offering meet the needs of your clients today?
3. Are you having a difficult time getting your customers to pay for your plan room services?

Many plan rooms offered by reprographers today are mostly Repro-Centric (developed by reprographers for managing files at the repro-shop along with a web component for end-users to view and order prints and digital files). Although plan rooms are still a valuable offering from reprographers, I hear almost every day that posting and organizing documents into plan rooms is being done at a loss or with the hope of future print or download orders. This is a very risky business model for reprographers!

AEC end-users who were once comfortable using plan rooms and paying for digital services are now resisting paying for these tools and services and are now requesting the use of these services for free (due mainly to some repro companies who have not charged for digital services or subscriptions to their plan rooms). Others are just not interested in using plan rooms at all and are looking at using inexpensive managed file transfer (MFT) solutions mentioned above; by-passing the reprographer all together.

If you are struggling to overcome these challenges you might want to take a look at what PlanWell's Development Team  has been working on to respond to these new paradigms.

The reality is, many AEC end-users want the ability to manage and distribute project information themselves. More and more, Project Managers are asking for tools that simplify the process of notifying and distributing documents to select team members.

Reprographers who respond by offering these capabilities will have an opportunity to remain valuable to their AEC customers. Reprographers who fail to introduce these capabilities will be overlooked by the AEC community because the services they offer are not relevant to the workflow needs of today!

To learn more about The “New PlanWell Solution” click here:

Sincerely

Shaun Meany

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Should be a Wake-Up Call for Disaster Preparedness

It is always after a catastrophic event that one begins to think about disaster preparedness and what should be done to mitigate costs and losses when and if it should ever happen. Last week’s earthquake, tsunami, nuclear power plant explosions and radiation leaks certainly woke up the citizens of Japan, and it too, should be a reminder to all of us that we need to have a disaster preparedness plan for our businesses as well as for our personal lives.

It’s hard to imagine what the true cost of this disaster will equate to in dollars, lives and the environment. Insurers and reinsurers estimate losses somewhere between $12 billion to $25 billion; some other experts think the costs will be in the neighborhood of several trillion dollars. Most of these estimated losses come from damages to property and human lives but what are the costs associated to other things like businesses that were totally wiped off the face of the earth, radiation contamination to the environment, and jobs and future incomes of the disabled and injured? What about tourism and food exports? The list of lost revenues is endless.

Natural disasters are difficult and almost always impossible to prevent. But one thing we can all be assured of; disasters seem to strike at the most inopportune times. In the case of the Japan earthquake and tsunami, science might have been able to give the people in the impact area (Sendai) better warning and strategies to evacuate in a timely and orderly manner. However, from what I have read, tsunami waves began to hit the coast of northern Japan in as little as 30 minutes after the first earthquake. Not much time for anyone to evacuate from the area. Estimates are as high as 15,000 dead or missing.

So what can we learn from this disaster? Communities, individuals, businesses need to be prepared for the unexpected. Whether it is a fire, flood, hurricane, earthquake, tsunami, tornado, monsoon, or nuclear explosion we all need to have contingencies for responding to the unexpected.

Communities need to prepare their citizens with up to date evacuation routes, secure shelters with access to fresh water, toilets and rations for up to 72 hours.

Individuals need to be prepared by keeping an emergency kit up to date. Have non-perishable food, water, warm clothes and bedding to last three days or longer? Supplies need to be in a place where you can get at them easily?

Businesses need to have their businesses prepared to operate virtually. This means the records, data and information that are required to continue the business needs to be backed-up, secured and available within 72 hours. Businesses who fail to prepare for data and record recovery will most probably cease to exist.

Also, with disaster come opportunities. Yes, I said opportunities. As reprographers we have an opportunity to help your clients, as trusted advisors, develop prudent disaster preparedness strategies for their firm’s continued operations. Start a conversation with your clients about strategies for helping them develop a disaster preparedness plan; offer to convert paper records to digital records, store documents off-site at secure (redundant) data centers that are backed up with UPS and diesel generators—these are are just a few example where you can start.

So in closing, don’t wait until you experience your own disaster to start developing a strategy for disaster preparedness; take some action today, while it is still fresh in your mind, make a plan for you, your family, your business and your customer to be prepared for the unexpected. You will be glad you did!

Also please join me in saying a prayer for all those who perished or lost love ones in the disaster in Japan.

Sincerely,

Shaun Meany

PEiR Group Member LSG is Recognized as Progressive Small Business by Governor of North Carolina

Please take a few moments to watch the short video clip of a section of the State of the State Address by North Carolina's 73rd Governor, Beverly Eaves Perdue.

