Kritische Analyse und Kommentar von Klaus-Peter und Julius Nicolay, Druckmarkt-Redaktion
„Gedrucktes auf Papier, vorausgesetzt, es ist interessant, optisch ansprechend und handwerklich exzellent gemacht, schafft gute Voraussetzungen für ein Revival des Haptischen. Zumal Print gleich zwei Dinge erreichen kann: Glaubwürdigkeit und Wertigkeit.“
„Die Printauflagen sinken auf breiter Front … Ein Ende scheint nicht in Sicht“ war auf horizont.net zu lesen; und bei meedia.de stand: „44% sehen keine relevante Zukunft für Printmedien.“ Nun ist das Interpretieren von Zahlen ja immer so eine Sache. Vor allem, wenn es (wie bei Online-News) schnell gehen muss. Denn in der Studie, auf die sich die Schlagzeilen beziehen, geht es einzig und alleine um Zeitungen und Zeitschriften beziehungsweise die Zukunft des Journalismus.
Wieder einmal wird von den Online-Redakteuren geradezu genussvoll unterschlagen, dass Print weit mehr ist als das Verbreiten von Nachrichten. Und wenn dabei aus 42 auch einmal 44 Prozent werden, stärkt das eher das Argument, dass Gedrucktes glaubwürdiger ist als andere Medien.
Wir zumindest interpretieren die Zahlen anders und halten dagegen: Deutsche glauben an Print! Das belegen auch die Zahlen aus dem Sommer 2018, die der Bundesverband Druck und Medien vorgelegt hat und ebenso die Ergebnisse, über die der Fachverband Faltschachtel-Industrie berichtet.
Was an der oben angesprochenen Studie ‚New Storytelling‘ aber besonders interessant erscheint, ist die Tatsache, dass Fachzeitschriften ein so hoher Stellenwert eingeräumt wird. Schließlich sind die ja auch schon etliche Male totgesagt worden.
Mailings sind out? VON WEGEN!
Da befinden wir uns in guter Gesellschaft. Denn das gute, alte gedruckte Mailing wurde vom digitalen Marketing immer wieder gerne totgesagt. Dabei erfreuen sich Direkt- oder Dialog-Marketing als gedruckte Mailings einer neu entfachten Beliebtheit bei Unternehmen und hoher Wertschätzung bei den Empfängern. Damit haben wir uns auch in der Sommer- Ausgabe 2018 des ‚Druckmarkt‘ intensiv beschäftigt.
Denn gerade bei den Mailings gibt es eine interessante Entwicklung: Volladressierte Werbesendungen, das heißt auch Mailings mit vollständiger Adresse und persönlicher Ansprache, gehörten 2017 zu den Gewinner-Medien.
Nach dem Dialogmarketing-Monitor 2018 der Deutschen Post verschickt jedes siebte deutsche Unternehmen volladressierte Werbesendungen. Und diese Unternehmen legten gegenüber 2016 für personalisierte Mailings noch eine Schippe drauf, sodass das Marktvolumen um gut 4% auf 6,5 Mrd. € stieg.
Durchschnittlich sind den Unternehmen ihre volladressierten Werbesendungen fast 13.000 € wert. Das Plus von 300 Mio. € fließt etwas stärker in die Planung, Konzeption und Produktion der Werbesendungen als in die Distribution, die aber weiterhin den größten Kostenblock darstellt. Und der Wert für die Druckproduktion von Mailings wird mit immerhin 3,12 Mrd. € angegeben. Gar nicht so schlecht für ein ‚nettes Briefchen‘.
Je digitaler die Welt, desto analoger die Bedürfnisse!
Taucht da bei den Menschen etwa eine Sehnsucht nach etwas Realem auf, nach etwas Haptischem, nach etwas, das bleibt – und nicht beim nächsten Klick vom Monitor und damit aus dem Gedächtnis verschwunden ist? Gedrucktes auf Papier, vorausgesetzt, es ist interessant, optisch ansprechend und handwerklich exzellent gemacht, schafft gute Voraussetzungen für ein Revival des Haptischen. Zumal Print gleich zwei Dinge erreichen kann: Glaubwürdigkeit und Wertigkeit.
Foto: Screenshot der Website von Hunkeler AG, Schweiz.
Drucksachen, die als Wegwerfprodukt konzipiert sind, werden dies nicht vermitteln können. Ohnehin sind billig und lieblos produzierte Drucksachen für den Papierkorb beim Empfänger bestimmt.
Werden sie jedoch engagiert und mit Liebe zum Detail hergestellt, spüren Empfänger und Leser diese Wertschätzung. Sie werden sich damit beschäftigen, vielleicht sogar aufheben oder weiterreichen. Dann ist das Ziel beim Mailing, bei der Werbung und bei allen anderen Drucksachen erreicht, die damit eine relevante Zukunft haben!
Das DRUCKMARKT-Team und Klaus-Peter Nicolay sind Partner und Mit-Initiatoren von #Think!Paper, der übergreifenden Initiative, die sich dem Thema „The Beauty of Print&Transformation“ widmet.
Many brands boast that they “create worlds of experience for our customers.” The question I ask myself is: do brands still meet the momentum which really determines customer needs, or rather: customer satisfaction? Or does an increasingly enforced brand experience approach not just miss the mark, but create more frustration than enjoyment?
Preliminary remark: learn from the best! Before any initial questions can be answered, looking back will help to bring us forward (‘Back to the Future’ style). Apple is a prime example to learn from. In the mid-90s, the company was at an all-time low, almost to the point of bankruptcy. Despite this, they managed a turnaround. Today, Apple has been the world’s most valuable brand for years. How was this possible? — “Communication first” was a central statement of the legendary Steve Jobs at the ‘Apple confidential meeting’ on September 23, 1997.
With the “Think Different” Campaign he launched shortly afterwards, he initiated a tremendous upheaval in the industrial industry. 10 years later, they went on to break the sound barrier with the release of the iPhone. Since then, Apple as been making a higher per capita profit than most companies in terms of per capita sales.
Although Jobs emphasized that products, marketing and distribution are important, he put smart communication above all else and made it a top priority. With his iPhone presentation on January 9, 2007, he achieved an ad-hoc gain of around $1 billion (media coverage, share price growth) before the product was even on the shelves. The trick: Jobs personally demonstrated the new device in great detail, and thus made himself identifiable with his customers and their new experience possibilities.
The credo: Smart Communication puts the central focus on the customer experience. This has made the pioneer Apple the number one premium brand to date. As an iCEO, Jobs was also a dedicated Chief Communications Officer, which enabled his ideas to become part of the DNA of Apple, its partners and, in particular, its customers. This is a principle to which other companies, such as Berkshire Hathaway by Warren Buffett or Virgin by Richard Branson presumably also owe their success.
In my opinion, Apple is by far the most capable Smart Communication Company — and that includes maximum loyalty to their customers around the globe.
Personal note: Anyone who buys an Apple product can experience
this — I’ve just bought the new iMac 27” with a Retina 5K Display and a MagicTrackPad. From (online) procurement including leasing to
free-of-charge delivery, the incredibly easy setup (just unpacking the iMac is a beautifully designed experience) up to the iCloud registration following Apple’s welcome email — which offered the very best professional support — the new computer seamlessly became a part of both my personal and professional life. This includes marvelous surprises, numerous technical innovations and quality features at the highest level. In conclusion: benchmark!
So let’s ask ourselves:
What distinguishes customer experience from brand experience?
Learning from the best: If you take a closer look, Apple and many other of the world’s most valuable brands follow a similar principle. Google, Facebook, Amazon, Uber and Airbnb – all of which are highly successful companies of recent times – have internalized and practiced the customer experience principle.
Experts like to claim that their success is due to the superior innovative platform business model. To an extent, in my opinion, this is true: exponential growth is possible with this model, as you are able to address millions, even billions, of customers directly. However, business model innovations, as well as new digital technologies, are ‘only’ a means to an end — and not necessarily a guarantee of success.
Think different!
Consideration 1
It is crucial to exploit the innovation and technology mechanisms in such a way that dialogues or conversations with customers take place in real time. This enables us to perfect services and create products that are tailored to the customer’s needs. Smart Communication ensures all of this!!
Consideration 2
The brand itself is no longer the center of attention; instead, it rather becomes a common vehicle for companies and customers. Mass Marketing becomes Customized Mass Marketing. The majority of established brand companies put their focus on brand experience in order to impress customers with the strongest possible brand impact. This is a way to impress your customers with the strongest possible brand experience and thus induce them to buy your products. However, the best case scenario in this: you end up covering your costs, but you can barely manage to grow profitably and organically or achieve double-digit margins.
Consideration 3
Reality is inevitable: customers often feel more and more disappointed if they feel that brands have lost personal contact with them.
Adobe’s study, “Reinventing Loyalty: The New Loyalty Experience” (Fall 2017) found that 75% of CMOs admit that customer loyalty/customer satisfaction need to be improved, or that they don’t even know what their customers are dealing with. “This clearly demonstrates that CMOs feel that there is huge room for improvement when it comes to implementing new loyalty dimensions.”
In my opinion, these new “loyalty dimensions” are entrenched in “old” values: trust, satisfaction, and relatedness. These values also form the core of Smart Communication.
In this context: The usual“digital” transformation efforts of many companies miss the point. Instead of focusing on customer experience, many companies focus instead on the optimization of internal processes.
