Do all your customers know everything your operation can do? I rarely get a ‘Yes’ when I ask this question. In-plant operations typically serve many customers and internal departments producing a wide range of products and services. Yet many of those same customers may have little comprehension of the full breath of services your operation can produce.

The holiday season is upon us and 2024 is in sight. A new year, time for new thinking and new approaches. Do you have a defined plan to achieve specific goals in 2024? If your organization does not have a formal process for annual strategic planning, consider a conducting a strategic assessment for your print mail operation.

At the Hunkeler Innovationdays conference back in March, I spoke with several print service providers who shared their goals for growing and evolving their print and mail businesses. They also talked about challenges in production and how they are approaching new investments. The conversations brought to light three themes driving investments: innovation, workflow optimization and partnership.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with four IPMA members on our Webinar: The Present and Future of In-Plant Print Mail Communications. You can view the replay here.

Our webinar panelists included Tammy Golden, Assistant Commissioner of Document Solutions at State of Tennessee and Mike Lincoln, State of Colorado Printer. In a recent IPMA blog, I shared how Tammy and Mike assessed their teams and services so they could adapt and grow. Both teams implemented changes and experienced growth in 2021. On the webinar, they shared how they are responding to staffing challenges and paper shortages while leveraging strong partnerships to meet their clients’ needs for printing and mailing.

The webinar included two additional speakers, Lauren Tarbet: Copy Supervisor, Pflugerville (Texas) Independent School District, and Danelle Clark, Enterprise Correspondence Technologies Manager, American Family Insurance.

A new year, time for new thinking and new approaches. While this coming January may feel different than others, it still is that time to pause and reflect and define the goals for the coming year.

If you don’t have a formal process for annual strategic planning, consider a strategic assessment.

Are you reaching your strategic goals? Strategic planning comes in many flavors and there are many methodologies to create a successful plan to guide companies to achieve their substantial goals.