In his book, “Why Digital Transformations Fail: The Surprising Disciplines of How to Take Off and Stay Ahead,” Tony Saldanha provides a behind-the-scenes peek into where digital transformations go wrong. The former VP for IT and Shared Services at Procter & Gamble writes that the failures are not so much the result of the aimed-for innovation or technology, but instead a lack of clear, defined goals and a disciplined process.
In Saldanha’s take on how business leaders can go from simply automating business processes to making digital technology the foundation of their companies, it is not hard to see where and how the print industry fits into his analysis. In an industry that continues to lean in on digital transformation, some of the moves toward digital workflows, cloud computing and data-driven decision-making have been slow to take.
Jonathan Simpson, VP at Simpsons Printing, says that when you look at the print industry at large, it is easy to see a landscape that’s primed for even more change over the next three to five years. And, if you examine just how many print companies have been slow to evolve in some areas, there may be a reckoning of sorts coming. “Not everyone wants to change or is going to change. What I do see is the change in today’s customers, my customers. A lot of my customers can go online and get what they want now. That is what we want from our business model. We want to have that personal engagement, and the technology to get people want they want, when they want it.”
The Rapid City, South Dakota, family-owned printer has spent the past 59-plus years serving the upper Midwest by making significant investments in its employees and staying in step with the industry’s continuing technological advancements. Simpson says that in an industry that demands you know when and where change is happening, being proactive in the future is the only path forward.
“You can’t put your head in the sand and expect to be able to run your business. You owe it to your employees to give them the best platform they can have to operate as efficiently as you can,” Simpson says. “We’re not a big company, but we’re not a small company, so we’re in a weird spot. We try to implement what we can knowing there are going to be growing pains.”
“You can’t put your head in the sand and expect to be able to run your business. You owe it to your employees to give them the best platform they can have to operate as efficiently as you can.”
– Jonathan Simpson, VP, Simpsons Printing
Looking out over the next five years, the print industry will continue to evolve on the technological side. This fact jumps into the light more when you consider that one of the most intriguing—if not disconcerting—statistics in “Why Digital Transformations Fail” is that around 70% of businesses fail when going through digital transformations. That means only one in three deliver when taking on the task.
What Saldanha discovered in his 27-year career at Procter & Gamble and as a consultant for Fortune 100 companies is that one of the most prominent factors behind the failure to successfully initiate a digital transformation is that there is not a crystal-clear edict on what the transformation is and how to do it. What Saldanha ultimately found was that to successfully complete a digital transformation, a company must conduct a “complete rewiring of operating in the third industrial revolution era into fourth industrial revolution.”
And while companies like Simpsons Printing may not have a blueprint for others to follow, the path it has taken is working. For example, when it came to implementing its digital workflows, the Simpsons Printing team first tackled how the process would change the traditional workflow steps it used.
“You find that you use the process from machine to machine, and that there are some similarities, so the navigation is similar,” Simpson says. “We’re always trying to find what makes sense to help employees do what they do more efficiently. In this case, by utilizing a digital workflow production process, the end results have been very important to us.
Your Guide to Future-Proofing Your Business
Staying ahead of technological advancements, market shifts, and customer demands is essential for long-term success in today’s commercial print industry. That means future-proofing your business isn’t just about surviving the next trend, but building resilience and adaptability into the core of your business model.
The first step is to take stock of what’s in the marketplace today. “Every company offers different resources that can take your business into the next technological direction,” Simpson says. “You have to talk to each vendor and see where they fall in availability, usability, price, etc. And when it comes to which vendor you choose, customer service is everything.”
Next on the list is manpower. To make any transition work, especially on the technology side, you need to have the right people in place. “This has been a big hurdle for us,” Simpson says. “You not only need the right people to be able to handle the equipment or software you get, but you have to have the buy-in, too. Sometimes, you’re going to have to have those uncomfortable conversations. ‘This is the way we have to do it; this is why it will be beneficial; and this is why we are going to make this change.’ Those conversations can be hard. Some people are going to be more efficient than others.”
“The failures are not so much the result of the aimed-for innovation or technology, but instead a lack of clear, defined goals and a disciplined process.”
– Tony Saldanha, Former VP, Global Business Services & IT, Procter & Gamble
In the end, it comes down to getting yourself and your company in the right mindset for change and future-proofing. Every printer not only wants to be able to service the wants and needs of its customers, but also to be able to compete. Too many printers have not and are not going to take these steps.
“You have to be able to ask yourself where the bottlenecks are,” Simpson says. “Where are you struggling? Why are you struggling? How can you make it better and more efficient? The key is to tackle the most painful things head-on. It’s hard, but you have to start somewhere. Figuring it out and taking action are what everyone has to do.”
By embracing innovative practices, diversifying your offerings and investing in both technology and talent, commercial printers can not only safeguard their business against disruptions but also position themselves as leaders in an ever-evolving marketplace.
