Good Morning from DMIA 2007

Good Morning from DMIA 2007 in Las Vegas!
The exhibitor show starts tomorrow with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 12:15 PM The educational sessions begin today at noon. So far it is sunny and 75 in the valley. I will be setting up our booth this morning and preparing for an interview with one of the attendees this afternoon. Stay tuned and hope to see you on the exhibit floor.
John

CEO Confidence Declines Further

Oct. 5, 2007 -- The Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence, which had declined to 45 in the second quarter of 2007, edged down to 44 in the third quarter. A reading of more than 50 points reflects more positive than negative responses. The survey includes about 100 business leaders in a wide range of industries.

"Despite the rather bleak assessment of current conditions, CEOs are not as pessimistic in their short-term outlook," says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "But although the outlook is somewhat brighter than last quarter, the pace of growth is likely to remain moderate in the months ahead."

CEOs' assessment of current economic conditions was less favorable, with 14 percent claiming economic conditions had improved, down from 23 percent last quarter. In assessing their own industries, business leaders were also less optimistic. Approximately 17 percent claim conditions are better, down from approximately 23 percent in the first quarter.

CEOs, however, are moderately more optimistic about the short-term outlook than last quarter. Now, approximately 20 percent of business leaders expect economic conditions to improve in the next six months, up from 17 percent last quarter. Expectations for their own industries are also more upbeat, with 27 percent anticipating an improvement, up from 17 percent last quarter.

Capital Spending Plans Decline

Some 24 percent of business executives report increases in their companies' capital spending plans since January of this year, while 13 percent have scaled plans back, based on a supplementary question asked each year in the third quarter. This is a moderate change from the 2006 survey, when 28 percent of respondents had increased their capital spending plans and 9 percent had made cuts. Among the reasons given for increasing capital investment plans, the most common was an increase in sales volume. A decline in sales volume was the most cited reason for a decrease in spending plans.

Related Tables are attached. (You will need Adobe Acrobat to view)

Source: CEO Confidence 3rd Quarter 2007
The Conference Board

Are Reverse Auctions good for the Print Industry?

So the question has come up again; "does Cross-Wind do Reverse Auctions?" My biggest concern is why are buyers so infatuated with reverse auctions? I find it hard to believe that anyone in the print industry would even consider these. Have the lessons not been learned? I really would like further feedback on this from the print supplier/printers perspective.

I can tell you that I have personally sat in on reverse auctions with a printer, as an observer and I can tell you it was quite painful for the print supplier. The auction was a long duration auction lasting 3 days. The supplier reviewed the specifications and had questions as did other suppliers apparently by the feedback response that was given to the questions. Of course no one really wants to ask a question about the specs on an open forum as that may give away something none of the other bidders had considered and if the customer is not accepting questions any other way then the questions often go unanswered. The specifications in the suppliers eyes were not complete so therefore they felt they were unable to provide the best pricing and without being able to consult directly with the customer the price would not be complete. Also pricing did not start coming in to the auction site until the last 3 or 4 hours and then got really heated in the last few minutes which by looking at the price differences that printers were providing there was margin the whole time. In addition, the customer was fairly savy in that they were using a ringer. They had a supplier that truly had no intention of doing the job but was there strictly to drive the price as low as possible. Every time pricing was submitted the ringer would respond within a minute or two and counter the price by a percentage point. So if a print supplier was truly interested in the job they were forced to drop the price even further if they wanted it. The print supplier I was working with had decided early on that they were not going to get the work and that this was a waste of their time. The supplier estimated the job with their standard markup, a discounted price, and with their cost. When the auction started he offered up his discount price immediately which was a 0.5% profit margin. Within an hour he countered with his cost price which meant no profit on the job. One minute later the ringer countered that price which would have put the print supplier at a 1% loss. The right thing to do for the printer would have been to walk away at that point. However the printer knew e needed to fill the press and chose to go .5% lower (now at a 1.5% loss.) With a half hour left in the auction another supplier countered his offer. The printer while frustrated chose at this point to walk away from the job. Now once the price went below cost the printer spent most of his time that afternoon trying to run different scenarios as to how they could cut cost on the project to win the bid. This was a very painful experience for the supplier as they met and engaged the production department and pre-press in devising ways that cost could be trimmed, but without the answers or the ability to ask questions of the customer their was no way to respond without taking a complete loss on the project. The supplier walked away frustrated and realized later how much time was truly wasted in trying to respond blindly to the auction. This supplier politely turned down the next invitation to a reverse auction for this customer, and when the customer called to ask why, they politely told them that if this was the way they intended to do business from now on that they were not interested in being a supplier for them.

