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

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

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

What's YOUR Service Offering? Fast Food Or Fine Dining?

By Mahil Maurice
Special To The PEiR Group

Today, printing has become a commodity and only a subset of a greater service offering. Customers are looking for solutions to augment their bottom line either by cutting costs, creating more revenue through sales, or through a combination of the two approaches.

Printing Companies and Reprographers are under increasing pressure to be responsive to customer needs and find it difficult to compete in a digital age where Cutting-Edge Solutions and Impeccable Service go hand in hand.

Our industry prides itself in providing outstanding services to its customers. One wonders how a small reprographer can upgrade to the latest technology and still provide the services levels required to effectively compete.

Two primary areas where changes need to take place are ‘Work Flow’ and ‘Technology.’ Together, these need to drive adequate compensation for the services provided.

Both Work Flow and Technology go hand in hand and can be discussed in the same breath. Customers want the fastest and easiest ways to send files (content) and track delivery of those files. And the preferred medium is the Internet.

Digital methods of file delivery like FTP (File Transfer Protocol) developed in the 1970s were not designed to meet today’s requirements of optimal work flow and fast delivery of large digital files anywhere in the world. Strong consideration must be given to replacing FTP and email technologies with more nimble and robust Web Based File Delivery and Work Flow Tools.

What is your service offering? A Fast Food menu or a Fine Dining experience? FTP or Digital Work Flow?

FTP is complicated and outdated technology, for these and other reasons:

• Too cumbersome to set up, administer and time consuming for IT – With FTP, time must be devoted to setting up the hardware and software after which maintenance involves managing new users, managing credentials, setting up folder structures for projects and helping users locate files and download them. This is time that could be devoted to more productive activities by your IT staff.
• Weak Security – Data transferred via FTP can be intercepted. As a result many firewalls actually close it to ensure system integrity. Because of the open nature of FTP, an organization’s infrastructure is susceptible to viruses and malware attacks.
• Lack of Track ability and Delivery Guarantee – Track ability and delivery guarantee are vital when business critical files (content) are being delivered and FTP does not provide this. Files may be incompletely transferred if it is interrupted or stopped. End users need to know the files were received and opened by the intended recipient.

With FTP you provide a “Fast Food” menu for your customers, not a superlative service experience!

Ask yourself, is your customer ready for a fine dining experience and are you committed to providing that level of service to them?

Consider ishipdocs as the “Work Flow” tool of choice to provide a superlative service experience. The cost of subscribing to ishipdocs is less than purchasing and maintaining a FTP solution. With ishipdocs, you get;

• Software as a Service (SaaS) – Sign-up as a Print Provider and start using the solution instantly. No infrastructure, software or maintenance costs. You are up and running instantly, the essence of SaaS. Your IT personnel can be doing other things.
• Highest Security Levels - The widely used “HTTPS” protocol. This is http over encrypted SSL (Security Sockets layer). This protocol is widely used for payment transactions on the web and for sensitive transactions in corporate information systems.
• Closed Looped Work Flow Manager – No more setting up folders or helping users locate files. One Web-based tool allows files to be sent, provisioned and fulfilled for the customer and the print partner.
• Track ability and Proof of Delivery – Both customers and print partners can track an order and obtain Proof of Delivery through the tool.
• Business Intelligence – Both customers and print partners can sort and export data into Excel and CSV for Business Intelligence, Auditing and Reporting purposes.

With ishipdocs you can provide that “Fine Dining” experience you customer is looking for at a fraction of the cost of an FTP solution and effectively compete in the digital age with a web based Work Flow Manager.

In addition, a print partner instantly becomes a Global player with access to over 350 locations world wide. This completes the fine dining experience with your dessert of choice! You can distribute and receive files from and to Anywhere, Anytime!

The Reprographics industry prides itself on providing outstanding service to its customers however it cannot be achieved with obsolete FTP solutions. ishipdocs, with its robust Work Flow Manager and World Wide Reach is the solution that will enable a Reprographer/Print Partner to provide that Fine Dining experience.

Webinar Brings Global PEiR Membership Together

By Shaun Meany

The PEiR Group

Last week I hosted a webinar on document management. The turn out was exceptional with over 40 attendees signing in.

Webinars are a great way for the PEiR Group to share best practices with our members who are now located all across the globe. The goal of this particular session was to help members understand the basic components of document management, identify which industries, departments and applications can benefit from document management services and to share ideas on how reprographers can position their businesses as document management solutions providers.

If you could not attend this session we have posted the complete presentation (with presentation notes) on the PEiR Group’s intranet library; under the category of webinars.

If you are interested in having a repeat of this webinar please let us know!

Thanks!


Shaun