North Carolina's Governor Perdue

Click Here to View the Video on LSG's Web Site

In the governor’s address she mentions how she is supporting small businesses and how PEiR Group member, Wayne Branch, has transformed his business from simply a printer to a full service digitally enabled service company!

Congratulations Wayne and the rest of the team at LSG!

Shaun

A Successful Sales Story “Selling Software as a Service” PlanWell Collaborate

One of the fastest growing and most successful, privately owned, minority Class ‘A’ general contractors in the US Mid-Atlantic region, has made the commitment to invest in PlanWell. This progressive GC has the proven abilities and track record to take on some of the most challenging of construction projects in the area. They are committed to meeting their clients’ goals by making investments in education, technology and their employees, so they are able to avoid costly delays, keep projects in budget and deliver high-quality work.

Solution Selling Process:

This GC was interested in online construction technology. When they were initially contacted, PlanWell and BidCaster were discussed. However, after doing a thorough and complete needs assessment of their company and total document workflow, the sales consultant found a further opportunity to also introduce PlanWell Collaborate.

 The client was quick to realize that many of the current administrative processes that they were engaging in on a daily basis were antiquated and needed to be overhauled. This administrative workflow was taking focus away from their core focus, which was delivering high quality projects within budget.

The client immediately saw how PlanWell Collaborate (PWC) could help in their project and document workflow. Prior to the actual product Solution presentation, the client obviously researched the application in some detail. During the initial presentation of PWC, the client actually stepped through each of the main points of PWC and explained how it would be used and what benefit he would receive from it. In fact, the client more or less presented the application to the PlanWell Reseller instead of the other way around. It was a most interesting (yet refreshing) demo!

Besides using PWC, the client still intends on using both PlanWell and BidCaster throughout each project for most current set tracking, addenda and bulletin tracking as well as bid solicitation functionality.

Sales Objections and Solutions:

The sales consultant demonstrated Planwell Collaborate and Planwell / BidCaster to show them all the attributes each application had to offer their company. There were so many things the GC’s employees could utilize from PlanWell that they did not know where to begin. For example, should they phase in their network system? Do they get Collaborate in first? Would bringing in printing equipment at this stage be premature to their work flow needs, to mention just a few.

 Eventually it was agreed that the GC needed PlanWell Collaborate right away because of all their immediate needs to order prints and to move/organize files. When the sales team discussed them using Bidcaster and staffing opportunities (staffed FM) for their bid packages they loved the idea of us putting a person (staffed FM) in their office to help with administrative process of PW/PWC we thought they were going to flip out. They said “can we start on Monday”!

 So the solution for them after the initial PWC phase was implemented was a manned FM with new network system, new computers, small format printers and a Color Wave 600 to run all their design build packages.

The great thing about establishing a partnership with your customers is that once they see your product, they realized the potential in convincing their clients to use your solution. In fact, this GC was so positive about the workflow and the benefits that they brought one of their clients in to sit in on Planwell Collaborate presentation. They too were blown away by the product, so much so, that they are trying out the product and if all goes well, they too will be purchasing 15 seats.

Learnings:

PlanWell Collaborate has tremendous versatility as it can be used in all phases on a projects life-cycle, in this case the GC found great benefit in using PWC in helping them to manage the following processes:

• Project E-mail storage and archive
• Daily project logs and project specific calendars
• Virtual storage location for meeting minutes, owner and architect information, prime contractor information, payment records, RFI, ASI, etc.
• Storage location for all project documentation with integrated file viewer

 Opportunities with Account:

PlanWell Collaborate was just the beginning with this account. As noted above, this account has turned into a staffed FM, which will include PlanWell Collaborate, PlanWell / BidCaster, and printing services as well. In addition, the reprographer will be providing both large format and small format printing equipment as well as a complete network structure (including servers, backup devices, etc). Furthermore, the GC has already gotten the PlanWell Reseller in front of other clients to present PlanWell Collaborate and those clients have initially committed to a trial working.

Today many reprographers are finding out that talking to customers about workflow and technology solutions, that solve real business problems, can provide significant opportunities to grow market share and revenues, are you ?

Sincerely

Shaun Meany

"Cloud Printing Services" Reprographics on the Cloud

The economy has had a major impact on the AEC industry over the last couple of years and as a result has forced many AEC firms to change the way they do business. The Great Recession has been a wake-up call for almost all firms in the Design and Construction Industry. Companies have been pressured to reevaluate their core competencies, work behaviors and workflow processes; all with the intent to keep costs down, increase productivity and stay alive.

