Disruption to supply chains, particularly for paper, is likely to cause problems across the industry for several more months at least. Even if industrial action in Finland ceased tomorrow, the state of the supply chain is such that, like a traffic jam, it will take some time before everything starts to flow smoothly again. And that is without any additional border checks and paperwork.
Smart printers will use the situation in a positive way, recalling the maxim to “never waste a crisis”. In this instance, the shortage of materials is universal, affecting printers across Europe and North America, although the causes and combination of factors may be different across the Atlantic. It means that the customer cannot switch to another printer to solve these problems. Everyone knows this. Instead of pretending that this is not the case or that the specified paper is due to arrive in the next day or so, here is the opportunity to have relationship enhancing conversations. Does the customer need 500,000 brochures all at once, or can the printer supply 250,000 now and the remainder at a future date? Can an alternative material be found? Even, whisper this carefully, can a combination of print and digital, work to circumvent the immediate problems? Can the book publisher, or the retail brand come up with better forecasts, that can result in more precise print orders?
If Covid is leading to some fundamental shifts in industrial organisation, towards shorter more local sources of supply, towards greater levels of automation on the one hand and greater individuality on the other, then the post Covid landscape is going to continue to ripple with the impact of those changes. Rather than rush back to the way that things used to be in 2019, the door is open to other possibilities, to explore other ways of working with customers and people in the business. Disruption is not always a bad thing.
The cleansing power of disruption
Disruption to supply chains, particularly for paper, is likely to cause problems across the industry for several more months at least. Even if industrial action in Finland ceased tomorrow, the state of the supply chain is such that, like a traffic jam, it will take some time before everything starts to flow smoothly again. And that is without any additional border checks and paperwork.
Smart printers will use the situation in a positive way, recalling the maxim to “never waste a crisis”. In this instance, the shortage of materials is universal, affecting printers across Europe and North America, although the causes and combination of factors may be different across the Atlantic. It means that the customer cannot switch to another printer to solve these problems. Everyone knows this. Instead of pretending that this is not the case or that the specified paper is due to arrive in the next day or so, here is the opportunity to have relationship enhancing conversations. Does the customer need 500,000 brochures all at once, or can the printer supply 250,000 now and the remainder at a future date? Can an alternative material be found? Even, whisper this carefully, can a combination of print and digital, work to circumvent the immediate problems? Can the book publisher, or the retail brand come up with better forecasts, that can result in more precise print orders?
If Covid is leading to some fundamental shifts in industrial organisation, towards shorter more local sources of supply, towards greater levels of automation on the one hand and greater individuality on the other, then the post Covid landscape is going to continue to ripple with the impact of those changes. Rather than rush back to the way that things used to be in 2019, the door is open to other possibilities, to explore other ways of working with customers and people in the business. Disruption is not always a bad thing.
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