Into the Belly of The Beast: Managed Print Services Discussed at Purchaser Conference

Purchasing Magazine sponsored the Smart Sourcing Summit in Chicago, October 13-14.

On the second day, just before lunch, there was a session entitled, "Business Printing Solutions: Managing Print Services".

How interesting.

That's right, a convention of Purchasers.

A collection of folks, educated in the art of "grinding" you, bent on making your job more difficult, and reducing your commissions. These PA's with their CPM's were dedicating 45 minutes to Managed Print Services.

It's no secret, I really don't like purchasers.

I can count on one hand, the number of "Purchasing Agents" I have been willing to work with over the past 20 years, and two of those, I met just within the last couple of years. But hey, we all got a job to do, and purchasing is the lynch pin of every successful business.

And it's no secret that if you are selling ANYTHING to the Purchaser, you are a commodity - not the place to start a conversation around Managed Print Services.

Which is why this article piqued my interest and to my surprise, a friend of DOTC was carrying the MPS banner - Ed from Photizo.

Check the article out.

It doesn't surprise me that MPS is getting the attention of the Purchasing community.

The MPS message, printing costs are out of control and unmanaged is resonating at all levels in business.

From the show:

"...Crowley says the lifecycle for printer or copier is three years yet uncoordinated procurement allows for out-of-date equipment to remain in service and operate badly. The problem is exacerbated since "less than 10% of total corporate print spend is for hardware..."

Although the Purchasing Department may be the antithesis of value add, it is sometimes better to align with these folks - find a common area of concern - turning the advisory into a ally.

The common issue? Cost.

MPS reduces Costs. Period. Even the most stodgy and decrypt PA understands cost reduction.

Video Of The Week: It's Only 7 minutes, 26 seconds, Let's Go to India

2009

India and Asia seem to be very good markets for MPS in general, and Canon MPS specifically. Some say the future of MPS is in the far East, indeed I have commented about Canon in India. 

MPS aside, Indian music has exploded on the scene with Slum Dog, etc. Some of you may remember this song from the Jodi Foster movie, "Inside Man" - she looks friggin hot and plays a great part, by the way. 

But check this out. 

I doubt very much you will ever find Mariah or Witney dancing and singing on a moving train, as it snakes its way over bridges and through mountain tunnels. Notice how the two stars sing, dance and stomp on the train, and how the director uses the darkness of the train tunnel - special lighting on the female singer. 

No green screens here. 

Think of this as a 7-minute vacation - before your "forecast meeting" or Friday, end of the week rah, rah...  

Enjoy. 

2010: The Year of the Tablet, The Year of the E-Book

When Dan Brown’s latest blockbuster, The Lost Symbol, was released recently by Random House, digital sales of the book on the Kindle were rivaling paper sales on Amazon.com.

On campuses all around the country, students can download "one time use" digital versions of chapters or complete text books.

Are publishers shaking in their boots, eye to eye with yet another"nail in the coffin" - one more milestone on the downward spiral of the DeathOfPrint?

Or could this next technological mash-up SAVE publishers; save the "Dead-Tree Media"?

Will some pitch against the tide like so many music executives had against iTUNES?

Apple is preparing to make a big splash in tablets early next year - this one a little bigger than the Kindle some think this to be a title wave to rival the iPod.

And Xerox thinks paper will never go away.

But what does this mean for us?

It means that instead of carrying around a pad of paper, or a Franklin - by the way, do Selling Professionals still use Franklin Planners? - we will be checking email, forwarding proposals and reading the latest internal HP "constraint report" on our half-inch thick "digital readers".

And there is more.

If Apple can pull it off, you will see publications go directly to consumers through iTunes - by the magazine, newspaper, author, or subject matter.

Cheap subscriptions - perhaps "by the article" or even, by the author -

I haven't read about this angle yet - before iTunes, how many of us would purchase a CD(or if you remember vinyl) to be dissappointed that more then a couple of songs really didn't float your boat?

I know, back in the day, the songs on the album actually were there because the artist felt his/her creation included the COMPLETE work, all 12 tracks, not just the commercially viable tunes. Remember Johnny Cougar, "...the record company's changin my name now..."

Today, musical content is sold, and consumed, one, 99 cent song, at a time. Apply this to the Wall Street Journal - the Mother of all Newspapers(debatable). Other than corporate titans who have 2 hours in the morning, probably because they are a prison cell somewhere, who else can easily read the complete issue every, single, day?

But maybe I would pay, a very small yearly fee, to receive the "left" column. Perhaps I could have my new searches all end up on a custom formated and downloaded on my new iTab.

And not just print. Video as well. All on one 11x17x0.50, water resistant, digital, place mat.