While most AEC businesses are cutting costs many are looking for project opportunities outside of their traditional geographic areas. As your customers become more digitally savvy and begin to realize the power and efficiencies of using the Internet (Cloud) as a cost effective means of sharing and distributing project information the need for traditional local reprographic printing is going to continue to contract. Your customers will use the cloud to participate and manage projects anywhere in the world.

What does this mean for the future of reprographics? You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to project the impact this change in behavior will have on your current and future revenues. The basic premise that many of you began your reprographics business (production equipment offering centralized production printing and distribution) is being challenged on a variety of fronts.

First, clients are working with application software to create digital documents and they are sending print ready files (emailing or FTPing PDF files) out for distribution-- diminishing the demand for traditional production volumes of reprographic services like scanning, copying and printing.

Secondly, printer manufacturers continue to introduce low cost MFP devices (both LF and SF) with the goal of having convenience MFP’s in all firms of any size; again further eroding the demand for centralized production printing.

Thirdly, the advent of widely available mobile devices with interactive displays and significant computing power has redefined how people request and receive documents and marketing collateral, but has not eliminated their need for relevant printed materials (Garner). This last challenge should actually be viewed by reprographers as an opportunity.

The fact that printing will still be demanded is a good thing. The problem is, it may not be printed in the volumes of the the past or in your repro shop at all but; rather at the customer’s office or maybe in some repro shop across the country or across the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean.

So, in order to address this new paradigm shift, reprographers need to think about the opportunities to provide some type of Cloud Printing Services.

Cloud Printing Services (CPS) is a buzz word that you might want to start introducing to your customers. According to Gartner, Cloud Printing will grow to a multi-billion dollar industry in the US alone. If you want to ride the wave and let your customers leverage the power of the Cloud you should promote digital document distribution and cloud printing to your customers.

Here is what Gartner is saying about Cloud Printing.

“Cloud printing services (CPS), driven by the commoditization of print and the growth of electronic communications, has changed how, when and where people access print. CPS's "anywhere, anytime access" will drive rapid acceptance by global 1,000 companies. Print technology providers must anticipate the reduction in print volumes as pages transition to video and voice messaging by partnering with the leading players in unified communications and collaboration (UCC) to provide users with a complete solution that includes context-enriched content.”

Summary

To help our members and other reprographers position their businesses on the Cloud the PEiR Group has been busy developing Cloud Solutions for the AEC market that can be marketed by the Reprographics Industry. The solutions involve Cloud Computing Technologies (PlanWell Enterprise, PlanWell Collaborate SubHub and iShipDocs) education and training (best practices for sales and production personnel) and professional services (support , customization, advanced training and consulting).

If you are interested in knowing more about Cloud Printing Services click here  for our whitepaper.

Thanks ….Shaun

2011 the Year to Emphasize your Managed Services



Managed Services

If you are looking to expand your sales in 2011 and want to increase your margins and get away from selling commoditized printing services maybe it is time to market your company as a provider of various managed services. What are managed services you might ask and why do I care?

Wikipedia describes managed services as the practice of outsourcing day-to-day related management responsibility as a strategic method for improved effective and efficient operations.

A managed service is not really a new concept but it is being marketed and promoted in all types of industries in slightly different ways.

One managed service that most of you are probably familiar with and one that the PEiR Group has been talking about lately is Managed Print Services. Managed Print Services (MPS) involves managing hardcopy device fleets (copiers, printers, multifunction devices, and fax machines) in a unified fashion. While this can be done internally, the term is typically associated with outsourcing the fleet to an external vendor. There are typically three stages in the customers’ adoption of outsourcing:

1. Control: During this phase MPS implementations are focused upon gaining control of the fleet.
2. Optimize: At this point, the implementation is focused upon optimizing the fleet by trying to ensure that hardcopy assets are deployed in the optimal manner.
3. Enhance: In the final phase, customers move beyond optimization of the fleet to actually enhancing the capabilities of the fleet by using document management and document workflow to improve basic business processes such as processing loan applications, or other paper intensive processes.

Another related term being promoted by IT companies is Managed Service Provider (MSP). A managed services provider is an outsourcing company that delivers and manages network-based services, offers technical knowledge and expertise, applications, and equipment.

A new managed service term that is quickly being promoted by the Commercial Printer Industry is Marketing Service Providers (MSPs). Marketing Service Providers offer a range of hosted marketing services that embed marketing technology and software offerings. These offerings include proprietary marketing databases, predictive modeling, vertical marketing and data expertise, email delivery and assurance, and marketing program design and support.

Construction Document Management Services (CDMS) is a managed service that more and more reprographers are beginning to offer but, as far as I know, the industry has not coined it as a bona fide managed service, which I believe we should.