While these do save the company time and money, they tend to drastically increase time and effort for the customer. Personal, human-to-human consultation opportunities are thus almost impossible. Anyone who’s spent far too much time on hold knows what I’m talking about.
Consideration 4
In my view, in order to avoid customer dissatisfaction and loss of loyalty, it is not necessarily a matter of changing qualifications, but of changing the mandate of those responsible for marketing.
Why?
Brand experience puts the focus on buying. It mainly uses expensive media and creative services from third parties (although Nielsen reports that in Germany, Europe’s premium market in 2017, gross advertising expenditure declined in some cases, despite high growth in mobile advertising). The corresponding strategies and measures are aimed at, almost as if on a hunt, bombarding customers with advertising, anywhere, anytime. So-called bonus programs make the hunt all the more dynamic.
But: Customer Experience, on the other hand, relies on customer satisfaction and service, through methods of direct contact and dialogue. Customer Experience follows the principle of ‘Listen & Learn.’ Real-time capturing of customers experiences is used to continuously improve products and services. Communication and transaction are interlinked as closely as possible, preferably seamlessly. The credo: It’s all about interaction and relatedness by smart communication.
Consideration 5
The Brand Experience Principle no longer applies. Customer sensitivities and expectations can best be met with an individually-tailored Smart Communication architecture, which should be designed with a customer experience focus.
If the Smart Communication strategy, which is so successful for Apple, is structured in a systemic way, adapted to your company, and precisely understood in detail, the essence of Smart Communication, you will be able to respond extremely quickly to individual customer needs. There is no other choice! ‘Communication first’ thus goes hand in hand with ‘Customer benefits first.’
Instructions
Think different! Put your current branding and customer experience strategies to the test and discuss your findings with others.
Rethink and critically assess the values of your company’s current communication approach and processes (i. e. via the ValueCheck questionnaire).
Listen & Learn. Understand and use the insights that my White Paper on Smart Communication offers, including specific instructions for action and organizational models.
I am always available for further explanations and support.
About Andreas Weber, Founder and CEO of Value Communication AG Since more than 25 years Andreas Weber serves on an international level as a business communication analyst, influencer and transformer. His activities are dedicated to the ‘Transformation for the Digital Age’ via presentations, management briefings, coachings, workshops, analysis&reports, strategic advice. — Andreas Weber’s Blog inspires readers from around 130 countries around the globe.
Was bringt dem Kunden eine Marke? Was fordert eine Marke dem Kunden ab?
Überlegungen von Andreas Weber, Head of Value | English Version
Marken schwärmen: „Wir schaffen Erlebniswelten für unsere Kunden.“
Die Frage, die sich mir stellt, lautet: Treffen Marken noch das Momentum, was Kundenbedürfnisse, oder besser: die Kundenbefindlichkeit, tatsächlich ausmacht? Oder führt eine zunehmend forcierte Brand Experience-Attitüde nicht am Ziel vorbei — schafft mehr Frust als Lust?
Vorbemerkung: Von den Besten lernen! — Bevor sich die Eingangsfragen beantworten lassen, tut ein Blick zurück nach vorne gut (’Back to the Future’). Apple ist ein Paradebeispiel, von dem wir lernen können. Mitte der 1990er Jahre im Dauertief, fast nahe der Pleite, gelang der Turnaround. Heute ist Apple seit Jahren die wertvollste Marke der Welt. Wie konnte das gelingen? — „Communication first“ war ein zentrales Statement des legendären Steve Jobs beim ‚Apple confidential meeting‘ am 23. September 1997.
Mit der kurz darauf gestarteten, unendlich erfolgreichen „Think Different“-Kampagne leitete er einen gewaltigen Umbruch in der Industriegeschichte ein, um mit dem iPhone 10 Jahre später die Schallmauer zu durchbrechen. Apple macht seitdem einen höheren Pro-Kopf-Gewinn als die meisten Unternehmen Pro-Kopf-Umsatz.
Jobs betonte, dass Produkte, Marketing und Distribution wichtig seien, stellte aber die ‚Smart Communication‘ über alles und machte sie zur Chefsache. Mit seiner iPhone-Präsentation am 9. Januar 2007 erzielte er ad-hoc einen Zugewinn von rund 1 Milliarde US-Dollar (Media-Coverage, Aktienkurszuwachs) ohne das Produkt schon verkaufen zu können. Der Kniff: Jobs führte das neue Gerät bis ins Detail persönlich vor und hat sich damit mit seinen Kunden und ihren neuen Erlebnismöglichkeiten identifizierbar gemacht.
Das Credo: Smart Communication rückt die Customer Experience ins Zentrum und machte den Vorreiter Apple bis dato zur Premium-Marke Nummer 1. Als iCEO war Jobs zugleich auch ein engagierter Chief Communication Officer, um seine Vorstellungen Teil der DNA von Apple, seiner Partner und v. a. seiner Kunden werden zu lassen. Ein Prinzip, dem andere Unternehmen wie z. B. Berkshire Hathaway durch Warren Buffett oder Virgin durch Richard Branson vermutlich ebenfalls ihren Erfolg verdanken.
Apple hat sich aus meiner Sicht mit Abstand als fähigstes Smart Communication-Unternehmen profiliert. Mit maximaler Loyalität bei Kunden rund um den Globus.
Persönliche Anmerkung: Die Erfahrung kann jeder machen, der ein Apple Produkt kauft — so wie ich gerade den neuen iMac 27’’ mit Retina 5K Display und MagicTrackpad: Von der (Online-)Beschaffung inkl. Leasing bis zur Lieferung frei Haus, der kinderleichten Inbetriebnahme (allein das Auspacken des iMac ist ein Designerlebnis!), bis zu der iCloud-Anmeldung unmittelbar folgenden Welcome-Email von Apple — die Profi-Support anbot, der sogleich aufs Beste erfolgte — wurde in kürzester Zeit der neue Computer Teil meiner persönlichen Erlebnis- und Arbeitswelt. Mit wunderbaren Überraschungen dank zahlreicher Technik-Innovationen und Qualitätsmerkmalen auf höchstem Niveau. In Summe: Benchmark!
Fragen wir uns also:
Was unterscheidet Customer Experience von Brand Experience?
Von den besten lernen: Schaut man genau hin, verfolgen neben Apple auch andere der wertvollsten Marken der Welt ein ähnliches Prinzip: Google, Facebook, Amazon, Uber und Airbnb — alles überaus erfolgreiche Unternehmen der neueren Zeit, die das Customer Experience-Prinzip verinnerlicht haben und praktizieren. Von Experten wird gerne angeführt, der Erfolg liege am überlegenen innovativen Plattform-Geschäftsmodell.
Aus meiner Sicht stimmt das zwar, weil exponentielles Wachstum möglich wird: man ist in der Lage, Millionen und Milliarden von Kunden direkt anzusprechen; aber Geschäftsmodell-Innovationen wie auch neue Digital-Technologien sind ‚nur’ Mittel zum Zweck — und per se keine Erfolgsgaranten.
Wir müssen also das Andere denken — Think different!
Überlegung 1
Entscheidend ist, die Innovations- und Technologie-Mechanismen so auszunutzen, dass Dialoge respektive Konversationen mit Kunden in Echtzeit entstehen, um für die Perfektionierung von Services und Produkten nutzbar zu werden, die sich am individuellen Bedarf des Kunden ausrichten. Smart Communication stellt das sicher!
Überlegung 2
Die Marke selbst steht nicht mehr im Zentrum, sie wird quasi zum gemeinsamen Vehikel von Unternehmen und Kunden. Aus Mass Marketing wird Mass Customized Marketing. Legt man wie die Mehrzahl der etablierten Markenunternehmen den Fokus auf Brand Experience, um über die möglichst starke Strahlkraft der Marke per Mass Penetration Kunden zu beeindrucken und so zum Kaufen zu bewegen, kann man im besten Falle noch Kosten decken, aber kaum noch profitabel organisch wachsen oder zweistellige Margen erzielen.
Überlegung 3
Die Realität ist zwangsläufig: Kunden fühlen sich mehr und mehr enttäuscht, wenn Marken offensichtlich den persönlichen Kontakt zu Ihnen verloren haben.
Adobe hat in seiner aktuellen Studie „Reinventing Loyalty: The New Loyalty Experience“ (Herbst 2017) herausgefunden, dass 75 Prozent der CMO’s zugeben, dass bei Kunden-bindung/Kundenzufriedenheit Verbesserungsbedarf besteht bzw. dass sie gar nicht wissen, was ihre Kunden eigentlich beschäftigt. „This clearly demonstrates that CMOs feel that there is huge room for improvement when it comes to implementing the new loyalty dimensions.“
Die neuen ‚Loyalty Dimensions’ fußen meines Erachten auf ‚alten‘ gemeinsamen Wertvorstellungen, geprägt durch Vertrauen, Zufriedenheit, Verbundenheit (relatedness), die auch den Kern von Smart Communication ausmachen.
In diesem Kontext zu beachten:Die üblichen ‚digitalen‘ Transformations-Bestrebungen führen am Ziel vorbei, da nicht Customer Experience, sondern die Optimierung unternehmensinterner Prozesse erfolgt, die dem Unternehmen Aufwand und Kosten sparen, den Aufwand beim Kunden aber drastisch erhöhen. Persönliche Rückfrage-Möglichkeiten von Mensch zu Mensch sind dann allzuoft kaum noch möglich.
