Printed Publications | Market, Trends, Growth | Suppliers Analysis

Strategic Sourcing Guide to Printed Publications Procurement

Overview

A changing ecosystem within the Printing Services market also affects the procurement process, cost dynamics and supplier attractiveness for the buyers of Printed Publications. Rapid digitization of workspace and work processes has significantly reduced the use of paper in corporate world and therefore, industry has seen a consistent decline of print volumes. Still, the term \"paperless office\" will take years to become a common phenomenon. Print is here to stay and will co-exist with the digital document solutions in a \"paper-light\" corporate world.

Buyers prefer to engage suppliers whose offerings span beyond Printed Publications. The practice brings in several advantages such as rationalization of supplier base, economies of scale and reduced category management cost.

Suppliers expect an increase in OPEX from rising prices of paper and ink which has resulted from rising input costs and to some extent, from shortening supply. Still, declining use of paper and intense competition will offset this incremental cost.

Printed Publications Procurement Best Practices

Sometimes, procurement functions are unable to timely alter their practices while responding to market conditions. Industry experts acknowledge that periodically reviewing procurement best practices and adopting learnings from across procurement categories can help procurement teams respond to market needs in a more agile way. This report combines our experience of other categories with Printed Publications procurement insights and hand picks best practices that can work for category managers delving in this market.

For example, Buyers should assess factors such as their overall printing requirements, quality of prints required, and need to repeat orders. Such information can be used to take a decision on choosing between a domestic service provider or an offshore service provider based in a low-cost country. Buyers can also choose to attain a balance between offshoring and domestic engagement to optimize their cost-saving opportunities.

Buyers should compare critical capabilities of suppliers based on security policies regarding materials provided, types of printers used, print color guarantees and TAT and onboard those that can offer a one-stop solution.

Buyers should engage with regional service providers of digital print as this will reduce the procurement lead time. Shipment of goods from regional service providers takes lesser shipment time compared with shipment from global print service providers.

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Risks in Printed Publications procurement

Printed Publications procurement managers also need to proactively identify and mitigate potential risks that can arise in the supply chain or contracts for Printed Publications procurement. Some examples include:

Pricing terms in the contract could prove to be inadequate to safeguard the buyer from impact of a sudden increase in supplier's cost, often arising from a lack of clarity on scope of products or services to be delivered
Paper, ink, other raw materials, and fuel form important cost components for the broader print services category. However, the supply of raw materials such as fuel and paper is highly dependent on demand-supply fluctuations. Any increase in prices of these raw materials may critically affect the cash flow of commercial print suppliers and subsequently affect their ability to invest in CAPEX projects
When requirements of the buyers are not absolutely clear or usage patterns are not stable or predictable, suppliers often build in \"cost buffers\" for unforeseen risks due to a lack of complete understanding on buyer's requirements. This increases the risk of overspending on Printed Publications

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Who should read this report

The report is intended to serve as a one-stop reference guide for Printed Publications procurement strategy and offers a perfect blend of category basics with deep-dive category data and insights. Therefore, it is ideal for category beginners looking for “Printed Publications: Procurement Report 101” as well as for category experts actively tracking the global Printed Publications procurement market.

You may have just initiated your research to design a winning Printed Publications procurement strategy, or you may be a category expert looking for strategic insights and updated data.Either ways, the report has your requirements covered.

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Key questions on Printed Publications procurement answered by this report

Procurement decisions can prove to be costly in the absence of careful deliberation and evaluation of every available option. In fact, more than 90% of the decision makers we work with acknowledge that timely availability of up-to-date category intelligence can help them make better purchasing decisions. More than 80% of them believe that in-house category intelligence needs to be updated periodically to achieve full benefits. If you have read so far, we are quite sure you agree!!

The Printed Publications procurement report helps take more informed decisions by placing all the critical information and advice at the fingertips of a decision maker. It also specifically answers some of the key questions that we have been routinely asked during our industry outreach initiatives:

What is the spend potential in the Printed Publications market?
What is the correct price to pay for Printed Publications? What are the key trends and factors that influence current and future pricing?
Which selection criteria are the most important for Printed Publications Suppliers Market?
Who are the top Printed Publications suppliers? What are their cost structures?
Which negotiation levers can reduce Printed Publications procurement cost ?
What are supplier margins in Printed Publications market?
What are the best practices for Printed Publications procurement and what are the potential risks?

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Printed Publications Category Insights: What is inside

The Printed Publications market report offers a complete picture of the supply market and analyzes the category from the perspective of both buyers and suppliers. Analysis of the category trends, procurement best practices, negotiation levers and overall category management strategy advisory are interspersed with in-depth data and commentary on spend outlook, pricing ecosystem and supplier landscape drilled down to a region-level coverage.

Data

A key highlight of this report is the in-depth outlook created on Printed Publications procurement spend and pricing trends. The report further delves deep into the aspects of cost structure, total cost of ownership and supplier margins for Printed Publications. A dedicated section to supplier profiles and evaluation helps decision makers cast a wider procurement net and identify gaps in existing relationships.

Insights

Along with specific category and supplier intelligence, the publication also includes curated insights on Printed Publications market trends, price influencers and inherent risks. These insights help the decision makers prepare for market shaping trends in advance and create alternative strategies for changes in the market conditions.

Advisory

Additionally, the report also advises on the best practices and strategies to manage the Printed Publications category efficiently. Negotiation levers and opportunities are explained in detail along with quantification of their potential. Benchmark KPIs for supplier and buyer performance management are also aggregated to better organize the category objectives. Other themes of advisory include ideal procurement organization structure, enablers to achieve KPIs or category objectives and ideal SLAs to have with suppliers.

Category Ecosystem

Buyer and supplier ecosystem
Competitiveness index
Buyer and supplier power
Threat of new entrants and substitutes

Global and Regional Sourcing Insights

Category spend
Spend growth
Dynamics
Opportunities

Pricing and Cost Analysis

Pricing outlook and data
Drivers of pricing
Cost structure and inputs cost
Total cost of ownership
Pricing models and margins

Cost Saving Opportunities & Negotiation Strategies

Buyer and supplier side levers
Quantified cost saving opportunities
Negotiation strategies and quantified outcome

Procurement Best Practices, Strategy and Enablers

Procurement excellence
Sustainability and innovation
KPIs and category enablers
Risk management and outsourcing

Vendor Analysis

RFx essentials and selection criteria
SLAs
Supplier evaluation metrics
Detailed supplier profiles

Our research is complex, but our reports are easy to digest. Quantitative analysis and exhaustive commentary is placed in an easy to read format that gives you an in-depth knowledge on the category without spending hours to figure out “what does it mean for my company?”

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Category Research Framework

SpendEdge presents a detailed picture of Printed Publications procurement solutions by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. The analysts have presented the various facets of the market with a particular focus on identifying the key category influencers. The data thus presented is comprehensive, reliable, and the result of extensive research, both primary and secondary.