In eight out of ten consulting projects over the past three years, we established that our client would be able to make a bigger profit if they discontinued sales that are not suited to their company. Adjusting the portfolio accordingly – by between five and ten per cent of the original sales figure – results in a dramatic improvement. In several cases, it made the difference between losses and a profitable year. While showing respect for the actual challenges involved is understandable, baulking at the idea of change is dangerous.
The findings of the 17th Print Business Autumn Forecast conducted by Apenberg & Partner reveal tense market expectations for 2020. Small companies are especially pessimistic about the future, while satisfaction among the large printing firms is growing. Supplier prices, meanwhile, are assessed less dramatically than in previous years. In terms of the industry breakdown, the biggest response among the 186 companies that took part came from the ‘classic’ print industry – in keeping with tradition – followed by the supplier industry, the publishing houses and the media service providers.
At the start of the training year in 2019, Apenberg & Partner launched a survey on the subject of nurturing young talent in the print industry. The aim was to find out whether activities have been initiated and successfully implemented to attract trainees to companies and establish the criteria used by young people when opting for a career in the print industry. The findings showed that the majority of companies that took part recognised the fact that nurturing young talent is the most important aspect of their HR policy, although too little effort is being made to specifically secure the services of this talent.
Customer testimonials
Less than a year after the publication of the first issue of Printkompress, Apenberg & Partner presents the second issue of its customer magazine. The refined cover already suggests that the subject of packaging is the focus of the magazine. On the one hand, there are folding boxes & the like. On the other hand, packaging waste is becoming a global problem. Germany is trying to initiate countermeasures with the new packaging law, yet quite a few companies are already taking things further. Ernst Gugler, for example, proves that the cradle-to-cradle approach does not stand in the way of growth and profit. In this issue, our editorial team also takes up the topics of management, personnel management and content marketing for publishers, with statements from exciting personalities who do not always come from the industry. Because when reading Printkompress it once again becomes clear that print and digital components can be combined in harmony, we will supplement the contents of the magazine with our regular blog posts and would like to invite the growing readership of Printkompress to a dialogue.