Shaun's Corner "Sell Technology Not Print"

I was in Up-State NY and Boston last week to meet with several of our PEiR members and their AEC customers to learn about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for our industry in 2010.

One thing is abundantly clear: While opportunities to sell customers printing services appear to be declining, the opportunities to approach customers with technology solutions are huge and growing. The days of throwing bodies (labor) at problems are long gone. Every AEC company recognizes the need to use computers and software applications to improve productivity and efficiency.

Whether they use AutoCAD, Microsoft Office, Timberline, Prolog, Primavera, SharePoint or whatever, they are all accustomed to budgeting for technologies. They simply need reminding to extend that technology review to their reprographics services. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the bidding process.

The contractor community, has a limited number of funded projects in the works. As a result, contractors are required to do a lot more bidding to win a project. The bidding process used by many contractors is oftentimes very inefficient, and as a result, can create technology sales opportunities for those reprographers who can demonstrate the value of their bid communications and document distribution services.

In an effort to keep costs down and in some cases to keep their doors open, many contractors are trying to cut any costs associated to pre-construction activity, in order to survive. Remember, contractors don’t make money by bidding, they SPEND money. To stay in business, they need to make the bidding process as cost effective as possible. To most, that means reducing costs in bid set printing by eliminating them entirely, or passing printing down to subs by simply distributing their bid documents digitally.

That’s where we need to turn into technology promoters.

Solutions like PlanWell/BidCaster and Sub-Hub can offer better document control, productivity improvements, bid response tracking and better security than ANY analog-based solution. Contractors are still opting to use less sophisticated digital distribution methods (technologies) like FTP and CD’s because they do not understand the savings that your technologies can offer.

Reprographers who are struggling to get GC’s to pay to use their document management solutions need to remind themselves that they must explain to their customers that the technologies they (reprographers) offer actually help solve problems and create value.

Some reprographers are still lucky enough to be printing bid sets for government projects particularly in markets that require bids to be distributed in paper. Others claim that bid set printing is declining so fast that they (reprographers) are finding that they have more print capacity than the market is demanding. I could not help noticing at some shops, production devices and personnel were sitting completely idle. Such circumstances demand a different approach to remain relevant to our customers and viable as an industry.

Don’t lose the chance to help your customers to increase productivity and reduce costs with the technologies you can offer. You may need to price the technologies a bit different but I think you will find that you will have a better chance of getting your customers to accept the costs.

QuarkPromote.com

In an effort to strengthen its ties with the digital printing community, Quark has announced the launch of QuarkPromote.com, a new on-line service that promotes digital printing by local print operations.

Announced late last year, QuarkPromote.com helps digital print shops market their on-demand print capabilities by providing a web based design application that makes creating and printing marketing collateral like business cards, flyers, datasheets, business letterhead, tri-fold brochures and other promotional documents a breeze.

Quark’s research showed that many small businesses just do not have the marketing expertise or the layout software to make professional looking promotional materials in-house. Now with QuarkPromote.com , businesses of all sizes have free access to professionally designed templates and a network of local print provider to delivery their printed materials.

After hearing about this new service, and thinking how it might help some of our members who have digital presses, I asked Quark to send me more information about this exciting new service.

If you are looking for ways to expand your market reach and to offer more digital printing services please visit the video link and view a demonstration of the features of QuarkPromote.com. You can also visit their web site to learn more about this service or to sign-up and become one of their print partners.

[Links]

Video

Website

Shaun's Corner: Building Information Modeling And Our Future - Making The Most Of Opportunity

If you're reading Point of View religiously, and we know you all are, you know I've been tackling the weighty subject of BIM (Building Information Modeling) and its impact on the future of the reprographics industry.

Reprographers have expressed their concerns on the sustainability of the reprographics industry, and rightly so, as more and more AEC companies begin to adopt BIM 3D software. AutoDesk's Revit Architecture, Revit Structural, SolidWorks and Bentley Systems are all up and running and in the marketplace. I believe there are some valid reasons for concern. But I also believe that BIM has its challenges and, as result, will create opportunities for those reprographic companies positioned to overcome them.

Here's a nice little video primer on BIM... check it out. Click here:

Let’s look at the design industry. Sure, every design company could buy BIM software, spend whatever limited resources (time and money) are required to train their staff and generate beautiful 3D models. But in reality not every design company has the budget, skills or the time to learn BIM. Early adopters will embrace BIM, but the rest of the market will lag a number of years behind. So, in the short term, most designers will produce and distribute documents in 2D and reprographers will continue to print and/or electronically distribute print-ready information to the construction industry.

Design firms that do adopt BIM completely will expand their mix of documents by including both 2D and 3D content. The opportunities created for reprographers in this situation are extensive. BIM models will render realistic images which reprographers will print in color - in both small and large format.

Models have been and will remain an important aspect of architectural design. The traditional (analog) model building approach is labor intensive and requires a unique fabrication skill set. It is usually a very lengthy and expensive process. Since traditional models are handmade “one-off’s” it makes it practically impossible for a design company to build multiple variations of designs for owners to review. Another shortcoming of traditional models is that they are difficult to archive and preserve for future use.

