Mike Renn

The best in-plants are those that are indispensable—those that customers turn to as soon as the topic of printing comes to mind. To make this happen in your shop, you must go beyond simple interactions with customers. If a customer calls to ask for a price, don’t simply give him or her a price as you might never hear from that person again. Learn about the specifics of the project so you can recommend a look or format he or she might never have considered. The more personal you can get with customers, the more likely they will turn to you when the need

Though outsourcing may once have been an in-plant’s biggest threat, the newest challenge is coming from inside, says Mike Renn, assistant vice president of Mellon Financial’s Corporate Operation. “I’ve spent too many summers sweating blistering outsourcing arguments about printing not being part of our company’s core business. Of course, these arguments were volunteered by shady outside concerns. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and my in-plant survived. “Now my in-plant is threatened from the inside by the new ‘in-plants.’ High-production digital copiers are springing up all over like weeds. These expensive machines are masters of their operators. They not only demand more copies, more service, supplies and invoicing, but

Decision makers want to know why your in-plant is taking up space. Benchmarking against similar in-plants is the only way you can answer their questions. By Mike Renn "Why are you here?" Be prepared. When uttered by upper management, this question has nothing to do with metaphysical philosophy. Decision makers want to know why your in-plant is drawing pay and taking up space in their otherwise orderly company or organization. Do you have the right answer and proof to lower the arched eyebrow of the doubtful? Proper benchmarking is the only way an in-plant manager can adequately answer this question. Besides saving your

A chargeback system can help an in-plant acquire the latest technology, improve service, grow business and secure its future. By Mike Renn Why charge back? Wouldn't time be better served selling services, justifying equipment or working on process improvement? Wouldn't an across-the-board allocation of an in-plant's operational expenses be simpler? There would be no worries about cost recovery or justifying the operation's existence. Leave chargeback to the entrepreneurs. Correct? Don't bet the shop on it. You'd lose it. Even in-house printers that currently utilize a chargeback can learn how to better leverage the benefits of this billing system. A chargeback system can

In-plant managers got a chance to see the technologies they've been reading about at the recent Graph Expo show. For the many in-plant managers in attendance, the recent Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2004 show in Chicago was a graphic arts fantasy land. "I felt like a kid in a candy store," observes Mike Renn, of Mellon Corporate Publishing, in Philadelphia. "I went to take a look at the latest direct-to-plate systems and software management packages and came away with numerous options." Attendance this year was pretty healthy, he adds: "I had to wedge myself between bodies to check out the latest gear." Other managers agreed. "I

No one disputes the fact that four-color printing is on the rise. People seem to expect it. Yet a recent IPG survey shows that just 25 percent of in-plants have presses that print four or more colors. Ask the others why they don't and they'll say that their management would never OK such a huge expense. They'll say their in-plant is just too small or that their parent organization doesn't want them to compete with local commercial printers that offer four-color printing. Yet those in-plants that own four-color presses were once in the same boat. How did they get their presses?