The customer lost out on having a consultative resource available to them. The bottom line for the supplier was that if doing business meant doing it at a loss they were not willing to risk losing their company to satisfy a customers need to save money. There is a balance and companies are in business to make money.

What are your thoughts? I am interested in hearing what Printers and Print Buyers think regarding using and completing Reverse Auctions. Post your comments! All will be posted. Thanks!

Print Buyers International Announces Speaker Line-up for 2nd Annual Print Buyers Conference

Print Buyers International Press Release

Print Buyers International today announced their speaker line-up for the upcoming 2nd Annual Print Buyers Conference on November 7th and 8th at the Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center in Westford, Massachusetts. Headlined by keynoters Frank Romano and Dr. Joe Webb, the conference will offers attendees the expert input of 22 different renowned industry authorities. For complete conference details, including session descriptions, speaker bios, and program logistics, go to http://www.printbuyersinternational.com.

In an unsolicited email, Joan Grace, Chief Executive, PrintNZ (New Zealand) stated, “Having seen the proceedings from last year’s 1st Annual Boston Print Buyers conference and then looking at who Margie had attracted to speak this year, I decided this was a ‘must do’ in terms of my own professional development. I am looking forward immensely to meeting Frank Romano, who continues to challenge the industry to consider its future. Likewise, the session with Don Carli, Institute of Sustainable Communication, is important to me. In a small country like New Zealand, it will be helpful for me to see how the printing industry in a much larger economy is addressing environmental sustainability. I am also looking forward to meeting with the print buyer delegates – what do they want from our industry? – are we delivering it? Finally, with such a great line-up, I would like some advice from Margie on how I can attend more than one session at a time!”

Speaker Line-Up

This international print buyers conference offers a rich and comprehensive educational program. This year, there will be 21 educational sessions, held over two days, dedicated to the enhanced understanding of professional print and media buyers. In addition to a buyers’ panel moderated by PBI founder Margie Dana, the conference will offer the expert opinion of several of the industry’s leading authorities:

Frank Romano, Professor Emeritus, RIT;
Dr. Joe Webb, Director, WhatTheyThink.com's Economics and Research Center;
Derek Awalt, Global Product Manager, Halftone Proofing, Kodak Graphic Communications Group;
Don Carli, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Sustainable Communication;
Daniel Dejan, National Print & Creative Specialist, Sappi Fine Paper;
Diane Dragoff, Purchasing Manager, United Way of Massachusetts Bay;
Christine Erna, Executive Vice President, Mailing/Fulfillment Services, Vermillion, Inc.;
Cheryl Kahanec, Vice President and Director, Digital Solutions, Sandy Alexander, Inc.;
Sabine Lenz, Founder, PaperSpecs.com;
Rick Littrell, President/CMO, Magicomm, LLC;
James Lockman, Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) Print Specialist and Owner of Working Words & Graphics;
Robert McClements, Managing Director, Grange Consulting, and founding Senior Executive of PrintYorkshire;
Jack Miller, Senior Consultant, North America, Pira International;
Nick Patrissi, Senior Marketing Manager, Kodak Graphic Communications Group;
Sandi Peterson, President, Berthelot Marketing Services;
Michael Riordan, Assistant Professor at RIT's School of Print Media;
Brian Rooney, Chief Technology Officer, Pantone, Inc.;
Bob Wagner, Vice President, Xerox Creative Services Business and Premier Partners Program.

Dinner Keynote by Frank Romano and Dr. Joe Webb

A special highlight of this year's conference will be the November 7th keynote dinner address, to be co-delivered by industry giants Frank Romano and Dr. Joe Webb. Romano is the well-known author, educator, industry guru, world-class speaker, and friend to every print customer. He delivered the keynote address at the first annual print buyer's conference held in November 2006. Webb, affectionately known as "Dr. Doom," is one of the printing industry's most highly regarded economists, consultants, forecasters, and commentators.

"We’ve built this program to bring attendees not only the hottest topics, but also sought to find the best-in-field speakers for each," noted PBI founder Margie Dana. “With Frank and Joe co-keynoting, I know the dinner session will be entertaining and information-packed. But just as valuable, Frank and Joe tell it like it is. There’s no sugar-coating. Today’s print and media buyers need to understand what’s happening and how it’s getting done. I know our hand-picked roster of speakers will tackle each topic with this same hard-hitting approach.”

For additional information, please visit http://www.printbuyersinternational.com or send your inquiries to info@bostonprintbuyers.com.