Design competition can be extremely fierce in the best of times. Design firms are doing whatever it takes to secure new business. Creating models can help designers compete more effectively by communicating a designer’s concepts in a realistic medium. But not many designers can afford to have traditional model makers on staff. They are now looking at BIM software to render their models on 3D printers. We see this as an opportunity, as there will be increasing demand for 3D printing services from those reprographers who make the investment in 3D printers.

There are other opportunities for reprographers who help their clients in the move towards BIM. Companies embracing BIM will need access to BIM software, in-house 3D printers and special training for their designers. Some reprographers are already recognizing these needs and have begun to sell, train and support BIM software and workflow solutions.

Using BIM for design does not always mean that BIM models will be available during all phases of the project life cycle. A lot of it depends mostly on the type of project delivery methods the owner contracts with the designers and builders. With the design-bid-build project delivery process we have seen significant reticence by many designers to share BIM models (due to avariety of issues: contract terms, deliverables, ownership of intellectual property and risks). Projects that contract using design-build or the latest delivery method IPD (integrated-project-delivery) are more collaborative and more likely to share BIM models throughout the project life cycle.

In my next blog posting I will share my thoughts on how construction companies are embracing BIM and IPD and the opportunities that will present themselves for our industry - if we are smart enough to take advantage of them.

Keep reading, and writing - we like hearing from you!

Regards,

Shaun

Report From Rhode Island: ERRA/SRA Addresses Challenges - Comes Up With Solutions, Shares Insight

By Shaun Meany
The PEiR Group

I attended the joint ERRA/SRA convention last week in Newport, RI. The turnout was lower than last year's gathering but the meeting was worthwhile for those of us who decided to attend.

The highlights, for me, were some good educational sessions along with the networking opportunities afforded by my many meetings with industry leaders.

The Keynote Speaker, Jessica Cox, set the tone for the convention with her "Don’t Let Adversity Stand In the Way of Success" messaging. Jessica is truly an amazing person. Born without arms she gave a straightforward, "take no prisoners" talk about her life and how she had overcome what many of us might think was impossible. Jessica drives and has actually gotten her pilot's license. If you think you're up against adversity in this challenging economy Jessica's message hits home. Think about those without work, or prospects, or who may never be in a position to own their own businesses. And then think about Jessica!

I also enjoyed the Construction Industry Forecast presented by McGraw Hill’s Robert Singerline. The outlook for 2010 is expected to be better than 2009 (thank God!) and there are definite bright spots ahead in 2010.

Singerline sees an increase in construction ahead for all all areas of the country in the coming year. South Atlantic, South Central and the West are all expected to see double digit growth. It is important to keep in mind that even with so rosy an outlook the industry is down so low that these positives really do not translate into big numbers - especially when compared to 2006 when construction was at its peak. Residential construction should signal the early stages of a recovery. Next year, Singerline says, there will be continued growth in government projects along with some institutional and non-building construction.

Other sessions I attended but will not delve into deeply (at least in this blog post) focused on Construction Project Delivery Methods and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). Construction is evolving and new methods (processes and contracts) are being adopted by owners, designers and contractors to maximize productivity and return on investment for stake holders. Check back to POV again for more information about these trends and what they might mean for you and your business.

There's a lot more to consider out there, lately, and I've been reading all of it. In a recent FMI report it was noted that: "As the construction industry responds to the changing economy, technology is expected to emerge as a leading factor that will alter the industry over the next five years. Although maintenance technologies such as GIS and GPS were rated among the least important factors to corporate owners this year, by 2014 technologies such as integrated project delivery will become significantly more important. Other influential factors changing the industry today include globalization, social norms, economics, politics and environmental concerns."

Whew! It's time to get ready and develop a plan to participate with these new initiatives or we might miss the boat!

No reprographics conference can be held without time for entertainment and socializing and Newport was no exception this year. The Newport "Mansion Crawl," where attendees visited incredible getaway “cottages” of the rich and famous, was fun - but humbling!

Next year the ERRA and SRA will formally merge into one organization. They'll be meeing under their new charter on November 3-5, 2010 in Norfolk, VA.

Beautiful part of the country, I hope to see you all there.

BIM & IPD 101: First Of A Series - "The Nail In The Coffin"

By Shaun Meany
The PEiR Group

Over the next few weeks I will be posting a series of articles to Point of View dealing with the impact BIM and, later, IPD (Integrated Project Delivery) will have on the future of the reprographics industry.

There is no doubt that the design and construction industry is embracing these technologies in their attempts to drive down costs and increase productivity. One such technology that is quickly being adopted by architects, engineers and contractors is Building Information Modeling (BIM).

And the following chart may best explain the reason behind this push:

What Is BIM?
BIM is a business management process that uses software to design and develop scaled 3D models of a structure’s components and systems, including material quantities and properties. It can be used throughout the building’s life-cycle — from estimation to construction to operation — to track progress and maintenance.

Why It's Important:
I am sure many of you have heard of BIM and most probably you have customers who are working with it in some capacity or another. If your design consultants are using Bentley Architecture, Graphisoft ArchiCAD, VectorWorks ARCHITECT and Autodesk's Revit and Architectural Desktop they are working with BIM.

