Two Roads to Market
It was a classic, unassuming whiteboard with erasable markers that helped Indianapolis-based Integrity Document Solutions blaze new trails. Meanwhile, at InnerWorkings in Chicago, sophisticated software and highly specialized databases forged the way to a unique business model. Representatives from both companies discussed journeying through uncharted territory to find their unique paths to profitability. Think Outside the Industry
To say Carol Schwachenwald is resourceful and solution-oriented is a bit of an understatement. The former home economics teacher is now the president of Integrity, and a nominee for Woman Business Owner of the Year for the Indianapolis chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO)—just one of her many accolades. Observing the unique relationships Integrity has within the printing industry, as well as with professionals in related fields, such as television production and marketing, she instinctively set about bringing the experience and talent together to see what could happen.
“Two years ago, we started what I call the Whiteboard Group,” explained Schwachenwald. “We literally used a whiteboard during our meetings to discuss ways we could partner with one another to target key accounts in various industries. The group is made up of accomplished professionals in a variety of industries. One person in the group is an entrepreneur who invents different [products]. We help him take them to market and do the branding and cross-selling. Another person is involved in a warehousing, distribution and fulfillment business that receives a tremendous amount of print into its warehouse,” she continued. “Additionally, there are professionals in marketing, design and radio. We explored ways to procure the print for the clients utilizing that warehouse service, and established an alliance, if you will. Over time, we have developed and nurtured these relationships. Now, we are really striking out and are starting to see some real revenue streams coming in as a result.”
Dan Kelly, Integrity’s COO, described the company’s philosophy as not being all things to all people, but striving to be a lot of things to a select group of people. Integrity has developed a target filtering system based on its core capabilities and the attributes of its best clients. “The goal is to focus only on those customers where there is a good match. We want to bring value beyond our expansive product base by developing processes that are unique to each customer,” he said. “Whatever the customer needs, we focus on developing that relationship and gaining [his or her] trust as we consult and assist in all areas of their business. Carol even worked with [a local] municipality to source painting their water tower. And, we’re currently working with a designer clothing company to develop an innovative way to market T-shirts [featuring removable designer patch-like] accessories. We’re consulting with them to find a solution and the right adhesives that will sustain long-term wear.”
Schwachenwald maintained Integrity’s focus is not on the “what”—meaning any particular product or service—but rather, on the “how.”
During the two-year period when Indianapolis was building the new Weir Cook airport terminal, she attended the board meetings of the airport authority. “Even when all they were talking about was construction contracts, I made myself known there. Fast forward to last spring when I was asked to be on NAWBO’s Trailblazer panel, and spoke at an event about having been a teacher and now a business woman and marrying the skills together,” she said.
The directory of marketing and communications for the airport authority later shared with Schwachenwald that she, also, had been a teacher. Conversation ensued, and Integrity ended up with a deal to provide all of the printing for the new airport, such as hang tags for taxi cabs, brochures, passes and various guide books, including one detailing major artwork on display through the facility. “The director of marketing told me we won her business because we were the ones talking to her about processes,” she commented.
Providing the “how” is creating opportunities with the largest paper plate, cup and napkin supplier in the country to help facilitate custom print programs. There is also a motor sports marketing group seeking to partner with Integrity to provide marketing and branding for race teams and a new race series taking place in Indianapolis.
“The marketplace is changing. For example, 85 percent of people under the age of 25 actually prefer to receive an SMS (Short Message Service) or a text message over e-mail marketing,” noted Kelly. “So, how do you learn about that and coordinate it with your customers’ current direct mail campaigns? We try to educate ourselves as much as possible—whether [it’s about] new media or green initiatives, which has been a main focus of mine—and use the knowledge as a selling point with our customers.”
Ins and Outs of Print Procurement
It wasn’t a whiteboard, but the World Wide Web which served as a catalyst for InnerWorkings’ growth and future development.
InnerWorkings’ CEO Eric Belcher, explained the company’s proprietary software, PPM4 (Print Production Manager 4th version), is the backbone of the company. He pointed out that more than 95 percent of printing purchases in the United States are made by individuals who actually specialize in other verticals or spaces within their companies, and they frequently lack tools and data to be as efficient and effective as possible.
“They are primarily operating with limited resources involving phone numbers, e-mail addresses and some relationships they may have with a few suppliers built up over the years,” observed Belcher. “As talented as these [buyers] may be, they don’t have the technological resources and data to search through thousands of potential suppliers on a job-by-job basis, and pull up equipment profiles, historical pricing [and other] relevant information supporting the print procurement process. We advocate not only using the technology and data in print procurement, but [also] outsourcing the function to a corporation specializing in the task, just as they would, say, outsource payroll functions.”
He discussed how the founders of InnerWorkings, technology-oriented entrepreneurs, saw “a dramatic information asymmetry within the printing industry,” with literally tens of thousands of suppliers on one hand, and far more buyers of print on the other, all operating with limited data information and technology. From the ground level up, they developed a system designed to focus solely on print procurement and order management. “Over the years, InnerWorkings has been fortunate to be able to attract a number of industry leaders who recognized the value of our technology, and that no other such tool existed in the marketplace,” added Belcher.
Essentially, PPM4 enables users to determine the ideal equipment and plant profile for a specific job and then provides recommendations for the best-suited suppliers by matching supplier profiles to the job layout. In addition, there are approximately 600,000 searchable records providing detailed job specifications across more than 60 different categories of print showing the prices InnerWorkings paid, regardless of buyer and supplier.
“We know which suppliers are ideally suited [for] a job because we know their manufacturing capabilities and we know what we’ve paid for similar jobs. It’s all contained in a searchable, relational database which allows buyers to have tremendous information and drives savings for clients. It’s simply stunning data and technology,” continued Belcher.
The company landed its first major enterprise account—John Deere—in 2005, and was recently named one of its top suppliers. Currently, there are approximately 20 Fortune 500 companies and 140 enterprise accounts that have outsourced the procurement function to InnerWorkings. Although encompassing various markets, the one thing InnerWorkings’ clients all have in common, shared Belcher, is a willingness to break from the status quo and outsource what they clearly admit is a non-core competency, but yet a very important function within their company.
“It takes a forward-thinking [senior] management team. We deploy dedicated resources, well trained in the print industry and print buying in particular to work, in many cases, directly on-site at the client’s location using PPM4 as a core management and procurement tool. In total, we have 51 of our employees working full time on-site at our clients’ locations,” he noted. “Our goal is to become an extension of the companies’ marketing and procurement teams, where we are part of the daily fabric of their operations.”
Schwachenwald, Kelly and Belcher all agreed that breaking with tradition to discover unique opportunities is also a great way to recruit young talent to the industry. “Young business professionals today are attracted to growth, technology and a new way of doing things,” said Belcher.
It appeals to today’s customer, as well. “Soon, the clients are going to be my age and younger, and I think of this when [Integrity] is investigating unique relationships and models. Even as we explore new initiatives, it’s taking us out of the office more, and we don’t want to be tied to one place to work. So, we’re replacing our land lines with a hosted PBX phone system,” offered Kelly. “[Young decision makers] will see the value of these types of changes. It says, ‘You’re someone I want to work with.’” PPR