Überlegung 4
Um Unzufriedenheit und Loyalitätsverlust bei Kunden zu vermeiden, bedarf es aus meiner Sicht nicht unbedingt einer veränderten Qualifikation, sondern der Änderung des Auftrags der Marketing-Verantwortlichen.
Warum?
Brand Experience legt den Fokus auf „buying“ und benutzt überwiegend kostspielige Medien und Kreativ-Leistungen Dritter (wobei wie Nielsen in Deutschland als Premiummarkt in Europa für das Jahr 2017 vermeldet, die Brutto-Werbeausgaben zum Teil rückläufig sind, trotz hohem Wachstum bei Mobile-Advertising). Die entsprechenden Strategien und Maßnahmen zielen darauf ab, Kunden ständig, fast wie auf einer Treibjagd, mit Werbebotschaften zu befeuern, anywhere, anytime. Sog. Bonusprogramm dynamisieren die Hetze erheblich.
Aber: Customer Experience setzt dagegen auf „serving & satisfying“ v. a. durch Direktkontakte und Dialoge. Customer Experience folgt dem Prinzip des ‚Listen & Learn‘. Die Echtzeit-Erfassung der Kundenerlebnisse wird genutzt, um Produkte und Services stetig zu verbessern. Kommunikation und Transaktion werden dabei so eng wie möglich, am besten nahtlos, verzahnt. — Credo: It’s all about interaction and relatedness by smart communication.
Überlegung 5
Das Brand Experience Prinzip führt nicht mehr weiter. Mit einer individuell zugeschnittenen Smart Communication-Architektur, die Customer Experience-fokussiert ausgestaltet wird, lassen sich Kundenbefindlichkeiten und Erwartungen am besten decken. Im Fokus: Great Conversations!
Wenn man die für Apple so erfolgreiche Smart Communication-Strategie systemisch strukturiert, aufs eigene Unternehmen adaptiert sowie im Detail das Wesen der Smart Communication exakt versteht, wird man extrem rasch auf individuelle Kundenbefindlichkeiten eingehen können. Es bleibt nämlich gar keine andere Wahl! ‚Communication first‘ geht dann einher mit ‚Customer benefits first‘.
Handlungsanweisungen
Think different! Stelle Deine aktuelle Branding- und Customer Experience-Strategie auf den Prüfstand und diskutiere Deine Erkenntnisse mit anderen.
Überdenke und hinterfrage kritisch den Wert der gegenwärtigen Kommunikationspraxis in Deinem Unternehmen (gerne mithilfe des ValueCheck Fragenkatalogs).
Listen & Learn: Verstehe und nutze die Insights, die mein White Paper zu „Smart Communication“ bietet, inkl. konkreten Handlungsanleitungen und Organisation-Modellen.
Gerne stehe ich mit meinem reichen Erfahrungswissen für weitere Erläuterungen und Unterstützung zur Verfügung.
Über den Autor: Seit mehr als 25 Jahren engagiert sich Andreas Weber als international renommierter Business Communication Analyst, Coach, Influencer und Transformer.Seine Aktivitäten fokussieren sich auf ‚Transformation for the Digital Age’ via Vorträgen, Management Briefings, Workshops, Analysen & Reports, Strategic Advice. — Mit seinem Blog www.valuetrendradar.com inspiriert er Leser aus über 130 Ländern der Welt.
“In today’s digital age with its cutting-edge business models based on networks and platforms, everything needs to be transparent, in real time, and focused on enhancing customer benefits.” – Professor h. c. Dr. Ulrich Hermann
Interview and analysis by Andreas Weber, Head of Value | German version
Successful printing doesn’t just happen. It’s all down to innovative plans and putting these into action. That’s the main focus of Chief Digital Officer Professor Ulrich Hermann, member of the Management Board at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG since November 2016. In an exclusive interview, he explains the principles of the ‘subscription economy’, which is now firmly established at Heidelberg and is set to bring about success right from the get-go.
Note: In April 2018 some new reports in the news came up. Handelsblatt published via its global edition some great observations: “Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG begins to look less like a factory and more like an information processing hub for industrial operations.“ — MORE
The subscription economy is taking Heidelberg as a market leader and its primarily industrial customers to the next level of the transformation process. For the first time, printing performance is being assessed and billed on a customized basis, thus representing a brand new development and a challenge for the print sector. Conventional billing methods, i.e. selling equipment at a fixed price in offset printing or click charge models in digital printing, are being replaced by subscription models. This has its benefits.
Info box: What is the meaning behind ‘subscription economy’?
The subscription economy correlates with the fundamental transition toward customized buying and selling in the B2C, and increasingly in the B2B, sector. The focus has shifted away from acquiring and owning products toward long-term, flexible customer relationships and ongoing customer benefits. The resulting technical and organizational demands are high. Some subscription-based solutions already exist in the printing industry, such as standalone software-as-a-service agreements. Important factors include automation, scalability, complex data models, and changed accounting principles right through to analytics. A constant supply of information on customer satisfaction and, most importantly, the way products and services are used is essential to enable businesses to further customize their services. What’s more, this data also helps both the supplier and customer achieve greater growth. Studies show that in the United States – the birth place of digitization – the subscription economy is already well-developed, generating approximately 800 billion US dollars in added value in the past ten years alone. – aw
What is it all about?
The subscription economy could become the main focus in our sector, too. It has already achieved great economic success in the United States but remains largely disregarded in Germany. What difference will it make?
Dr. Ulrich Hermann: Subscription models offer a new approach for generating value by consistently focusing on customer benefits. Primarily, this means the end of product-oriented business models whose added value derives from creating a product, rather than from the benefit customers gain from that product.
Companies with analog models focused on manufacturing and selling products are eager to pass on expenses incurred in development, production, sales and supply to the customer as soon as possible. Whether customers are able to recover their costs is a question that is only considered relevant when it comes to the customer making repeat purchases, in other words it only becomes relevant at some point in the future.
What are the important features of a subscription?
It all boils down to a lasting customer relationship. This undoubtedly develops for services relating to the product, but not for the value of the product itself.
A product-centric focus was the perfect approach for the analog world and shaped the industrial era for over 100 years because it was very difficult to quantify how the product was used and the associated added value for the customer.
In today’s digital economy, however, this approach is outdated as data is available on how products are being used and new business models are shifting the focus away from the value of the product itself and towards the usage value. We now aim to adopt this approach at Heidelberg as the leading supplier on the print shop market.
What are the advantages of focusing on the benefits to the customer and the disadvantages of focusing on the product?
As I’ve said, suppliers in the digital age can use platforms to gather, profile and analyze data on all participants with the aim of continuously and sustainably increasing customer benefits and thus instilling valuable, long-lasting customer loyalty. All processes must therefore focus on this and remain transparent for all participants in real time. If companies focus on the product, they can’t work out in any great detail or very quickly what it is their customers do with the product, when and how. Incidentally, that is a trend that affects many areas of professional and personal life…
… can you give a few examples?
It starts with reading a book or magazine, or when customers switch production equipment on or off, or why they are in the car and where they’re going. Manufacturers/suppliers usually know nothing about how their products are being used. As a result, they have to carry out costly questionnaires and analyses to anticipate how the products are being used and implement laborious improvements in long cycles.
During the analog era, innovations were therefore subject to protracted innovation cycles that were often staggered due to the risks involved. This led to analog companies spending a disproportionately large amount of time on optimizing internal value creation. It is clear that during this era the price of a product did not reflect how the customer used it but rather covered material and production costs.
A milestone on the road to the digital transformation and finally implementing the subscription program. A YouTube video of Dr. Ulrich Hermann discussing the market launch of the Heidelberg Assistant in December 2017.
The key to success
How can the focus be switched to customer benefits?
If we consider customer benefits to be the cornerstone of a company’s business operations, we end up with completely different approaches. Companies want to know what customers are paying for when using the products they have provided. This is exactly what disruptive business models in the digital world are based on. Usage patterns serve as the measure of all things – supported by the user experience and the customer journey.
Have companies in the print industry grasped this point? After all, nearly everyone nowadays is talking about customer orientation.
Technology suppliers often do not fully grasp that customer orientation, as a prerequisite to focusing on customer benefits, itself requires a comprehensive organizational transformation. Everything changes – from the mindset and culture right through to product creation. The ability to digitally measure the usage of products and services is key to creating added value. All business activities must pursue this aim.
Analyzing valid, long-term data collected from installed machinery and systems helps develop benchmarks with reference groups, which in turn enables the derivation of target figures and reference variables for optimum usage. We have been collecting such data at Heidelberg since the introduction of Remote Service technology back in 2004 and it has formed the basis for introducing Heidelberg Subscription.
With regard to the print industry, does this mean that it is not enough to simply introduce digital processes into print product manufacturing?
Exactly. In the digital economy, competition isn’t all about the product – the main focus is on developing the relevant user experience. I like to show a picture that presents the bustling streets of Manhattan as the heart of New York City. Some ten years ago, the streets were still filled with yellow cabs. Today, it’s dark sedans.
The product in this example is the same, just black and not yellow. It is a vehicle with a driver and passenger – and from the outside it is not immediately recognizable as a digital product. The difference, however, lies in the user experience. It is much easier to order, select, pay for and travel in a taxi with Uber and to influence the quality of the business model by writing a review.