But what you might not be aware of is that BIM is rapidly replacing traditional 2D CAD. A recent report by McGraw Hill reported the following statistics:

• Half of the industry is now using BIM or BIM-related tools - 75 percent more than in 2007.
• The U.S. West Coast leads BIM adoption with a 56 percent rate, far ahead of the Northeast (38 percent). Canada closely resembles the North American average at 48 percent.
• Current BIM users of all skill levels expect to double their application of it on projects over the next two years.

So, if you know your design companies are moving towards BIM what can you conclude about your contractors? Yep, they’re moving in the same direction, maybe not as fast but they, too, see the huge benefits of using models to test and plan implementation of building projects.

What can you do as a reprographer to help your customers who are using BIM technologies? Here are a few things:

1. Let them know you understand what BIM is and that you are interested in helping them take advantage of its capabilities.
2. Demonstrate reprographics services that complement BIM technologies - e.g. Color perspectives. 3D Model Printing. FM solutions.
3. Let your clients know that you can host their models in your document management systems.
4. Attend local workshops to learn what challenges users of BIM are facing.

BIM is the new CAD of the 21st century. You must be aware that it has the potential to dramatically change the future of the reprographics industry. For many reprographers BIM will be just another technology to understand and to adapt to.

For those who refuse to adapt and move forward with technology, it may prove to be the proverbial nail in the coffin.

Scott Schamens of Badger Blueprint Wins PEIR Group Drawing, Scott Gets Hotel Accommodations For The Next Conference!

The PEiR Group thanks all those who completed the PEiR Group Conference Survey recently. As we mentioned, everyone who filled out the survey form would be entered in a drawing for hotel accommodations at our next conference.

We held the drawing on Monday Nov. 19 and the lucky winner was Scott Schamens of Badger Blueprint in Waukesha, WI.

Scott, who didn't know his response would automatically enter him in the drawing, says he was "surprised" to find out he'd won and that PEiR would be taking care of his lodging when we get together next:

"I’m not one to respond to surveys very much and I did not read all the details... I have enjoyed going to the conferences (as they push) me further to learn about the business and what is happening on the technology side," he was kind enough to write. "I feel you have been a great value to me and do want to go and get something out of it. That is why I responded, I want to help out when you ask for input in order to keep the quality going."

Thanks, Scott! We appreciate that. You're a winner in so many ways!

Shaun Meany is reviewing all of the suggestions you were all kind enough to forward and will make an announcement soon as to where and when our next conference will be held.

Shaun And The PEiR Group Visit Chicago - City Of "Broad Shoulders"

A couple of weeks ago I went to Chicago to attend the Print '09 Trade Show. Talking with a couple of attendees, I learned that there was a significant downturn in attendance this year. Nonetheless there were over 10,000 attendees and probably just as many vendors, and everyone was ready to do business.

All major manufacturers of printing devices were there to show off their latest technologies. Heidelberg, Agfa, Xerox, Océ, Canon, EFI, HP and a host of others displayed a variety of new digital devices and workflows (see Shaun's video, left).

One manufacturer, Agfa, demonstrated a new inkjet press called the Dotrix Modular. This revolutionary printer is capable of printing at 75 lineal feet per minute at widths of up to 24 inches. Watch the video for a demonstration of this exciting new Piezo Inkjet Technology that might someday be available for our reprographics industry!

This year, Print ’09 included a Large Format Pavilion where HP, Océ, Canon and Epson showed their latest products. HP was well positioned at the show, demonstrating their Designjet Latex Technology which is targeted for environmentally responsible outdoor print applications (signs, car wraps and textiles). According to HP, the performance of these printers is comparable to low-solvent printers. HP Latex inks are made with water and are really safe and green when compared to other traditional ink technologies. Keep your eyes open for the announcement of HP’s new 42 and 60 inch models; you might want one of these in your shops!

One message that came through loud and clear at the show was that commercial printers are busy diversifying their businesses. Just as many of you are beginning to expand your services into non-AEC markets, off-set print shops are beginning to offer POP and other large format graphic applications, as well. Info Trend research indicates that 33 percent of offset print providers are planning to add or upgrade their large format printers .

Where is printing going? I see a convergence of the various printing sectors: off-set, reprographics, sign-shops, quick printers and Print on Demand. To be successful in digital printing in the future one will require capital, the right mix of digital technologies (hardware and software) and services coupled with market and application expertise.

Okay? What do you think of my amateur video? I promise to get better!

Regards,

Shaun

Webinar Alert: PlanWell DataBridge for Prolog Users

The PEiR Group will be hosting a webinar on the new PlanWell DataBridge for Prolog - a recently released application that seamlessly links the two powerful online planrooms.

When:

October 20, 2009
Time: 11:00 a.m . Pacific
Sign-Up Here

What are the key features that PlanWell Data Bridge offers your GC’s who use Prolog?

• Synchronized Project Information
– PlanWell project content flows into Prolog
– PlanWell updates Prolog with document information
– PlanWell automatically creates links in Prolog to PlanWell documents
– Creates a more complete project archive in Prolog

• Synchronized Bid Packages
– Bid packages, and documents distributed and managed by PlanWell
– BidCaster usage keeps address book current
– PlanWell provides a broadcast status report/Bid Call Report

• Synchronized Contacts
– Synchronized address book for PlanWell and Prolog

What are the Benefits to the GC Using PlanWell DataBridge with Prolog?

