Knowledge, flexibility and a measure of skill will produce results in the manufacturing market
By Maggie DeWitt
Faisal Ahmad, president of Dallas-based USFI believes you have two choices in life, to be either or-dinary or extraordinaryand the skill involved in servicing the manufacturing market necessitates distributors be members of the latter group.
Designing manufacturing solutions is a research project involving extensive fact-finding missions and experiments with materials and samples before discovering the correct application, said Ahmad. He added that regardless of whether it's a form, tag or label, "the distributor must go in as a consultant, and walk out as a supplier."
And while e-forms are becoming the format of choice, noted Ahmad, cutting into profits for distributors, "the priority should always be doing the best thing for the customer, even if it means reduced revenue."
The single most important thing to remember in providing forms solutions to manufacturers is that you are not there to redesign or improve the workflow, according to Ahmad.
"Competent engineers have already created a well-defined system," he explained. "What the engineers don't know is how to design an efficient form, and that's where the forms professional comes in."
Creating an effective tool to facilitate that system requires a thorough understanding of the workflow. The distributor needs to be oriented to the entire pro-cess, which may require multiple interviews. "Each time the form is touched by someone, ask why," Ahmad suggested, "not to challenge the workflow, but to better understand the process."
The goal is to provide an end-to-end solution which requires thinking beyond production to encompass every phase of the operation until the order is closed outincluding data entry, in-voicing and filing the paperwork.
However, problems can arise when customers fancy themselves forms designersespecially if they've developed their own form in-house.
"They may have checked the workflow repeatedly, but not the form against the workflow. There is a big difference between a complete form and an efficient form," warned Ahmad.
An improperly organized form leads to general slow-downs and inefficiencies, not to mention errors. If the screen doesn't match the flow of the form, data entry operations become skewed and information can be entered incorrectly.
Once the form has been designed, Ahmad recommends using the new proof in conjunction with the old form during troubleshooting run-throughs, ensuring coherent readability and effectively organized data.
Kris Bilyeu, vice president and sales manager of Tabco Business Forms, Terre Haute, Ind., echoed Ahmad's sentiments and added that distributors need to be flexible in their approach and knowledgeable of their product line.
"For example, there may be a customer who doesn't want to pay for Tyvek, yet needs a material that's moisture-resistant. The professional consultant is able to suggest options," he said, adding that this is one way in which distributors can benefit from strong, professional working relationships with the forms manufacturers.
Tabco, for example, frequently partners with Data Label, also in Terre Haute. "They are great about getting samples out, explaining the technology and providing technical support."
Get There From Here
Extremes of heat and cold, moisture, chemicals and outdoor environments are among the most common concerns facing manufacturing customers requiring tag and label solutions.
In addition, the manufacture and distribution of goods are the leading markets for thermal-transfer technology, as usage continues to grow in product identification and shipping la-bels.
"To obtain manufacturing projects you need to get beyond the purchasing agents and directly in contact with the people running the production plant," said Bilyeu. However, he noted that a strong relationship with that purchasing agentone built on trust and consistent servicewill help get samples and information into the hands of the production managers.
Being able to cite previous manufacturing projects is also effective.
Paul Nicholson, senior account representative for Northern Printing Network, Wheeling, Ill., uncoversand retainsmanufacturing accounts by keeping in touch and showing responsiveness.
"It's basically sales 101 and persistence is the key," he said. Networking, asking for referrals, sending out information, calling contacts and keeping his eyes and ears peeled have all helped Nicholson get his foot in the door, but it's personal, consis-tent service which he credits most for keeping his successful accounts "The Internet is a fantastic tool," he said and Northern Printing Network is currently designing a more interactive site to encourage its use for repeat orders. "But," Nicholson stressed, "it will never replace personal service."
Regular, in-person visits to monitor quality and customer satisfaction are crucial to maintaining long term relationships according to Nicholson. He discussed two accounts in particulara producer of pinball machines and video games and an automotive bearings and seals manufacturer.
In addition to a shipping label, each video game requires a UL/CSA label on the outside cabinet indicating a serial number, bar code and date of manufacture as well as smaller, die-cut labels placed inside on the circuit boards. Since all of these labels travel together through the production process, Nicholson designed a single sheet containing six individual labels.
"The durable polyolefin material required for the UL/CSA application isn't necessary for the shipping label, but having the labels all together provides the customer time-saving and error-reducing benefits that far outweigh any additional costs incurred," he explained.
Nicholson has serviced this client for more than 16 years, paying monthly visits to ensure consistent quality and customer satisfaction.
The automotive parts manufacturer does a lot of after-market business through NAPA stores, utilizing more than 30,000,000 packaging labels a year.
Imprinted with variable information and blown onto the boxes, these are permanent labels applied to a flat surface and stored at room temperature. While this appears to be a straight-forward application, the high volume of labels passing through the presses can cause jams and interrupt production.
"You need to ensure the correct tension so the liner releases properly and that the right amount of adhesive is used. In addition, the ribbon printing the variable information has to fit the application," said Nicholson.
Because images from wax ribbons are prone to smudging, the more durable images produced by resin ribbons are more suitable for packaging labels, especially if the boxes will be rubbing together during storage. Finding the correct application requires lots of testing.
Provide Personalized Services
Standardization of all printed materials is also a major issue for Nicholson's automotive customer, creating an opportunity to provide all of its business forms, labels, invoices, printed instructions, shipping labels and even commercially printed promotional pieces.
This high volume of business has led Nicholson to provide the customer with vendor-managed inventory services. On a weekly basis, Nicholson conducts inventory and handles re-ordersa tremendous service which allows the customer to concentrate on core business.
Nicholson sees the flexibility distributors now have to offer services beyond traditional printed products as a major benefit of the changing marketplace.
"One-stop-shopping provides overwhelmed purchasing professionals a single source for information and guidance in securing a myriad of products, while generating new sources of revenue for distributors," said Nicholson.
Northern Printing Network markets vendor-managed inventory services to select customers, warehousing products and bill0ing upon release, giving the customer one monthly bill summarizing usage Profit-boosting strategies are leading many companies to outsource some administrative, non-revenue producing aspects of the business like invoicing, "opening up new opportunities for distributors to sell the service of a total document management consultant," said Nicholson.
Northern Printing Network President Art Collins explained that "If a company wants to outsource its invoicing, it can send us the data and we will coordinate the printing and fulfillment through our network of ser-vice professionals. A CD of the transaction is recorded and given to the customer for auditing purposes, allowing the customer to keep track of invoicing while concentrating on the core business."
However, he cautioned that distributors should only make this type of service available to customers when it will be profitable and justify additional administrative costs.
"Make sure the volume is there. Look for at least $100,000 in annual business," suggested Collins.