Passengers feel like they are being taken seriously – as a business partner rather than a prisoner behind a plexiglass pane, if you like. It is no longer just about the service or product portfolio, but rather the customer journey and a new, intelligent way of using the product.
What does this mean in real terms for Heidelberg and its customers?
In our line of work, the subscription economy offers the opportunity to think about how we need to fundamentally change our business not just by selling machinery and services, i.e. billing for the product value, but by developing new models that assess the usage and the resulting positive effects.
This film on Heidelberg Subscription shows how Heidelberg is going down new paths in marketing, too.
How it works
What is the concept behind Heidelberg Subscription?
More than a year has passed since we began the transformation. We initially asked ourselves the following questions. What offers the biggest profit potential for our customers? Cost-effective printing capacity or optimum utilization? If our customers only derive added value from maximum machine utilization – in other words from optimized utilization of a coordinated combination of numerous individual products such as printing presses, consumables, software and services – why shouldn’t they actually pay us for this added value rather than for the individual components?
How did you go about answering these key questions?
A team of people with backgrounds in a wide range of disciplines such as finance, services, product development, sales and marketing / product marketing were tasked with developing a business model in which Heidelberg would not sell individual products to the customer, but rather offer the use of an end-to-end system that has been optimized for the specific needs of that customer. As early as December 2017, we concluded our first comprehensive subscription contract with folding carton manufacturer FK Führter Kartonagen, which is part of the WEIG Group. More contracts are in place, and interest in the market is continuing to grow significantly.
Aren’t print shops skeptical? Many are still coming to terms with click-charge models, which are now used as standard in digital printing.
There is a disadvantage to the click-charge models commonly found on the market. They reflect the market prices of digital printing press suppliers and are not based on the customer’s actual cost per printed page for offset printing. There are also no benchmarks for productivity targets etc. In our model, we bill per printed page using the ‘impression charge’.
What is an ‘impression charge’?
The price per page reflects the potential of increased utilization during the contract period. However, the customer has to have a successful business model that allows for sustainable growth. Our subscription model is quite simply a genuine performance partnership. If Heidelberg fails to boost productivity during the contract period, neither the customer or we can fully satisfy margin targets. That is the difference to click-charge models.
The normal click charges for digital printing are based on the costs incurred by the digital press manufacturer and its profit expectations, not on the comparative costs for the customer. They represent a product-based pricing that the customer, the print shop, cannot control and that does not reflect their actual cost structure. Digital printing is therefore not a digital business model.
Added to this is the fact that if utilization fluctuates or is insufficient, click charges can quickly have disastrous effects.
So what is key for developing billing models based on customer needs?
Print shops want to be able to manage their costs themselves. And with good reason, as for many centuries printing was a skilled trade with humans controlling the quality of the work. Only recently has the business started to be industrialized following the automation of production processes with the help of standards. For a craftsman, what’s important is focusing on customer proximity and creating a bespoke end product with a special touch. Accordingly, print results sometimes varied dramatically in terms of quality and price.
An introductory explanation on Heidelberg Subscription.
What are the benefits?
What does industrial production do differently to craftsmen?
Industrial production based on standards creates results that are largely consistent. Only the level of automation creates differences in production, and defines the print outcome and the operating result.
To stand out, print shops must therefore make substantial investments in their own, increasingly digital customer relationships. Digital marketing, an online presence and digitizing the process of ordering best-selling products are becoming very important. Investing in the pressroom may be an age-old tradition but it opens up few opportunities to stand out. It also distracts from the actual job of a printing company in the digital age – namely to attract customers. With this in mind, switching to a subscription model is an easy and entirely logical decision.
What does results-based payment entail?
Our experienced performance-focused consultants conduct a comprehensive analysis of the print shop, reviewing costs for personnel, consumables, downtimes, plate changes, waste, depreciation, and much more. Once this thorough analysis has been completed, a unit page price can be determined that is specific to the relevant customer.
What’s more, we use the performance data we have gathered from more than ten thousand networked machines to establish reference variables. Thanks to this database we can make an offer to the customer to lower this price through a subscription contract because we know how to optimize their operations.
What criteria apply for the subscription?
Heidelberg Subscription is based on the following considerations/criteria:
Customers must demonstrate growth potential in terms of overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). For most customers, this averages between 30 % and 40 %.
Concentrating on product innovations and customer acquisitions, customers must aim to significantly boost order volumes.
Suitable customers are offered an attractive price based on the above considerations and on a specific expected OEE increase, e.g. from 35 % to 45 %. Using this model, we sell productivity gains and help customers to achieve and exceed their goals. Heidelberg is responsible for setting up the turnkey system accordingly. We promise customers that the price premium for our optimized and more productive turnkey system will not only be worth it, but will out-do their expectations.
How do potential customers react to this new approach?
Many customers are enthusiastic as they are not dealing with a supplier that demands money up front for better quality and even charges for servicing if a machine breaks down. Instead, Heidelberg does everything it can to exceed agreed performance targets and ensure quality matches customer expectations.
Is Heidelberg taking a risk by standing as guarantor for success?
Yes and no. Yes because with the subscription contract, it is in our own interest to ensure machinery is running, software updates are carried out, the use of consumables is optimized, and to do everything we can to increase output. No because ultimately, we take care in choosing our subscription customers. Most importantly, customers must all have one thing in common – they need to concentrate on growth and product innovation on the market, and their business model must demonstrate the potential for further growth.
Analyzing such factors has always been important for us as a manufacturer. We want to grow alongside our successful customers. In the traditional business, this took a back seat provided the customer could pay for the equipment. What we are talking about here is an excellent, new dimension to the partnership. We are no longer looking at whether our machinery, services or materials are cheaper or more expensive than rival products. Everything is defined by the mutually agreed performance targets, using the calculated price per page as a guideline.
Another important aspect of the subscription model is based on autonomous printing following the Push to Stop principle presented at drupa 2016. – See our ValueCheck and case report.
Invoicing method
How do you determine the costs with a subscription contract?
That is tailored to the customer and their potential. For customers wishing to expand their business, for example, we might recommend our Speedmaster XL 106. Customers then make an upfront payment, which is only a small portion of the overall cost that would have been due if they had purchased the machinery. They also pay a fixed monthly charge based specifically on the price per page calculation of the agreed page volume that the customer aims to print and that is lower than their average page production. Additional impression charges are only incurred if the page volume exceeds the agreed targets.
Is the subscription tailored to the customer?
A fundamental and unique element to our offer is that we can customize the subscription in its entirety. For example, for companies unable to greatly increase productivity because excellent industrial systems already ensure a high OEE, we adjust the upfront payment and the fixed monthly charge accordingly. Alternatively, for customers with significant potential to increase performance and dynamic opportunities to increase order volume, we focus more on the variability of the payments.
With our subscription program, customers no longer need to worry about investing in their pressroom, making full use of available technology, or keeping systems up to date.
Why should customers tie themselves exclusively to Heidelberg?
If customers opt for the conventional model, they are dependent on a much bigger group of partners. Buying machinery takes up a large part of investment and often means being dependent on a bank. The supposed freedom that comes with pulling together consumables and optimizing the various features themselves comes with greater outlay, and all the separate relationships with numerous suppliers are diametrically opposed to the print shops’ profit targets…
…so that means the classic method of gathering lots of offers before purchasing brings its own problems?
Everyone tries to pass on their costs. If we focus on the actual purpose of printing on paper, I believe all these dependencies are a much bigger issue than signing up to a long-term subscription contract with one manufacturer in which the profit interests of the manufacturer and customer are aligned for the first time. A Heidelberg Subscription contract runs for five years. We anticipate continuous OEE growth within that period. For example, if we increase page volume from 35 million pages per year to 55 million pages, this corresponds to OEE growth from approximately 35 % to 60 %. There is no need to explain what this means for the customer’s profits.
Is Heidelberg therefore financing the manufacturing costs for the production equipment?
The equipment belongs to Heidelberg and forms part of our balance sheet and/or our financing partners’ balance sheets. On the one hand, this fits in with the expectations of those customers who are undergoing digital transformation, i.e. the move toward an automated printing operation and digital customer relationships. Subscription customers always enjoy the highest possible level of automation without having to worry about technology updates, or financing new investments.
On the other hand, such customers also want to use digitization to bolster relationships with their own customers. Digital expertise helps to significantly improve go-to-market capacity across a broad spectrum.
How go-to-market is changing
Does this mean the subscription model also helps improve customers’ go-to-market capacity because it frees up resources at the print shop?
Every new print shop development until now has required enormous effort to ensure the technology is sound but also to secure prices that reflect more complex and thus more effective products. Placing a unilateral focus on production and ignoring customer value in digital customer relationships will come back to haunt even extremely successful modern printing companies.
Devoting resources to further develop the customer journey offered by the print shop and not getting bogged down by technical and administrative aspects is the best way of standing out from competitors and keeping ahead of the curve.
In other words, you are shifting your customers’ business focus?
Our high-growth customers are all excellent entrepreneurs who always focus on where the money flows so as to protect their investments. Customer orientation is greatly enhanced if we no longer force them to buy and maintain capital-intensive production equipment. Focusing completely on the customer as a core concept of the digital economy is always the best way forward for a prosperous business. That applies both to us and our customers.
