Procurement and Print Management issues dominated a lively debate when some of the screen and large format digital print industry’s most influential individuals gathered at The Ritz in London for the latest FESPA UK Association Think Tank event on 29 January.
Against the opulent backdrop provided by one of the world’s most famous hotels, 20 delegates, representing nearly £200m of sales in the Point of Sale Industry, shared experiences and proposed solutions to the taxing issues around the main topics. They were also joined by one of the country’s leading female marketers.
Tina Fegent has an in-depth knowledge of Marketing Procurement. She works with some of Europe’s leading companies and chairs the Chartered Institute of Purchasing Supply Specialist Knowledge Group on Marketing Purchasing. In her presentation Tina underlined some of the benefits to the end client of using Print Management companies and provided advice to delegates on how to become more procurement and print management company-friendly.
There was some agreement within the meeting that print is perceived as small part of the marketing mix, and it was agreed that printers need to consider developing a fuller range of services to offer to end users where printers would work together in consortia to meet the needs of the end user both nationally and throughout Europe via FESPA Associations. But it was also mentioned that some of the major clients are now wanting to talk directly to printers.
There was also constructive debate on other key issues concerning the industry, including how intellectual property is managed to protect the printer and stop IP theft. Another key debate was on education both of the market and young recruits to the industry. The FESPA UK Association will be unveiling a range of activities and initiatives resulting from these discussions in the forthcoming months.
