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| Special Report: Association Consolidation Series |
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By Cary Sherburne As the associations—and their members—continue to mull over these important issues and develop their strategies for the future, the “Voice of the Printer” should be a critical element of those deliberations. The thoughtful comments from our readers ranged from supportive to highly critical, and contained a good deal of constructive criticism and advice. We thank our readers for taking the time to write to us on this subject. Note that a few printers declined to be named as they serve on boards of the association and did not want their personal view to be confused with the company view for which they work for. How Does the Public Printer Weigh In? Our Public Printer, Bruce James, of the Government Printing Office, shared his views on this topic with WhatTheyThink. As the leader of our “national” printing body, James has taken on the challenge of reinventing the Government Printing Office, and brings what may be a broader perspective than most to this discussion. No stranger to controversy, James makes his views clear:
Associations as a Microcosm Several of our readers expressed the opinion that what is transpiring relative to the associations is simply a representative microcosm of the print industry, an industry that is characterized by a large number of relatively small entities often scrambling to survive in a volatile business environment. Brent Moncrief, Chief Marketing Officer of Capps Digital, summed these sentiments up by saying, “I think association consolidation is a natural evolution that mirrors the consolidation within our business. The combination of M&A's and the democratization of electronic prepress has significantly reduced the number of entities in our sector. This consolidation should not be viewed negatively; instead, fewer associations should be able to attract a larger and more diverse mix of participants.” Patrick Nugent, President of AdColor, added his perspective: “The fact is that as the industry consolidates trade groups will, too. There will be less emphasis on the craft of printing and more on business management. The historic distinctions between design, prepress, photography, printing and fulfillment will continue to erode. It's happening very quickly and will be reflected in our trade associations.” Joe Metzger from Metzger’s Printing & Mailing, reflected the view of many of the printers that responded when he said, “Much like the technology boom that supposedly ‘recently’ hit the printing industry in the past four years... Us Type, Prep and Service Bureaus have been feeling this stuff since the mid 1980s!” He points out that he has seen the associations in the prepress segment “change, merge and transform themselves into something new, different and updated to keep up with the times.” He concludes, “Change is constant for the members’ day to day businesses, and it will also continue for the associations. It is critical that the associations bring more and more to the table for their members, as every buck counts these days!” An Embarrassment of Riches A common theme throughout most of the comments we received was the belief that our industry has too many associations, and that consolidation in some form is not only necessary, but inevitable. Christopher DeSantis, President of Royal Impressions, represented the majority opinion when he said:
For members of franchise and other networks, Carl Gerhardt, who serves on the board of PrintImage International and is a member of the Allegra executive team, offers this piece of advice relative to how a franchise or “corporate” function can help individual operators sift through the vast amounts of information, often redundant and sometimes conflicting, that is available to them from associations and other sources:
The fact that a franchisor would need to invest in resources to perform this function speaks volumes about the redundancy that exists. He goes on to point out that in the past, when PrintImage International had discussed the potential of merging with one of the larger associations, the membership overwhelmingly felt that “being a part of a larger association, … the quick and small commercial printers would be ‘lost’ and treated as a stepchild by the large commercial companies that dominate the decisions of the other associations.” This comment points to what came out as a key requirement for any consolidation, that all constituents of organizations being consolidated must continue to have their critical needs met within the framework of any new organization. He concludes, “It is time for an active discussion on this issue. An industry that is in a period of rapid consolidation can ill afford too many overlaps or inefficiencies. The answer is not a simple one.” Meeting the Needs of the Members A number of respondents indicated that they felt consolidation was inevitable, but expressed concern about the ability of a consolidated association model to meet their individual business and professional needs. Here are a few of those remarks:
And Gordon Griffiths, President of Mail-Well’s Commercial Segment, had this to say:
Who Will Survive? Our readers also voiced the strong opinion that the associations must focus their efforts on understanding evolving industry needs and articulating a clear vision and value proposition to their members. And many felt that an organizational structure that has both national and local elements is a critical enabler to accomplishing these objectives. Here’s a sampling of what they had to say:
The overwhelming majority stated that they saw too much overlap between and among the current associations. One representative of a large Midwest printer had this bit of survival advice, specifically directed at PIA/GATF and NAPL, indicating that while his company is a member of both associations currently, he believes he will be terminating his membership in one or the other in the near future. He says that since access to industry and business information is so much easier today, he finds that these organization have more overlap then ever. In order to eliminate some of the redundancy, here is what he suggests:
And another reader echoed Public Printer James’ sentiments relative to the need to be forward-looking and to foster innovation:
What Does it All Mean? Jesus J. Rodriguez, Ph.D., Professor and Chairman of the Department of Graphics and Imaging Technologies at Pittsburg State University, pointed out, “It comes back to leadership, communications and sharing the scope and direction of the old and new organization and being willing to [live up to] the expectations and insist on credibility down the road.” Gordon Stanley, GM & VP of PathForward did a nice job of summing up the feedback we received at WhatTheyThink, echoing the belief that much of the success—or failure—of any consolidation will lay on the shoulders of association leadership.
Join us tomorrow to see what association leaders have to say…. See
Part One - Frank Romano's commentary See
Part Four - The supplier's perspective 
Prior to launching her consulting practice, Ms. Cary Sherburne was the Vice President of Marketing Communications and Outsourcing Solutions at IKON Office Solutions. In that capacity, she developed and implemented a branding campaign to build brand awareness for IKON in the marketplace as well as enhance employee pride in the organization, and was responsible for all internal and external communications, including trade shows and events, corporate newsletters, and industry and press relations. In the outsourcing role, she set strategic objectives and priorities for IKON’s product and services portfolio in its Outsourcing businesses, including development of programs and sales support materials for that environment. Sherburne was a Director at CAP Ventures, an internationally known firm specializing in market research and strategic consulting for the digital document and print on demand industry, before joining IKON, where she launched and managed the company’s Document Outsourcing Consulting Service. Her tenure in the printing and publishing industry has also included sales and marketing positions at Xerox Corporation, Indigo America and Bitstream. She is a frequent speaker at industry events and a recognized author. Cary can be reached via email at cary@sherburneassociates.com , online at www.sherburneassociates.com and by telephone at 603-430-5463.
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