With the subscription model, Heidelberg takes care of the financing. Do you anticipate any new challenges as a result?
A listed company with experience in customer financing such as Heidelberg cannot help but adopt new approaches in terms of financing. We even have a banking license. What works best for our investors is always cash-stable contracts with selected customers that have good potential for growth and are highly innovative.
That’s exactly what our subscription program ensures with its guaranteed monthly payments – particularly given that we can pool contracts and also trade through a financing partner. This is a much more attractive option for investors than having to negotiate contracts with individual print shops. Risks are balanced thanks to a diversified base of carefully assessed and chosen subscribers.
Last but not least, how quickly can you and do you want to increase market share with the subscription model?
There is very strong demand. But we are taking our time and signing contracts with selected ‘early adopters’. In this financial year, we aim to conclude ten contracts to gain experience and lay a solid foundation to gradually establish the offer across the market.
As early as December 2017, Heidelberg concluded its first comprehensive subscription contract with folding carton manufacturer FK Führter Kartonagen, which is part of the WEIG Group. Photo: Heidelberg
Final conclusions
How would you summarize this development?
We live in exciting times with completely new opportunities for both Heidelberg and its customers. The digital economy offers entirely new mindsets for these opportunities. Ensuring the transparent use of products and services in a digital business relationship enables us to concentrate on the real source of added value…
…and what does that ultimately mean?
The transparency we provide establishes fair business relationships between those involved, but also places great responsibility on all participants in the interest of preserving their freedom. This responsibility puts the spotlight on the values of the business partners. Heidelberg values have remained constant throughout our long industrial history and play a particularly important role in our digital strategy. We have reworded the responsibility assumed by Heidelberg in its role as a printing industry partner: Listen. Inspire. Deliver. Digital business models hardly get any better than that.
Thank you for agreeing to this interview and giving a detailed insight into the hidden complexities of mastering digital transformation.
#ValueCheck – Heidelberg Subscription as a new economic system
Why the subscription model from Heidelberg is not only a logical choice, but also essential for ensuring growth with innovative ideas
STATUS QUO
The print production volume (PPV) is stable at approximately 410 billion euros worldwide each year.
Despite this, the number of print shops and print units is decreasing due to improved press performance.
Even as print runs shrink, OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) can be increased through the automation of industrial-scale operations.
Today, growth rates can be more than doubled from 30 percent to 70 percent over ten years.
Given that the PPV cannot be doubled, there is an inevitable and considerable decrease in the number of print units that can be sold (up to 50 percent).
Heidelberg therefore has to generate added value elsewhere if it is to avoid becoming dependent on crowding out competitors or snatching market shares in order to survive in a shrinking machinery market.
MEASURES
Heidelberg is gaining attention as an “all-in system” thanks to its extensive print know-how and its servicing database, which has been established on the basis of predictive monitoring since 2004 and focuses on the continuous analysis and improvement of installed production equipment. More than 10,000 Heidelberg presses are currently subject to continuous analysis.
With its subscription model, Heidelberg takes care of everything to ensure maximum use is made of installed print shop technology.
EFFECTS
The risk associated with innovations is not only dramatically reduced, but also more widely spread.
Capital-intensive investments in production equipment no longer put a financial strain on print shops. Heidelberg supports customers, pooling and implementing investments with financing partners on good terms.
This has immediate positive effects on our industrial-scale customers, as increased flexibility and variability of usage provides immense freedom to concentrate on optimizing the marketing of enhanced performance and accelerating print shop growth.
The continuous increase in utilization results in improved profitability in the short, medium and long term.
The subscription program opens up linear and exponential growth opportunities for both Heidelberg and its customers.
Photo: Heidelberg
About Dr. Ulrich Hermann
Dr. Ulrich Hermann has been a member of the Management Board at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG in his role as Chief Digital Officer since November 2016. Thanks to his proven expertise in the digital transformation of businesses, Hermann was made an honorary professor at Allensbach University, Constance, Germany, in August 2017.
Born 1966 in Cologne, he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at RWTH in Aachen and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology M.I.T., Cambridge, United States.
In 1996, he completed a doctorate in business economics at the University of St. Gallen, in 1998 he became the Managing Director of Bertelsmann Springer Science and Business Media Schweiz AG, and in 2002 he was appointed Managing Director of Süddeutscher Verlag Hüthig Fachinformation.
In 2005, he assumed the role of Chairman of the Management Board at Wolters Kluwer Germany Holding, later becoming a Member of the Divisional Executive Board for the Central European Region at Wolters Kluwer n.v. in 2010.
About Andreas Weber, Founder and CEO of Value Communication AG: Since more than 25 years Andreas Weber serves on an international level as a business communication analyst, influencer and transformer. His activities are dedicated to the ‘Transformation for the Digital Age’ via presentations, management briefings, coachings, workshops, analysis&reports, strategic advice.
Exclusive interview with Dr. Ulrich Hermann, Chief Digital Officer, Member of the Management Board of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Interview: Andreas Weber, Head of Value | German Version
The current ValueDialog addresses the topic of transformation within the industry. It takes a closer look at the new ground that Heidelberg needs to break.
It is a sensation in the history of German industry: a mechanical engineering company established in the 19th century “allowing” itself a Chief Digital Officer at board level. Yet this is exactly what happened in November 2016 at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG with the appointment of Dr. Ulrich Hermann, who heads up the ‘Digital Services’ division. His challenging mission? To lend tangibility to the central idea ‘Heidelberg goes digital’ not only in the market and among customers, both operationally and in terms of content, but also to create acceptance among employees for the changes that need to be made in order to survive and enjoy profitable growth in the long term.
For starters: As well documented by the ValueTrend analyses since drupa 2016, the balance sheet at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heideldruck for short) has taken a turn for the better, signaling a return to the company’s leading position in the print industry. It is once more recording profits and growing, its range of products and services has been significantly expanded, and it has undergone a corporate restructuring. Investors and financial experts are acknowledging the turnaround and the expected growth prospects. Heideldruck shares are experiencing an upswing, with a strong buy sentiment.
In medias res: Dr. Ulrich Hermann makes no bones about the fact that the future and in particular the future success of Heideldruck will have to be based on radically new standards. The number of printing companies is declining along with sales of printed works – the latter traditionally having been seen as the measure of all things. But Dr. Hermann sees great potential for Heideldruck and its customers in these changes, above all in the switch to ‘digital’ business and production processes. Particularly in cases where the business climate, the competitive pressure, or the investment opportunities seem limited.
Very briefly: What significance does ‘Heidelberg goes digital’ have for the industry?
Dr. Ulrich Hermann: When we say “Heidelberg goes digital”, we’re talking about a digital business model, not digital printing: it’s less a question of what the product should be able to do, and more a question of what the customer actually uses it for. — Speaking ‘digitally’, our solutions – software, data, and digital technologies – are designed to help our customers master their own transformation.
Drilling down, why does it make sense for the global print community to join the ‘digital transformation journey’?
Dr. Ulrich Hermann: There is a lot of potential in the ‘digital’ world for the printing industry, potential that has not been extensively developed to date. First of all there is the adaptation of digital printing technology in industrial printing in order to respond to modern consumer behavior, for example the trend towards greater individualization and smaller print runs.
Print shops need to differentiate their portfolio and range of products in order to maintain prices and not run into the ‘commodity trap’. At an industrial level, however, productivity must also remain high. This can only be achieved by digitally linking all the components: the machines, the processes for consumables, the service, the software and ultimately data that enable systematic use in the face of increasing complexity. This provides a way of guaranteeing the highest level of productivity and quality in high-performing and innovative printing companies, while still offering total flexibility to respond to fast-changing customer requirements and demands in an intense competitive environment.
Transformation is equated with high investment. Many people are afraid of the risk. Is this how you see it too? Or is there a smart way of participating?
Dr. Ulrich Hermann: Definitely. We recommend doing it step by step. Our customers can start with a productive island that permits a combination of solution modules. Our business models allow innovative and growing customers to allocate their investment where it is most needed: at their customer interface and not mainly on the production side, as was the case in the past. By doing so we work with the customer to boost competitiveness. Heidelberg maximizes efficiency and compensates job cycles in the print shop with an autonomous digital production system. This frees up the customer to expand its customer base and invest in expanding its digital sales channel. Ultimately we share the opportunities and risks with our customers.
So what you’re saying is that Heideldruck’s role has changed, from being a seller of printing presses to a solution partner for its customers?
Dr. Ulrich Hermann: Yes, definitely. What we do first is look at our customers’ business model, their customer order structure, and then share our ideas and wealth of experience. We also analyze the status of their productivity level, and the development gains that can be made, in order to establish digitized and highly productive solutions tailored to the customer – without over-investment on the part of our customers. This step-by-step process, which Heidelberg developed, is really unique.
Provisional appraisal – there can only be one goal: to establish something radically new in the medium and long term!
At first glance, transforming a long-standing mechanical engineering company like Heideldruck into a ‘digital company’ seems similar to squaring the circle. Particularly since we’re talking about the production of printed matter, in other words an unalterably analog form of media. And yet it seems feasible. The secret is to temper expectations, and to be realistic about how quickly these expectations can be met. In this respect, what Dr. Ulrich Hermann said above and his integrated approach are important: step-by-step evolution with customers, but always in the knowledge that ultimately no stone will be left unturned. It therefore appears logical to start with linear transformation opportunities (in order to optimize existing potential) in order to build up a certain momentum before undertaking an exponential transformation with a view to establishing something radically new. [Note: See the separate series of ValueWebinars for more.]