• Eliminate redundant data entry and reduce labor and administrative costs

• Experience dramatically increased productivity throughout the project management cycle

• PlanWell will index your drawings for you – getting them into Prolog then takes just a click of a button

• Dynamically updated packages are imported during the indexing process

• Sub-Contractor information is kept up to date as drawings are distributed through PlanWell

• Updated sub-contractor information may then be synchronized with Prolog

• Leverage digital workflow to generate more bids and win more jobs

• Dramatically increase team productivity by seamlessly sharing data between PlanWell & Prolog.

I look forward to seeing you at the October 20th webinar.

Sincerely
Shaun Meany/President
The PEiR Group

I’ll take Manhattan! - Shaun Visits The Big Apple, Gauges The Future

By Shaun Meany
President, The PEiR Group

Last week I traveled to the Big Apple to meet with some of our members and attend Canon’s ImagePROGRAF Reseller Roundtable. I took some time to walk this great city and see for myself if "the city that never sleeps" was awake or not in terms of new construction around town.

I was surprised to see so many open lots with nothing being built on them. Reprographers in Gotham tell me that many projects had been put on hold for a variety of reasons - the biggest and most obvious one being a lack of funding.

It floored me. Here I was in the financial center of America and things were basically standing still. An exaggeration, maybe, but it was a matter of perception - the financial capital of the world finally appeared to be asleep.

The Canon Roundtable was interesting, an event Canon hosts in conjunction with the US Open Tennis Championships in Queens, NY. It was great to meet with some of Canon’s top resellers and learn what they are doing to be successful in their respective markets during these challenging economic times. Canon let us in on some of their new market share statistics and they confirmed that Canon is serious about large format.

They are, it seems, quickly taking market share from HP and Epson in the aqueous inkjet large format market space.

Back out on the town, I had to resist the urge to hold a finger in the air to see which way the financial winds were going to blow. We're in a waiting game, I think, but there is an underlying sense of optimism that things will pick up once money starts flowing again.

PEiR members are struggling with the reality that they can't be focused solely on AEC - still. This confuses me. You don't have to look far to see that the people who are doing the best in these stagnant times are the ones who are out there hustling new business, owners networking and mining every last dime out of connections made at social networking functions and pre-established business contacts.

Others are streamlining their pricing model, removing every last barrier that would make a customer say "Hmm, I dunno..." and offering "Read the Meter" solutions charting a company's use of services at the beginning of the month and end of the month and billing them once for everything in between.

It's clean and it's working, particularly as businesses are watching every penny and can't afford to spend more time than they have to accounting for them.

There are some other trends developing in the market... we'll talk about them in the days to come.

In the meantime, stay in touch and let us know how you're doing.

Regards,

Shaun

“Bid Services, Can I Help You?”

By Shaun Meany
The PEiR Group

For the past two years the PEiR Group has been promoting bid communication solutions and some of the opportunities technologies like BidCaster and SubHub can offer General Contractors with their Bid Processes. Some of our members understand this area of opportunity. Many do not - or just don’t see how it can benefit their customers and their own businesses.

I have talked with several reprographers who understand the bid process, have embraced our bid technologies and have enjoyed new sales as a result.

As our industry continues to evolve, many of the traditional services that you have grown to depend upon for sales and profits simply will not be demanded in the same volume as before. As the construction industry begins to crawl out from under its current cloud many of your customers, like General Contractors, will be looking to change the way they do their business processes; particularly the pre-construction or bid process.

When it comes to the bid process (often considered an overhead activity) most GC’s want to reduce expenses and boost productivity. Reducing bid set printing is one of the most obvious areas that GC’s focus on when trying to reduce expenses. There are two primary alternatives that GC’s tend to choose for reducing their printing costs: (1) send out cd-roms (2) post drawing and specs to a FTP site. While both these methods will reduce printing costs for the GC, neither approach improves productivity for the subs and suppliers. Sure, the documents get to their intended parties fairly quickly, but there are still inefficiencies (and costs) that could be controlled more efficiently with bidding solutions like BidCaster and SubHub.

Let's look at distributing bid-sets on cd-roms. The cd-roms still have to be mastered, duplicated and distributed (by mail, pick-up or express couriers). Any updates to the documentation must also go through a similar distribution process.

The next time a GC asks you to create a bid-set to be distributed via cd-rom here are a few questions you may want to ask: Why are the music and video industries moving away from cd/dvd media? How do you (Mr. GC) plan to update your subs when changes take place? How long does it take to update and notify plan holders of addendums? As you already know, with plan rooms like PlanWell or SubHub the documents are always up to date. Changes can be made real-time and anyone who has access will know what the current documents to bid upon is.

The same applies to FTP sites. It may sound simple for a GC to upload documents to a ftp site and send out instructions on how to download the documents. But when you look at this process in more detail FTP actually creates more headaches than it alleviates. First, the sub needs to know about ftp. Second, the sub needs to know a user name and password. Often the same user names and passwords are used by everyone who want access to the FTP site quickly breaching security. Third, how does the GC track who has documents? If a sub just wants to look at a document he has to download it and then view it. This can take a considerable amount of time if they have a slow Internet connection.

Here's something to ask your GC’s: Why do subs want a digital file?