My definition of Construction Document Management Services involves providing a solution that combines managed services (i.e. cloud based technologies and services) with AEC industry specific software as a service (i.e. content management, bid management, project collaboration and construction management software) that enables project teams to securely store and file, retrieve and exchange, communicate and distribute construction related content and other project related information to project stake holders and finally professional services (installation, training and customization) all with the goal of increasing project team productivity, cost savings and on-time project delivery.

So if you don’t think that managed services are important for you and your business maybe it is time you did. I will add to this concept in future postings!

Best…..Shaun

PEiR to Power Sales with New 2011 Theme

Over the last few years The PEIR Group has used centralized themes to help our members focus and rally their businesses toward facing specific trends, challenges and practices in the reprographics industry.

In 2010 our theme was Innovate 2010. The idea behind this theme was to help our members and us (The PEiR Group) to review and assess how things were being done in all key functional areas of our businesses and to identify areas that could be run more efficient or ways that our customers could be better served.

Many of you were innovators on a variety of fronts: introducing new products and services to existing customers; identifying new markets and clients to serve were some of the most successful innovative approaches we observed in 2010.

In 2009 and 2008 our theme was Strategic Moves. What strategic moves were made back then you may ask? Many reprographers recognized the need to position their companies towards subcontractors and general contractors. Others realized the need to move into display graphics and make investments in flatbed printers and electronic cutters.

As we look back over the last 12 months, I think you will all agree, 2010 was one hell of a year for reprographic companies and their AEC customers!

In the US, many reprographers experienced double digit declines in revenues due to the Great Recession. Some repro firms were fortunate in 2010 and had small declines or in some cases small increases in sales. In talking with those company owners who reversed the industry trends most attributed their good fortune to their unique markets and/or their diverse mix of customers and services.

Throughout 2010 the recession had a major impact on all sectors of the Global Economy. In the US, the unemployment rate began the year at 10% and remained steady for most of the year. Just recently the economy is beginning to show signs of growth—however it is not coming from the AEC marketplace.

The US construction industry’s unemployment rate began 2010 at 24.7% (highest on record since 1976) and ended the year somewhere around 18% (the highest of any industry and roughly double the overall unemployment rate).

The Architectural and Design community also suffered significantly in 2010. Unemployment statistics for architects indicate that approximately 13% of all architects are unemployed and in some communities, like Phoenix, 20% of the architects are unemployed. As the year progressed the AIA’s outlook for Architects was mixed; November Architect Billing Index began to climb to 46 but in December the index dropped 3 points to 43 (indicating that there are still more building jobs finishing than starting).

So what is in store for reprographers in 2011? The beginning of a whole new business cycle (recovery)! The big run up in construction projects has ended and the new normal is what we can expect. This means projects will begin to be reintroduced to investors, design firms will begin doing a lot more preliminary project design, construction companies will be going anywhere they need to, to find new projects and, everyone will be in need of marketing and sales support.

In order for reprographers to be successful in 2011 and beyond, they will need to stay close to their existing customers, prospect for new customers and new projects and develop new products and services that are relevant and purposeful to the project stake holders.

Reprographers must realize that technology (digital files and the internet) has disrupted the reprographics industry; new digital workflows are being implemented throughout the project life-cycle and as a result drastically reducing the need for prints. Reprographers who think that print volumes will return, as in past economic recoveries, will be in for a real shock.

So what should a reprographer do? Reprographers need to have a sales culture that empowers their employees to sell other stuff besides printing. What stuff and how?  We will get to this in later posts!

I think we all agree sales are the key to your company’s success. If you noticed (above) sales and marketing is key for your customer’s success also. So if we all agree sales is vital for success; how do we learn to be more effective at selling and at the same time helping our customers become more successful?

This is where our theme of SalesPower2011 comes into play.

The PEiR Group will be sharing strategies and offering training programs to help improve your overall sales effectiveness. However, in order to be successful in sales, it is essential to have the right products and services that your customers are looking for. So in addition to sales help, The PEiR Group will be sharing ideas and strategies for selling the right combination of products and services that will help your customers be more successful!

So let’s not dwell on the past and let’s get out and talk to our customers and prospects and find out what they are doing and identify some of the challenges that they are facing and how you are postioned to help solve them.

Happy New Year...Shaun Meany

PlanWell Collaborate & AbacusPCR Awarded BERTL's BEST

If you are familiar with BERTL you know that it is recognized as one of the leading business equipment research and testing labs in the world.  Manufacturers like Xerox, Oce, Canon, KIP, HP and others submit their products to BERTL for evaluation every year. 