What is worrying is that despite all the efforts towards innovation and the multi-billion investments, new print technologies are not even mentioned in scenarios about relevant transformation technologies. — Source: Presentation by Andreas Weber to the ABTG Congress.
The digital print technology protagonist Xerox Corp. shows just how difficult transformation in the print industry can be: despite many decades of innovation leadership in the print and document technology sector, the Group had to be split up. Since January 2017, the new CEO Jeff Jacobson has launched a slew of new products, as he just announced in an interview with the US magazine Fortune (see Report by Susie Gharib dated 17 August 2017). Jacobson is attempting to take Xerox ‘back to its roots’. Yet despite huge investment and acquisitions, success in industrial printing has not followed. Xerox has been almost invisible in Germany, home to the art of printing, for years. Its market share of digital printed pages in terms of overall print volume is marginal. I doubt whether this is something that will be changed with new products alone.
It is therefore about much more than just developing new digital printing presses and enticing customers to purchase them. What we need instead is a fundamentally different, extended understanding of how individual printing companies align their business models and their business strategies. Heideldruck’s biggest asset has what I think is a very important role to play here: to make the extensive expertise within the company available to third parties as a way of making print a business that is profitable, in line with the market, and sustainable, both today and tomorrow.
This is where the wheat is separated from the chaff: most market players put barriers in their own way, because they think that singular, technical product innovations are the silver bullet to help their customers be successful. That is not the case! Print shops need to completely reconsider and redevelop their business principle. The solid successes being achieved in the online print sector by being the most digitally active in the overall print shop scene are an important interim step here. But this is still not the solution we need. The crucial thing will be how to seamlessly integrate print as a medium into the workflow of modern digital and mobile purchase and transaction scenarios. Without wasting time on making print templates and the still costly makeready process. So we have reason to be excited. I’m staying focused on this, more information will follow shortly.
ADDENDUM: At the leading motor show IAA 2017 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Heidelberg became partner of the automotive industry via 4DPrinting. Read our ValueCheck “First car2go, now print2go”.
Interview by Tiago Keese, Journalist, São Paulo, Brazil
Andreas Weber, Head of Value, talks about his POV and his keynote presentation at The Congresso Internacional de Tecnologia Gráfica hosted by ABTG on 24 August 2017 in São Paulo, Brazil.
Nevertheless, even today printing technology is driving the transformation of our lives, our business world, our society.
Print technology is a main driver of innovation and transformation.
The Internet/Social Media and print are best friends. And Internet technologies profited from printing technology inventions
Some of my favorite print application innovations got developed by Internet and Social Media savvys.
In the digital age you have to re-position yourself, your business idea and your production capabilities in the right way to be a valuable transformation partner.
From a holistic point of view printers could become transformers if they are able to convert the outcome and benefit of new technologies into valuable customer solutions to fulfill needs.
Innovative printing companies need to transform their production business into a sustainable and future oriented marketing solution provider business to hit market and customer needs.
What is the importance of a meeting to discuss technology and innovation such as the International Congress of Graphic Technology?
Andreas Weber: The Congress Internacional de Tecnologia Gráfica hosted by ABTG will have a great impact on the whole industry and its customers. It is important to bundle different visions, opinions and talents to master the change and to get ready for transformation. To meet in person enables to reach the best network effects you can get. I am proud to be part of a best-in-class speaker team! It will be my pleasure and honor to blog about it to share all those upcoming news from Brazil with my global network.
Is it possible to affirm that the graphic arts industry has been evolving technologically, being attentive to the great technological innovations of society?
Andreas Weber: Since Gutenberg’s invention and that means since more than 600 years graphic arts is always right at the cutting edge of technology innovation to support our society, economy and culture. And even today printing technology is nevertheless driving the transformation of our lives, our business world, our society. All the leading innovators from Silicon Valley admire the spirit of Gutenberg. Even a current book is dedicated to „Gutenberg the Geek“ to showcase his spirit to innovate our communication technologies and to transform the world. (See my research results and comment: „Print is dead? Long live print!“).
Is the internet an ally of printing?
Andreas Weber: The Internet and print are best friends. And Internet technologies profited from printing technology inventions. Because printing technology development since the 1980s took the lead to make all those huge amounts of data available and distributable. Think about TCP/IP protocol, desktop publishing, Postscript/PDF and so on. Today, the internet usage is key to run a print service business. Specially the Online Print sector as a fast growing market shows how useful it could be to combine internet and print knowledge. By the way: some of my favorite print application innovations got developed by Internet and Social Media savvys. Think about apps to print your Instagram and Facebook content. Just with one click. Those inventors like PastBook’s Founder & CEO Stefano Cutello know exactly that print helps to convert the virtual into reality. His motto sounds great: “Relive Your Memories. Automagically Created for You!” He worked for ebay before he founded PastBook as an international App-to-print start-up only a couple of years ago. (See my report and interview).
How can printers use the innovations and marketing trends in their favor?
Andreas Weber: Current marketing trends are based on innovation and driven by technology. And as I mentioned print technology is a main driver of innovation and transformation. So from a holistic point of view printers could become transformers if they are able to convert the outcome and benefit of new technologies into valuable customer solutions to fulfill current and future needs.
How important is it for the printer to fully understand all the features available on the device (printer, software, etc.) that he has at his/her disposal?
Andreas Weber: Crucial is to make the right choice: which technologies and what kind of new features fits to my purpose and strategic goal? In the past, almost any decision was made to invest in equipment and production tools to optimize what you already did before. In the digital age you have to re-position yourself, your business idea and your production capabilities in the right way to be a valuable transformation partner. Therefor you have to gain knowledge, you have to streamline your processes and you have to be able to enhance your creativity to get the ‚digital‘ link to your customer properly in a sustainable way. Last but not least, to reach that point a printer has to identify the right technology partner on the vendor side to get the best support and realtime services. So its not only about hard- and software anymore. I. E. it will be more important to find a way to print HTML data than to learn how InDesign or PhotoShop works.
How important is the exchange of information and practices between European and Latin American markets?
Andreas Weber: 15 years ago I had the honor to make a business trip to Brazil to get great insights in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. I learned a lot to admire the culture and power of Brazil as an emerging, very smart and creative country inspiring other Latin American countries. It was right at that moment when ad agencies from Brazil started to become champions in the worldwide creative community. And I recognized that the printing community in Brazil and other countries in Latin America made profit out of those creative ideas. We discussed at that time the disruptiv impact of the Internet and Online Communication on the newspaper and media business. I figured out that what they did in Brazil was right at the cutting edge! And that seems to be so different compared to Europe and specially Germany with mature markets anyway where people are more or less in a defensive position to keep them self on a high level. That means the exchange of information, practices and experiences is very, very important. BTW: I am glad to have Hamilton Terni Costa as a good old friend and colleague. Since more than 10 years we meet all over the world. We discuss our observations and exchange our view on the latest technologies. At drupa we always met and Hamilton introduced me to his contacts from Latin America joining him. So, on August 24th, 2017 I will be proud to meet all those experts and attendees of the ABTG Congresso to extent my network.
What are the main topics of your speech?
Andreas Weber: My key message is quite simple but tough at the same time! — ”If you want to benefit from innovation to strengthen your marketing success you have to be able to understand and to handle transformation in the digital age properly.“ — That means: Innovative printing companies need to transform their production business into a sustainable and future oriented marketing solution provider business to hit market and customer needs. And they have to understand how to support their customers to transform their marketing as well in a sustainable, profitable way.
In my Keynote the attendees will learn:
Secrets of Transformation
Impact on Print / Graphic Communications
Learn from the best (selected cases)
Guidelines to create a win-win-win momentum
OBRIGADO! — TX for the great conversation. See you in São Paulo.
NOTE: See as well our exclusive interview with Dr. Ulrich Hermann, Chief Digital Officer at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG: “Transformation hits Print Technology + Innovation”. Dedicated to the ABTG Congress attendees on 24 August 2017.
Preview on the Congress International de Tecnologia Gráfica hosted by ABTG
On 24 August 2017 the Congress International de Technologia Gráfica hosted by Associação Brasileira de Tecnologia Gráfica —ABTG will happen in São Paulo, Brazil. It’s all about cross-media / multichannel and transformation driving innovation and change in the graphic communications industries. And for sure it’s about changing market needs and the future of print.
By recommendation of Hamilton Terni Costa, a good friend and the head of AN Consulting, Andreas Weber, Head of Value, got invited by Manoel Manteigas de Oliveira, Technical Director at ABTG, theBrazilian Association of Printing Technology, to give a keynote presentation. A good opportunity for Tânia Galluzzi to set up an interview in advance for Abigraf Magazine Graphic Technology Magazine.
What are the main topics of your speech?
Andreas Weber: My key message will be: If you want to benefit from innovation to strengthen your marketing success you have to be able to understand and to handle transformation in the digital age properly. That means: Innovative printing companies need to transform their production business into a sustainable and future oriented marketing solution provider business to hit market and customer needs. And they have to understand how to support their customers to transform their marketing as well in a sustainable, profitable way. In my Keynote you will learn:
Secrets of Transformation
Impact on Print / Graphic Communications
Learn from the best (selected cases)
Guidelines to create a win-win-win momentum
How important is a congress like this today?