An important component of bidding is tracking who is interested in bidding and who is still kicking the idea around. CD-Roms and FTP sites do not track who is interested in bidding the project. Sometimes this is the most critical information that a GC needs to know. Does he have coverage of all trades required on the project and if not how can he get more bids before due day?

More than at any other time in our industry’s history, it is vital that reprographers begin to market services beyond mere printing - and bid communications offers a perfect opportunity.

There are two approaches that you can consider with bid communications:

1. Offer bid communication software tools such as PlanWell Bidcaster or SubHub that your GC's can learn and deploy.
2. If your customers don’t want to take on learning a new system there might be an opportunity for you, the reprographer, to provide “Bid Services“ as an outsourced service.

One very progressive reprographer I've talked with recently said they've introduced a new department in their business called Bid Services and they've put a person with construction industry experience in the manager's position to make sure things run smoothly.

Either way, be it with BidCaster, SubHub or a dedicated Bid Services department, you will be offering intelligent choices that can address your GC’s needs, help them reduce costs and increase productivity. It’s a win win for both you and the customer!

Learning From The Best: Get Back To Basics

By Shaun Meany
The PEiR Group




Last Sunday I had a chance to watch the U.S. national soccer team play Brazil in the Confederation Cup finals in Johannesburg South Africa. I normally don’t watch much soccer, but after the U.S. team surprised Spain (another world class powerhouse) with a score of 2-0 earlier in the week; I just had to watch the U.S. play Brazil.

It was a great game, and it wasn't long into it that I begin to see parallels between the match and our industry today. Like the U.S. and Brazilian players, we're playing to win in an environment full of challenges. Your business, of course, is not a game, your livelihood and those of your employees are at stake - not a silver cup and bragging rights. But if you look at your business and prepare yourselves like the Americans did before their games with Spain and Brazil there are lessons to be found as we enter the second half this challenging year.

Preparing for Sunday's match, the U.S. team was keenly focused on soccer basics: maintain ball possession, keep up a good defense and capitalize on scoring opportunities. This was clearly demonstrated as the U.S. built a 2-0 lead going into the second half.

But when play resumed the Americans were noticeably exhausted. They started to make critical mistakes. The rest was soccer history: the Brazilian’s closed the gap 2-1 then 2-2 and finally toward the end of the half they took the lead and the final with a last minute surge that put them on top at 3-2.

So, what are the lessons that you can learn from this?

The business challenges you are facing require that you have your best team available and ready to play.

This economic cycle we are currently facing is just finishing the first half. You need to pace yourself and your employees to maintain good practices, keep your business fit and lean so it can meet the second half with enthusiasm and creativity.

Remember the basics. Treat each customer and job as if it is the only one. Study your competition. What are they doing that you're not? Are you focusing on just AEC or looking for revenues in quick printing and copying, large and small format color, archiving, FM’s and growing digital services?

Here's my locker room sales talk: Don’t be like the US soccer team. Keep focused on the goal, remember the basics and keep pace with your competition - and save a little extra for when you'll need it!

Social Media and Reprographics: What It All Means To You

"Shaun's Corner"
by Shaun Meany

YouTube, BlogSpot, Twitter, Yammer, Facebook, LinkedIn and a host of other online social networking sites, frequently used by the “Y Generation," are quickly becoming popular hangouts for businesses and business owners, as well.

But how do you use these online social networking sites to share your expertise, gain a following, and increase your income potential for your reprographics business?

I thought it would be helpful to share some of my research about online social networking and how social media can be put to good use for growing your business.

If you think online social networking is something you want to do, you ought to create a social media marketing plan (this could be included in your annual marketing plan as well). The plan should be in writing and should quantify your goals and identify the primary social networks you are interested in targeting. Be sure that you target networks that fit your needs and desires. For example, I am a member of LinkedIn Network and I have joined several special interest groups within LinkedIn such as: reprographics group, info trends, sales and marketing, wide format imaging, salesforce.com and a few others. By being a member of these groups I have the opportunity to monitor what others are thinking and talking about. This information is invaluable as it helps a business owner know what is on peoples minds and where the future of his or her respective industry may be heading.

Keep in mind that your access to and control of what is said on social networks is often very limited. Social networks turn individuals into marketers for your company, but it can be very difficult to control the messages they send.

Also, remember when posting a message on a social network site that it’s important to add value to your content, not just pitch your products.

The idea is to monitor people talking about the things your company does, and then join in with useful information and expertise that can help answer their questions and solve their problems. When you do decide to make your contribution to the social network be sure to refer to your blog or twitter account so people can check you out for the link.

New social networking sites are popping up all the time. Take Twitter. This micro-blog site allows people to follow a topic or a person and post daily, hourly and sometimes minute by minute tweets (updates). I am just starting to get into twitter and still am navigating through all the different subjects and looking for a way to apply to my business needs. If you want you can tweet me at http://twitter.com/shaunmeany.

The rise of instant communication technologies has created a whole new environment for doing our business. If we are to survive in the future we must learn to adapt and apply the new marketing paradigms of the Generation Y's.

There are some interesting tools available to us today. Instead of turning our nose up at them, we may be well advised to learn how to use them effectively.

Tweet me sometime... or even just pick up the old fashioned phone! Communication, in any form, is a good thing.


