In-plants Get Jazzed in Rochester

When the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival was in full swing last month, the wildly cheering crowd included several dozen in-plant managers who had traveled to Rochester, NY, to attend an educational event hosted by Xerox. Taking place a week after the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association conference, the two-day forum drew 56 people from 45 organizations.

It began with a keynote presentation from Barb Pellow, group director at InfoTrends. She shared her perspective on what it will take to reinvent in-plant operations in today’s environment.

“Nearly every industry is undergoing a major transformation that is being driven by new and emerging technologies,” she noted. “None has been more heavily impacted than the printing industry, and this is only exacerbating the challenges that in-plant managers face today. The key is to disrupt the status quo long before there is a need to do so.”

Successful in-plants, she noted, must build a vision, retool their services, reinvent their customer bases, expand their sphere of influence, properly position their new offerings, invest in operational excellence and instill a culture of innovation.

Bruce Collier, vice president of Large Enterprise Operations (LEO) at Xerox, also shared his view on the ingredients that in-plants need to truly transform into services-oriented providers. “Effective and relevant communications are key if you hope to achieve your business objectives,” Collier noted. “One of the biggest challenges—and biggest expenses—that an organization can face is creating effective communications. By utilizing in-plants to their fullest potential, you can produce high-value communications in the most cost-effective way.”

Fred DeBolt discussed Xerox’s continued investments in digital color technology.

A customer panel comprised of four in-plant speakers shared recommendations on how to make in-plants more effective. The speakers were:

• Marcie Carr, director of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Publications.
• Cathy Skoglund, manager of Operations & Business Development at Arizona State University’s Print and Imaging Lab.
• Scott Gourley, IT manager at Erie Insurance.
• Rex Dietrich, manager of Printing and Duplicating Services at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Their recommendations included emphasizing web enablement to drive volume, establishing the in-plant as a communications hub, and delivering large-format solutions to end customers.

Technology was at the forefront of the event. Fred DeBolt, Xerox vice president of technology for LEO, discussed Xerox’s continued investments in digital color technology (cut-sheet and inkjet) as the market evolves. A group of software experts from Xerox and its partners reviewed the value-add associated with workflow solutions and provided strategies that in-plants should pursue in implementation. There was also a complete technology tour of the Gil Hatch Center for Customer Innovation.

In addition to educating clients on its technology, the Xerox team provided participants with an array of personalized products produced on Xerox equipment using specialty media, including candy bars with gold wrappers, industry application kits, the latest edition of Digital Hot Spots magazine and fresh new packaging solutions stuffed with goodies.

A fabulous night of jazz featuring a Tedeschi Trucks performance topped off the event. The overall message was clear: change is a way of life for the in-plant market. Today’s in-plants will face continued pressure to re-invent their businesses, and Xerox is committed to partnering with them to help them do it.