Andreas Weber: I am absolutely sure the Congress International de Technologia Gráfica hosted by ABTG will have a great impact on the whole industry and its customers. It is important to bundle different visions, opinions and talents to master the change and to get ready for transformation. To meet in person enables to reach the best network effects you can get. I am proud to be part of a best-in-class speaker team! It will be my pleasure and honor to blog about it to share all those upcoming news from Brazil with my global network.
Have you ever been in São Paulo?
Andreas Weber: I am happy to get back to São Paulo after 15 years. In 2002 I had the pleasure to meet Francisco Mesquita Neto, the CEO of O Estado, and Luis Fries, the CEO of Folha. We discussed at that time the disruptiv impact of the Internet and Online Communication on the newspaper and media business. I figured out that what they did in Brazil was right at the cutting edge! — And last but not least: I admire the art & culture in São Paulo — very well known and loved by me for decades as a centre of philosophy and amazing (jazz) music.
—Thanks for the conversation. We will be happy to welcome you in Brazil.
Im Aufwind: Während andere wie HP, Xerox, Ricoh oder Canon sich notgedrungen re-strukturieren und/oder konsolidieren, baut Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (kurz: #Heideldruck) sein Wachstum nachhaltig und profitabel aus. Eigentlich in Anbetracht der über 150-jährigen Geschichte eines Traditionsunternehmens kein außergewöhnlicher Vorgang. Wohl aber doch, wenn man genau hinschaut. Denn Fakt ist: Heideldruck verzeichnete nach eigenen Angaben derzeit als einziges Druckmaschinen-Unternehmen im abgelaufenen Geschäftsjahr in der drupa-Phase und danach ein deutliches Plus im Auftragseingang. Und will sich auf diesen Lorbeeren keinesfalls ausruhen. Im Gegenteil: Es werden für die Branche ganz neue Wachstumssegment identifiziert und pro-aktiv angegangen. Heidelberg mutiert damit zum „agilen Unternehmen“.
„Heidelberg wird in den nächsten fünf Jahren wieder der wachstumsstarke und profitable Leuchtturm unserer Branche werden“, sagte Rainer Hundsdörfer, Vorstandsvorsitzender des Unternehmens. „Wir haben die Erfolgsfaktoren hierfür definiert und bereits die ersten Maßnahmen eingeleitet. Damit beginnt für Heidelberg eine neue Wachstumsära.“
ValueCheck von Andreas Weber mit Rainer Hundsdörfer, CEO Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Hundsdörfer ließ weiterhin verlautbaren: „Um den Konzern für die digitale Zukunft des Unternehmens fit zu machen wurden bereits zum 1. April 2017 die Segmente Heidelberg Digital Technology (HDT) und Heidelberg Digital Business und Services (HDB) etabliert. Bei HDT sind das Sheetfed-Offset-Geschäft, der Etikettendruck und die Druckweiterverarbeitung zusammengefasst; hier werden die passenden Technologien und Produkte auch für neue Geschäftsmodelle entwickelt, produziert und vermarktet. Bei HDB steuert Heidelberg seine Geschäfte mit Services und Verbrauchsmaterialien, Gebrauchtmaschinen sowie die digitalen Drucktechniken und Lösungen entlang der Wertschöpfungskette.“
Möglich wurde dies, da Heidelberg wirtschaftlich wieder obenauf ist und profitabel wächst. Hier die wichtigsten Anmerkungen zur neuen Strategie und Eckdaten aus der aktuellen Bilanz:
Strategischer Fokus auf Technologieführerschaft, digitaler Transformation und operativer Exzellenz
Konzernziele für 2022 definiert und mit Einzelmaßnahmen hinterlegt
Umsatz soll auf rund 3 Mrd. €, das EBITDA auf 250–300 Mio. € und Nachsteuergewinn auf mehr als 100 Mio. € steigen
Erste strategische Maßnahmen: zwei Akquisitionen (DOCUY / Fujifilm Lacke & Druckchemikalien in EMEA) und Effizienzverbesserung bereits umgesetzt
Vorlage des Jahresabschlusses 2016/17 bestätigt Zielerreichung
Bemerkenswert:
Digital heisst bei Heideldruck nicht automatisch „nur“ Digitaldruck
Elementarer Teil der neuen, umfassenden “Heidelberg goes Digital”-Strategie ist natürlich der Digitaldruck. Hier setzt insbesondere die neue Primefire-Plattform für den digitalen Verpackungsdruck die Messlatte enorm hoch. Doch die digitale Transformation des Print-Geschäfts verlangt mehr, als nur gute Digitaldruck-Maschinen zu bauen. Hier hat sich Heideldruck inzwischen einen deutlichen Vorsprung erarbeitet, indem ein ganzheitlicher Ansatz gefunden wurde, dass Druckereien die digitale Transformation auch tatsächlich bewältigen können. Finanzvorstand Dirk Kaliebe verwies bei der Bilanzpressekonferenz am 8. Juni 2017 in Frankfurt am Main darauf, dass es kaum noch möglich sei, den hohen Grad der Digitalisierung im Offsetdruck von dem im Digitaldruck zu unterscheiden. „Eigentlich ist der Begriff ‚Digitaldruck‘ irreführend“, merkt CEO Rainer Hundsdörfer an. „Man sollte besser von Non-Impact-Druck sprechen, also einem berührungslosen Druckverfahren. Am Ende wird aber auch gedruckt und ein analoges Produkt hergestellt.“ Die Kunst seitens eines Maschinenbauers bestehe darin, alle möglichen Verfahren einzubinden, die dazu dienen, marktgerecht und produktionstauglich Drucksachen aller Art effizient und automatisiert herzustellen.
Heidelberg als Amazon im Print?
Schon auf der drupa 2016 wurde betont: Durch Push-to-stop-Methodik ermögliche man autonomes Drucken ähnlich wie Google das autonome Autofahren befeuert. Und durch die Heidelberg Cloud und -Assistent-Lösungen wolle man zum Amazon der Print-Branche werden. Mit „Heidelberg goes digital“ ist also wesentlich mehr verbunden, als nur eine neue Art und Weise, Druckmaschinen zu bauen. Aus meiner Sicht ist das mit der Erfolgs-Story von Tesla zu vergleichen: Auf den ersten Blick baut Tesla ein elektrogetriebenes Premium-Auto. Auf den zweiten Blick geht es um den qualifizierten Datenaustausch zwischen Fahrer / seinen Präferenzen und dem Maximum an Abstimmung des Fahrzeugs an konkrete Bedürfnisse und optimales Fahrerleben. Tesla gelang es im Frühjahr 2017, den Auto-Pionier Ford bei der Marktkapitalisierung zu überrunden und in den USA mehr Luxusfahrzeuge zu verkaufen als Porsche, VW/Audi und BMW zusammen. — Heidelberg könnte ähnliches gelingen. Darum propagiert CEO Hundsdörfer seine Vision des „agilen“ Unternehmens; ein Unternehmen, das sich aus meiner Sicht durch „autonomes Denken und Handeln“ auszeichnet!
Screenshots vom Heideldruck-Geschäftsbericht, der im Deckblatt eine gestanzte Faltschachtel enthält, die herausgenommen werden kann und zur “digitalen” Box wird. — Download via Heidelberg.com
Hundsdörfer setzt als erfahrener Maschinenbau-Insider auf „Operative Exzellenz“ (mit Fokus auf permanente Optimierung des Lösungsangebotes und der Fabrikationsprozesse) sowie die beiden wichtigsten Assets von Heideldruck: Know-how und Erfahrung, wie man das Print-Geschäft bestmöglich betreibt. Und das unter der Prämisse, zu automatisieren, was zu automatisieren geht: bei der Produktion, in der Beschaffung, in der Echtzeitanalyse der Produktionsmittel im Feld, im Dialog des Heidelberg-Kunden mit seinen Kunden und vieles mehr. Hier ist Heideldruck bereits vielen anderen Maschinenbauern weit voraus. Und vermarktet sein Know-how sowohl bei Start-ups beim Go-to-Market und der Produktion (z. B. im 3D-Druck) wie auch in anderen Branchen (wie wohl künftig dem Automobilsektor), wo Fertigungsprozesse permanent umgestellt und angepasst werden müssen. Und das nicht in vielen Monaten, sondern in wenigen Tagen.
Nicht ohne Grund tauchte bei der Bilanzpressekonferenz die Frage auf: „Bei all dem, was Sie uns darlegen: Stimmt dann noch der Firmenname ‚Heidelberger Druckmaschinen‘?“ — Die Antwort: Der Brand heisst schon lange „Heidelberg“. Und nur das zählt. Und Druckmaschinen zu bauen, ist laut CEO Hundsdörfer für Heideldruck unabdingbar, da durch die Maschinen und ihren Betrieb viele Zusatz- und Mehrwertleistungen aggregiert werden, die Heideldruck anbietet; darum auch die jüngsten Akquisitionen von Docufy sowie v. a. für den Verbauchsmaterialsektor von Fujifilm.