Regards,

Shaun

Summertime: A Great Time To Plan For The Future

As we head into summer, rumors abound that the recession is beginning to subside. On one hand I am very excited to hear about the prospects of a turnaround in our economy, but on the other I am concerned for the eventual turnaround of our industry and wonder what the future of reprographics will look like when the economy is back in full swing.

Every day I talk to reprographers from all corners of the world, it’s one of the best parts of my job. The vast majority are voicing the following concerns about the future of our business:

When the economy begins to normalize will reprographers see printing volumes return as before or will the contraction of overall printing continue?

Will General Contractors continue to try to reduce printing costs by distribuing CD’s or offering FTP sites for their Subs to access project drawings and specifications? How can we make them aware of the advantages of our online plan room technologies?

Will our AEC clients accept our charges for digital services? What can we do to help them understand the value of these services?

Will General Contractors and their sub-contractors learn to embrace technologies like BIM and electronic take-off? What impact will this have on our printing? Can we find a role to play with these technologies? Can we find opportunities for new revenues?

Will production large format printing migrate from Monochrome to Color devices like the Océ Color Wave and KIP KC 80? When is the right time to invest in these new technologies?

Are software companies with no vested interest in the reprographics industry going to continue to steal your customers because you are unable to convince your customers of the value of your own technologies?

How about it? What do you think? If these same issues cross your mind more than once a day what are you doing to prepare yourself and your business for the time when your concerns materialize in the months ahead?

I encourage you to take time this summer to do a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of your business. Do not try to do this analysis alone. Reach out to your key employees and some of your trusted customers and ask them what they think the future will hold and where they think the reprographics industry is heading. What are the threats and opportunities that lay ahead for the reprographics industry as a whole and for your business specifically over the next three to five years?

Don’t wait until the economy comes lumbering back; take some time this summer to plan the next phase of your business’s transformation from a digital printing company to “Digital Reprographics Company.”

If you’re wondering what the differences between the two are, come back in the days ahead, I’ll be writing more about this in a future edition of POV.

Sincerely


Shaun

Shaun's Corner: Springtime In Pittsburgh - IRgA Segues Into May

"Shaun's Corner"
By Shaun Meany

Springtime in Pittsburgh was beautiful, but the mood and atmosphere at this year’s IRgA convention in Pittsburgh felt somewhat subdued, in my view.

Attendance was off considerably from past years, I felt, but despite these conditions, which most likely are reflective of the economy and the location, the conference was rewarding and beneficial for many of us who made the investment to attend.

As always, I squeezed in a little golf at a gorgeous course (Quicksilver GC) outside of the city before the convention and tradeshow. Absolutely fantastic. Starting the convention with a little golf is a great way to allow many of us to meet some new friends and reconnect with old buddies we have not seen for a year. There were so many nice prizes that I think everyone left the course a winner, whether their scores reflected it or not. I want to thank golf committee chairman, Joe Abeyesinhe, for making this years outing one of the best I have experienced in years! I vote to have Joe head up the golf committee again next year.

Our first evening together, Wednesday, started with a cocktail reception for the CREST Foundation. Last years scholarship winners where recognized and an announcement made about future sponsorships - the foundation has another $100,000 available for deserving students going to college this fall and that's a great thing.

For more information on the CREST Foundation please visit www.crestfoundation.org - you may be glad you did.

There were several educational tracks offered at IRgA this year. One I found particularly valuable was the sales training presentation (salesOctane) presented by Jim Ryerson. In this session, called Behavioral Selling Skills, we were taught to identify our prospects/clients behaviors (Driver, Influencer, Compliant, Steady) and apply the right selling behavior to increase the odds of selling the prospect. For more information on this type of selling approach please visit the following web site: http://www.salesoctane.com/.











The trade show component of the IRgA was really slow. At times it felt there were more vendors then attendees. That said, those of us who were vendors had some good prospects and plenty of time to spend explaining the features and benefits of our products and services. At the PEiR and PlanWell booth we demonstrated all of our existing products and made several new product announcements as well, including:

1. PlanWell 5.5 Release
2. PlanWell Bridge to Prolog
3. PlanWell EasyPrint for Océ Plot Wave and TDS Systems
4. Abacus “Cost Recovery and Print Tracking”
5. Abacus for KIP Controllers
6. SubHub
7. ishipdocs
8. MetaPrint for Color

To help the reprographics community learn more about these exciting new products please click (register) to sign up for an on-line demonstration.

Leaving Pittsburgh this year, I got the sense the IRgA and the reprographics industry are coming to a crossroads. What does the future hold? I can be sure of one thing; it will not be what it was just a few years ago. As someone with a vested interest in the future of reprographics I plan to make whatever future investment I need to in order to ensure that I evolve and ultimately survive.

That's it for now. Hit 'em long and straight!

Shaun

Latest PEiR Group Educational Webinar - May 20th, Sign Up Now!

PEiR Group Members:

The PEiR Group will be hosting another Educational Webinar for May on “Abacus," a cost-recovery solution for your FM's that you will definitely want to familiarize yourself with.

Abacus is the PEiR Group's newest application for comprehensive print tracking that is easy to use and integrate into your FM customer's existing work flow and business practices. We know how important it is to keep accurate tabs on printing, scanning and copying at your FM's – and the need to report proper reimbursable billing. And for that reason you may want to be on hand when we talk about this must-have application...