A BERTL’S BEST Award is a big deal to these manufactures’ as this rating helps to raise the credibility and competitive positioning of their products in certain market segments. 

Today we are pleased to announce that BERTL has tested and rated several of ARC’s software products and has given them  BERTL BEST ratings in their respective market segments.

AbacusPCR was awarded Best Print Tracking Solution in the marketplace in 2010.

According to BERTL,  AbacusPCR:

• Is a fast, comprehensive and easy to use cost recovery tool.
• Tracks all printers and copiers by; user, project, client or custom criteria as business requires.
• Has the ability to import or export any data for easy integration with any accounting system, ERP or other Business Management Tools.
• Integrates with on-board technologies of devices manufactured by KIP, Océ, Canon, Ricoh/Savin and Konica Minolta.

PlanWell Collaborate was recognized as 2010’s Best AEC Project Management and Collaboration Tool.

According to BERTL, PlanWell Collaborate’s strengths are as follows:

• Cloud based project management application requires no hardware, software or training.
• Unique and Innovative Integration with Outlook allows for an efficient Project Team Communication tool.
• All notifications reviews, comment distributions can be done through Outlook.
• The project calendar can be cross-referenced with the team's calendars.
• Notices can also be sent to non-team members through this system.
• Visual updates allow all team members to actually see the progress of the project.
• Knowledge base is accessible to all project team members on the cloud which eliminates time consuming documentation.

For the complete BERTL Report on PlanWell Collaborate click here!

Who is BERTL?
 The Business Equipment Research and Test Laboratories Inc., (BERTL) is an independent testing laboratory whose purpose is to provide objective, independent product evaluation reports and comparative analyses on imaging devices and software workflow solutions.


In order for reprographers to offset the declines in traditional printing they need to introduce new and relevant services to their AEC clients. Software tools like AbacusPCR and PlanWell Collaborate are examples of best in class technologies that can go a long way in helping reprographers diversify their businesses, while at the same time, generating high margin sales.
Let us know your thoughts!   Shaun

CREST Foundation Awards $145,000 to 18 Students for 2010/2011 Academic Year

With budget cuts in education and the uncertainty on the employment and economic fronts, pursuing a college education is a difficult challenge for many qualified students.

This year, the CREST Foundation provided a boost to the educational dreams of 18 highly motivated and deserving kids by contributing $145,000 toward their college expenses. We are especially thrilled to announce that many of these aspiring college students will be the first generation in their family to achieve this goal.

In the past 30 months, 49 children of reprographic industry employees have received $370,000 from the CREST Foundation to help fund their college educations. This remarkable accomplishment is due entirely to the generous donations of individuals, reprographics companies, industry vendors and financial institutions. CREST gratefully acknowledges all of our donors since the inception of the foundation, expressing sincere thanks for special contributions in 2010 from Xerox, Océ and Wachovia Securities.

This year's student scholars are: Delane Bass, Zachary Bergers, Kate Borghgraef, Jacqueline Corrigan, Antoinette de Pinto, Hannah Dean-Wood, Ericka Dutton, Emma Garza, Anna Goodrich, Mackenzie Heman, Kelcey Heman, Alexandra Iorfino, Charles Mann IV, Brittany Pham, Krystina Pingel, Evan Stalcup, Casie Sultzbaugh and Sara Taylor.

These students are children of our industry peers working at reprographics shops throughout the nation. Altogether, the parents of our CREST Foundation scholars represent a collective 410 years in the reprographics industry—an amazing testament to this business. Their tenure ranges from 6 to 30 years.

Their parents work at: A&E The Graphics Complex; Acme Blueprint Co. Inc.; BHFX, LLC; Blair Graphics; CAD Copy; City Blueprint Company; City Blue Technologies, LLC; Consolidated Reprographics; Duncan-Parnell, Inc.; Ford Graphics; HB Digital Arts & Blue Print; Imaging Technologies; Plan and Print Systems, Inc.; Print-O-Stat, Inc.; SBD Reprographics; Veenstra Reproductions and Western Blue.

The need for assistance with higher education expenses will continue to increase as funding is limited. Please join us and key industry sponsors including KIP, Canon, Xerox, Océ, and HP with your support. Encourage children of our industry employees to widen their opportunities through higher education and blossom into tomorrow's leaders.

This year's recipients were chosen by the CREST Foundation's Selection Committee, whose members for 2010 include industry veterans Mike Carter, Cathleen Cushing Duff, John Deermount, and Miguel Garcia.

For more information on CREST Foundation, please join us on the CREST Foundation web site at www.crestfoundation.org.