Do I need a Print Manager and what are they anyway?

Recently Print & Brand Managers have become popular within businesses across Australia and New Zealand. You may have found yourself being contacted by a print management company offering to ‘save your business from chaos’, but not being very clear about ‘how’. This is forgivable but not helpful. Print & Brand Management is such an all-encompassing term and can leave you scratching your head and asking ‘well what do they do exactly?’

Print and Brand Managers basically do it all for you.

So what is a Print and Brand Manager?

The short answer is: a company that manages every step of your branded purchasing requirements for you. They are both your resource for project management and procurement.

Their service includes, in no particular order of importance:

• Estimating your usage and planning your requirements
• Sourcing best market prices for any project – small to large
• Sourcing ideas for your upcoming projects
• Managing the design of your artwork, getting artwork production ready
• Managing the production of items from art through storage and ultimate delivery.
• Maintaining and policing your brand standards
• Offering an online catalogue and reporting system
• Being a point of contact and information for all your business wide sites
• Achieving yearly budgetary targets – including agreed overall cost savings
• Managing your warehousing, stock levels and logistics
• Financing your stock and aiding your cashflow
• Managing the admin around invoicing your sites/franchises directly and payment collection
• Offering rebates to companies across their overall business wide spend

Some of the items they provide are:

• Business Cards
• Stationery –Letterhead/Envelopes etc
• Business Forms such as NCR books (duplicate/triplicate)
• Marketing brochures of all sizes
• Direct Mail Campaigns
• Posters, signage, display items, point of sale items
• Building signage
• Branded giveaways and promotional items
• Branded clothing

What is the difference between Affliliated Print Managers and Independent Print & Brand Managers.

There are two main types of print and brand manger in the industry today. It is important you understand the difference as these very differences can influence your desired outcomes.

Affiliated Print Manager

Basically an affiliated print management company is owned and staffed by a particular print company. This means that they have their own presses and product to sell. Whilst this may sound like they have a vested agenda, there are pros and cons to this kind of arrangement. Having their own presses means the work they take on is usually heavily in favour of the type of jobs that will fill their presses. They know this product well and have direct influence over the production team.

Independent Print and Brand Manager

An independent print manager is not connected to a particular press. They source from a wide chain of supply, locally and globally. They often offer additional options such as warehousing, logistics and the all important finance. As they are not heavily dependant on one sort of print production, they can be more flexible with timing and price. They also tend to be more flexible in their catalogue offering. This also allows for realistic market price testing. Independent Print and Brand Management companies usually have a vast supply chain to draw upon both locally and globally.

Why Would I need a Print and Brand Manager?

A Print and Brand Manager can help your business whether a small startup, franchise chain or large conglomerate. With their connections and industry experience they are the perfect resource to help with any project, from a box of business cards to a full-scale international branding roll out.

If you have multiple stakeholders, sites or brands, a Print and Brand Management company is an essential resource. With their knowledge and systems they are able to advise on the best methods and means to achieve both quality and savings within your project or yearly procurement. Their warehousing, logistics and finance options will ensure your company has what they need, when they need, where they need it and at the best available price.

Should you need an item that is used regularly over a period of time, having a Print and Brand Manager means you can purchase at a bulk rate depending on your expected usage, call off the smaller mounts as you need them and only pay the more economical bulk rate.

So the next time you are considering your business and marketing plans, contact a Print and Brand Management company for a chat and see if they can help your business save money and time.