Entsprechend möchte Hundsdörfer Heideldruck zum Systemlösungsanbieter werden lassen, quasi als eine Art Plattform-Betreiber für die globale Print-Branche und ihre Kunden. Dabei bildet Transformation nicht nur Mittel zum Zweck, sondern ist Kern des Geschäfts, um profitabel Wachsen zu können. Ganz so, wie es die GAFA-Firmen vormachen. (GAFA steht für Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple; siehe dazu unser ValueWebinar-Angebot zur die Value Analyse „Transformation — Beam me up, Scotty”).
Die neue Strategie „Heidelberg goes digital“ hat bei der Bilanzpressekonferenz eindeutig überzeugt — was sogleich einen Kurssprung auf ein Jahreshoch bewirkte. Der Heideldruck-Vorstandsvorsitzende und der Finanzvorstand konnten — trotz aller Komplexität — ihre Sichtweise und Argumente schlüssig und verständlich dargelegt. Dem Vorstandsbereich „Heidelberg Digital Business und Services (HDB)“ kommt eine Schlüsselrolle zu, da hier für Heideldruck wie auch für Kunden und Partner neue Geschäftsmodelle resp. Geschäftsmodell-Philosophien entwickelt werden müssen.
Claus Bolza-Schünemann (CEO Koenig & Bauer AG and Chairman drupa comitee), Anne Sokoll (winner drupa price 2017), Werner M. Dornscheidt (General Manager Messe Düsseldorf). — Photos: Messe Düsseldorf
Graphic Repro On-line News to Friday 02 June 2017
Welcome to this week’s roundup of another 20 news items for you. It hasn’t been a spectacular week for news due to last week’s holiday interruptions and with more this past weekend and on Monday 5 June for Whitsun in some European countries, but there’s still a reasonable selection for you to go through which I shall not bother to highlight this week, as well as some superb installations.
Don’t miss Gareth Ward at Springfield Solutions on Wednesday, at the unveiling of its latest expansion, making it the largest all-digital labels business in the UK, together with its third Screen Truepress Jet L350 inkjet label press with an online Digicon 3 line, as well as an offline Digicon 3, to handle shorter production runs from the other presses.
Other successes this week include KBA Sheetfed in the UK; Esko Kongsberg in Madrid; KBA at B&K Offsetdruck in Ottersweier, as its new C16 web press came on stream right on schedule on 1 June; Technotrans in the UK; EFI in Finland; then Heidelberg and KBA in North America, and finally Esko and Kongsberg in Belgium.
There’s a new addition in our drupa Newsroom, as the drupa Prize for 2017 goes to Anne Sokoll for her doctoral thesis, chosen by the Faculty of Philosophy of Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf. Also among Thursday’s headlines.
That’s all until next time. With best regards,
Mike Hilton
e-News comprises: Headline News – Online Feature Articles – the Verdigris initiative and Wild Format Technology Guides from Digital Dots, and our Drupa Newsroom, all of which can be accessed from the Website Home Page and its Index. We also have News in Review, which provides a weekly overview and listing of all news added to the site in the prior week.
Headline News
Almost 29,000 news items have now gone online since we launched our Website in September 2001. News for the past 24 months can still be accessed via the Home Page and its continuation news page
Week beginning Mon 29 May – date published also appears in article footline
Thursday 01 June drupa Prize 2017 awarded to Anne Sokoll
The drupa Prize 2017 goes to scholar of German, who convinced with Doctoral Thesis on the Writers’ Movement in the GDR…
drupa 2020 (drupa), the international flagship fair of the printing and media industry. Visit the drupa 2020 Website.You can also visit blog.drupa.comfor the latest industry news and developments.
Online Feature articles 2014 – 2017
Only 49 articles last year – but you will find another eleven Expert Articles and ten drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber in our drupa Newsroom. There were over 70 last year, and over 90 in 2013 and in 2014 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page.
Fespa & Green
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Wed 17 May
Technology Guides – from Digital Dots
Technology Guides for Wild Format 2016 – 2017
This is the brand new series for 2016 – 2017. All have illustrated PDFs to download. No 26 How Does Direct to Garment (DtG) Printing Work?
Direct-to-garment printing, or DtG, is one of the buzzwords we are starting to hear more and more often in wide format circles… By Sophie Matthews-Paul
Drupa Newsroom
Our Drupa Newsroom with news from Messe Düsseldorf in 2017 and for Drupa 2016 can be found in the Index. It is divided into Chapters for your convenience… but you must scroll down to view each Chapter and its content when you visit the Newsroom…
The various Chapters in the drupa Newsroom are highlighted below. When you enter, just scroll down to see and access the complete collection::
drupa daily; drupa Exhibitors’ show + post-show News; drupa pre-show Exhibitor news; post-drupa from Messe Düsseldorf; drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber; drupa Expert Articles – and more
The Graphic Repro On-line Website is supported and sponsored by:
GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) provides weekly updates from the Graphic Repro On-line Website and is compiled and published by Mike Hilton,graphicrepro.net, PO Box 10 Peterburgskoe Shosse 13/1, 196605 Pushkin 5, St. Petersburg, Russia. e-mail graphicrepro.za@gmail.com
A milestone at FESPA 2017 for Canon: blown away by the market’s response to the Océ Colorado and how it cements Canon’s reputation for innovation in the wide-format sector. — Photos: Canon Europe and Andreas Weber, Mainz/Germany.
Graphic Repro On-line News Review to Friday 26 May 2017
Welcome to this week’s news roundup of just 21 news items. Laurel Brunner has also changed the day on which her regular Verdigris Blog is to be issued. In future it will appear on Mondays. However, since this week it is the Spring Bank Holiday in the UK, it will only arrive tomorrow, so you’ll have to wait until next week. Acsenion Day was also a holiday in some European countries last Thursday, so the news week is rather quieter than usual.
‘Bringing market insight, practical advice, technology innovation and examples of diverse print applications together, in our view, is the only way to truly demonstrate the myriad opportunities for PSPs to push into new application areas to support their growth. Feedback during the show suggests that our integrated beauty brand campaign, as well as the two new printed ‘Think’ guides – Think Personal and Think Décor – were extremely well received.’ — Mark Lawn, Director, Graphic & Communications Group Canon Europe
I shall let you explore the headlines for yourself. The daily lead items came from Canon Europe following its wide-format breakthrough at a landmark FESPA in Hamburg; Koenig & Bauer’s AGM held in Wurzburg last week; Pixartprinting and Komori Europe with a three-press LED UV deal in Italy; FESPA with the World Wrap Masters for 2017, from Sweden, Ireland and South Africa; and to round off the week, Heidelberg USA at Vista Color with the latest ‘Push to Stop’ Speedmaster XL 106 success.
You’ll find more interesting announcements if you scroll down carefully, including Duplo’s upcoming Summer Festival in the UK, set to take place on 14 and 15 June in true Glastonbury and Isle of Wight music festival style, so grab your wellies and rucsacks and head for Addlestone in Surrey.
That’s all until next time.
My best regards,
Mike Hilton
e-News comprises: Headline News – Online Feature Articles – the Verdigris initiative and Wild Format Technology Guides from Digital Dots, and our Drupa Newsroom, all of which can be accessed from the Website Home Page and its Index. We also have News in Review, which provides a weekly overview and listing of all news added to the site in the prior week.
Headline News
Almost 29,000 news items have now gone online since we launched our Website in September 2001. News for the past 24 months can still be accessed via the Home Page and its continuation news page
Week beginning Mon 22 May – date published also appears in article footline
Tuesday Koenig & Bauer AG’s AGM held in Würzburg
The successful activities in growing print markets and upbeat outlook for the company’s third century were highlighted in the speech…
drupa 2020 (drupa), the international flagship fair of the printing and media industry. Visit the drupa 2020 Website.You can also visit blog.drupa.comfor the latest industry news and developments.
Online Feature articles 2014 – 2017
Only 49 articles last year – but you will find another eleven Expert Articles and ten drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber in our drupa Newsroom. There were over 70 last year, and over 90 in 2013 and in 2014 which can still be accessed via the Index on the Home Page.
Fespa & Green
The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner – Wed 17 May
Technology Guides – from Digital Dots
Technology Guides for Wild Format 2016 – 2017
This is the brand new series for 2016 – 2017. All have illustrated PDFs to download. No 26 How Does Direct to Garment (DtG) Printing Work?
Direct-to-garment printing, or DtG, is one of the buzzwords we are starting to hear more and more often in wide format circles… By Sophie Matthews-Paul
Drupa Newsroom
Our Drupa Newsroom with news from Messe Düsseldorf in 2017 and for Drupa 2016 can be found in the Index. It is divided into Chapters for your convenience… but you must scroll down to view each Chapter and its content when you visit the Newsroom…
The various Chapters in the drupa Newsroom are highlighted below. When you enter, just scroll down to see and access the complete collection::
drupa daily; drupa Exhibitors’ show + post-show News; drupa pre-show Exhibitor news; post-drupa from Messe Düsseldorf; drupa ante portas Blogs from Andreas Weber; drupa Expert Articles – and more
The Graphic Repro On-line Website is supported and sponsored by:
GraphicRepro.Net e-News (ISSN 1814-2923) provides weekly updates from the Graphic Repro On-line Website and is compiled and published by Mike Hilton,graphicrepro.net, PO Box 10 Peterburgskoe Shosse 13/1, 196605 Pushkin 5, St. Petersburg, Russia. e-mail graphicrepro.za@gmail.com