The facts:

When: Wednesday May 20, 2009 9:00 AM Pacific


Register Here!

If you have any questions please give me a call at 925-658-0212 or email me HERE. I look forward to sharing this valuable information with you all!

Best regards,

Shaun Meany
President
The PEiR Group
1981 North Broadway, Suite 360
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
925.658.0200 tel
925.658.0201 fax
925-658-0212 direct

“Are You Truly a Digital Reprographer?”

I know many of you will quickly respond with a resounding “yes” if I were to ask you: “Are you a Digital Reprographer?”

Sure, all your printers are digital, all the hardcopy originals you print are digitally converted (scanned) to electronic files but does that make you a truly digital reprographer?

I would say that some of you are not.

Why? Ask yourself and your colleagues; “what is it that we offer your customers?” Most reprographers will say “printing and other related printing services.” But a digital reprographer would say something like: “Our business serves the design and construction industry. We manage and distribute critical digital information to project teams. The information we manage is stored electronically and is distributed in a variety of mediums which can include paper, CD/DVD, email and the Internet. Our business requires huge investments in digital technologies and training so we can help our customers (owners, architects, engineers, contactors, subs and suppliers) get their critical project related information in whatever format they want it, when they want and where they want it.”

Whew. That was a mouthful, wasn’t it? But it's true.

If a customer called you today to get critical time sensitive project documents to various project team members in five cities across the North America how would you handle that request? If you are like most reprographers you would offer to print all the documents in-house and ship the packages overnight using an express shipping company like FedEx. But consider this: How much of the total revenue in the print and distribute model is going to you the reprographer and how much of the revenue is going outside of the industry and to the express shippers?

Digital reprographers offer customers an alternative (distribute and print model) which gives them the power to remote print these documents within a “community” of digital reprographers who print and deliver these documents, in many cases the same day.

The same day. In every city. For less than it would cost using tradition methods. In this distribute and print model, 100 percent of the revenue stays in the reprographics industry. Printing is priced at a premium but total costs are less than those incurred with the print and distribute model.

The “distribute and print model” is the future of the reprographics business and the principle behind a new service and technology called, simply “ishipdocs.”

ishipdocs is scheduled to be launched at the upcoming IRgA convention in Pittsburgh, PA on April 30-May 1.

To help PEiR Group members become more familiar with the concept behind this new service we hosted a webinar highlighting the key features, advantages and benefits. It was well received. So well received, in fact, that we are hosting another. If you could not make the first webinar the second will be held on Thursday April 23rd at 9 a.m. Pacific.

ishipdocs is an exciting new service that you’ll want offer your AEC and Non-AEC customers who need to distribute critical time sensitive information outside of your local market.

They save money, you make money, and a lot of the usual headaches that come with the traditional distribution model are avoided entirely (more on that later!).

To sign up click HERE.

You'll be thankful you did!


Sincerely,

Shaun Meany

Mark Your Calendar: The PEiR Group ishipdocs Webinar April 23, 2009 - Encore Presentation

Position your Reprographics Business as a Digital Document Distribution Company using our latest technology solution: ishipdocs. Stop generating revenues for FedEx and all the rest and generate new revenues for the reprographics industry.

Please join us for an online demonstration of ishipdocs, the web-based solution that gives reprographers the power to send documents anywhere in the world and have them printed locally (where ever that may be) - in many cases the same day.

Learn how to save your client time and money, cut down on carbon emissions, beat the delays imposed by customs checks and other fulfillment issues. The future is here.

When: April 23, 2009
Time: 9:00am Pacific

Register HERE.

For more information call the PEiR Group office at 925-658-0200 or email us by clicking HERE.

My Dentist as Prospect - Who Woulda Thought?

I recently went for my annual check-up with my local dentist and to my dismay I discovered a great application for large format graphics unfold right before my eyes and teeth.

How many of you can relate to this? The dental assistant sets me into the chair, lays me back until I'm almost horizontal and tells me: "the dentist will be with you in a couple of minutes.” About 15 minutes later the dentist comes in and starts his typical procedures. While I’m in the chair all I can do is to look up at the ceiling and the fluorescent light fixture and wait. And that's when it hit me: how about selling display graphics to dentist’s offices around the country?

Offer to print graphic images, similar to a light box application but instead print on the translucent light fixture. I thought my idea was totally brilliant so I set out on the Internet to see if anyone was offering that kind of service in the reprographics business. To my surprise I did find a company that is already doing something like this. But that is not the point of this message.

My message is this: in times like these it is the creative sales person that will make his or her opportunities for success. So go out there and use your creative juices and find new applications and markets for your printing and digital services.

You may just be able to make someone sit up and say: Ah!


Shaun

Back To Work Amid New Hope for Better Times

By Shaun Meany
The PEiR Group

It has been a busy couple of weeks since returning from the PEiR Group’s Executive Conference in Las Vegas. The economic slowdown seems to be continuing but there are growing signs of optimism out there. Some reprographers are reporting that projects temporarily placed on hold are becoming active again.

Much of the anticipated stimulus money for infrastructure improvements and the like have yet to materialize. Despite these delays there was still some good news on new housing starts.

