Why Managed Print Services? Part 2: They’re Profitable
On Tuesday, I discussed the benefits of managed print services for businesses of all sizes. With an experienced print management partner looking out for you, your company will see reduced printing and promotional product costs. You will also better avoid surprise projects, rush orders and the questionable quality those things can generate.
Best of all, you will recognize print and promotional items as profitable tools for adding customers and building sales. Print projects planned in advance are a source of prospects instead of problems.
More Benefits of Managed Print Services
We can point to many ways managed print services make a difference. I mentioned three of them on Tuesday, but I’d like to continue the list here.
On Tuesday I covered business forms; the frequently used printed materials that document transactions and keep orders flowing. But managed print services also improve the process of handling your litho and specialty print projects, like flyers, sell sheets and sales kits. And don’t forget the major brochures, catalogs, mailers and other materials that carry your critical marketing messages to customers and prospects. Managed print services make them better, period.
You don’t create these kinds of materials very often. So you will benefit from the expertise of a solid print partner. At Superior, we offer our customers a network of nearly 2,000 print vendors whose quality and reliability is unquestioned. Then we can match your project to the one most qualified to deliver to your satisfaction and at the lowest price. And the expertise of our knowledgeable people will guide you through the entire process, from preproduction through delivery. Thus, you get the best results in an area where you are perhaps least comfortable “going it alone.”
The benefits mentioned above mutiply when you manage print and promotional product procurement through sophisticated technology. Superior’s E(c3) platform provides virtually instant access to a huge network of pre-qualified vendors. These vendors are assessed and reassessed frequently for capabities, quality and service reliability.
We can solicit bids from all the most appropriate sources in this pool. As a result, we get the best pricing from those qualified suppliers who have production capacity available in the time frame desired. This process doesn’t simply “automate” the process. Rather, it streamlines it while factoring in the criteria most critical for each individual project and determining the most cost-effective means of achieving success. Typically, clients save 10-20% of previous spend levels.
As I’ve mentioned, print management services extend to promotional products, as well. The same benefits of a vast network of quality suppliers apply here. One excellent example is our special strength in reusable bags and totes, an increasingly popular and environmentally appropriate choice today. They are perfectly suited for a special promotion or as a regular customer premium. In addition, they make an exceptional trade-show handout.
We can use the strength of our “daughter” brand Factory Direct Promos, a company with nearly 30 years’ experience and one of the leading manufacturers of reusable bags. Our experts can help you design and deliver shopping bags fully custom to your needs. We will work with you to make your logo and messaging stand out, so that you are building business along with protecting the environment.
Variable print on demand makes managed print services a profitable tool, indeed. (When I mentioned saving “millions of dollars” on Tuesday, I was thinking about this.) With on-demand print, your company can deliver extremely customized messaging cost-effectively. This means you can send focused, targeted marketing materials to the right prospects at the right time.
It also gives you the capability to provide internal and external materials that smoothly accommodate variable data and information. This can turn a potential logistics nightmare into a clever strategic and money-saving win. One state agency used on-demand print to save nearly $1 million in rendering its services. I will talk about that project more specifically next week. But I can safely say that that state agency certainly relies on us as more than just a “supplier” after that experience.
How You Can Manage to Save Money
I hope this week’s posts have spelled out pretty clearly the edge you get with managed print services. Get them from Superior, and the edge is even bigger. We’ve been helping businesses dial up their efficiency for nearly 100 years now.
As always, I point to the ISO certification that formalizes our effective, customer-focused processes. And thanks to positive reviews from our customers, Superior has earned three consecutive Best of Print and Digital awards. I don’t think you can get better proof than that.
Next week, check back in to hear more about how that state agency saved a great deal of money. Better yet, contact Superior today to find out how you can.