Economic Report: February Housing Starts Jump 22 Percent - 03/18/09
The construction industry received some good news on Tuesday as numbers for construction starts were released. The numbers showed housing starts increasing in February by 22 percent, that number was bolstered by an 82 percent increase in apartment building construction and is the largest single month gain in 19 years. Also receiving a solid boost was the permitting for the construction of single family homes. That number had a significant increase of 11 percent.

Earlier this year the PEiR Group made a commitment to offer monthly educational webinars and it appears they have been a hit among our members.

Webinar’s Held In 2009:


For those members who missed these webinar’s all of the presentation material is posted on the PEiR intranet library under the category: Webinars

IRgA is Coming:

The IRgA annual convention is quickly approaching and The PEiR Group is preparing to announce and demonstrate several new technologies along with our existing family of software products which include:

• PlanWell Enterprise
• PlanWell BidCaster (new release)
• PlanWell PDS
• EWO
• PlanWell Easy Print for KIP and HP
• MetaPrint
• SubHub

New Products to be introduced at the IRgA include:

• iShipdocs
• MetaPrint Abacus
• PlanWell EasyPrint for Océ
• PlanWell Bridge to Prolog

If you have not made your reservations to attend the conference in Pittsburg, there is still time to register. I know everyone is trying to cut costs but I believe it may be more important than ever before to invest in the reprographic industry by joining with your peers for networking, education and good fellowship.

Last but not least, if you do decide to attend, you will learn first hand how the PEiR Group is preparing the reprographics industry with best practices and new purposeful technologies that meet the needs of today designers, contractors and owner/developers.

I hope to see you in Pittsburg!

Shaun

Viva Vegas! Viva PEiR!

Shaun's Corner
by Shaun Meany

We're back. Last week's annual PEiR Group Executive Conference at the Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas was informative and fun - but it is nice to be home, isn't it?

Great turnout by the membership and it was great to be able to sit and talk with you all. Face-to-face is always better than the telephone, in my opinion, and it was a pleasure to sit in a comfortable environment and talk about this industry of ours.

We're still sifting through your feedback but initial responses to our two days together are overwhelmingly positive. Thank you for your kind words.

The theme of this year’s conference and our underlying theme for the PEiR Group in 2009 remains “Managing for Success.” We believe that in times like these it is critical for reprographic owners and their senior managers to focus on honing their management skills to a razor-like sharpness unseen at any other time in our business’s history.

Many of the presentations shared at the executive conference emphasized strategies for controlling costs and increasing sales. If your company’s sales are declining (like some) it is essential that you manage your expenses to assure your profitability. These decisions need to be made quickly but cautiously.

For those of you who could not join us in Las Vegas we will be posting all of the presentations on the PEiR intranet. In addition, we recorded many of the sessions on video and plan to post these sessions on the intranet as well; so you can see and hear what was discussed.

I've outlined a short summary of each of the sessions so you'll know what to expect.

Session #1: Bid Communications. Our resident expert, David Swider, shared with the group the impact that technology is having on the General Contractor’s bid communications workflow.

Session #2: Out of the Box Ideas for Generating New Revenue Opportunities. This session involved sharing real-life applications our members are using to generate new revenues. Some of the ideas were centered on using PlanWell for Color and non-AEC purposes. Other ideas included: marketing document management outside of traditional AEC market, document destruction/shredding services and out-sourcing (off-set, production color and graphic services).

Session #3: Revenue Opportunities with Remote Printing. This session addressed positioning reprographers as a network of digital document distribution companies able to send or receive documents for same-day distribution. A new remote print technology and service will be released to PEiR members at the upcoming IRgA conference in May 2009.

Session #4: Promoting High Margin Sales. This session focused on ways to generate more sales and profits by selling digital services and facilities management.

Session #5: Strategies for Right Sizing Your Business. What things you can do today to control costs, manage your business environment, incentivize your sales people and still keep focus on the future of your business.

Session #5 & 6: Opportunities in Wide Format Color. In these two sessions we heard vendor partners Tekgraf (Hp and Canon Distributor) and Océ discuss the future revenue opportunities for large format color. Miguel Gonzales told the members about Tekgraf's commitment to educating and supplying a full range of inject technologies. Océ presented a business case (ROI) on production color opportunities for their new Color Wave 600 printers.

Session #7: Navigating the Storm in HR (Liabilities, Opportunities and Threats). This session was presented by Laurie Williams the Director of Human Resources of ARC. Laurie discussed ways to avoid law suits when implementing labor force reductions. Strategies for keeping your trained and valuable human resources while at the same time reducing costs. New laws are in the works that could threaten your company's future.

Session #8: ARC Technology Pipeline. ARC has spent over $100 Million on technology over the last six years. This year alone ARC is budgeting to spend more than $6 million on new technologies. Kumar Wiratunga, Director of Technology, shared with the group the technology pipeline planned for the next 12 months.

Session 9: Green Initiatives and Sustainability in Reprographics. This session was an open forum on why sustainability is important to everyone. Why reprographers, their customers and industry manufacturers are "going green"? We also addressed what PEiR has planned to assist our members in communicating the power behind sustainability to clients.


That should keep you busy for a while. Check out this site for more pictures, video and commentary from people attending this year's conference. You're bound to recognize old friends!

With thanks,

Shaun Meany