Print, Profit, Progress: Embracing AI, Sales Strategies, and Workforce Growth

It's not every day that you have the opportunity to hear from an inspirational business speaker and best-selling author like Ross Bernstein, who has written nearly 50 sports books and has spoken on all seven continents. Attendees at the second annual PRINTING United Alliance Leadership Summit in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, had that chance when he took the stage for the opening night keynote address.

He shared what he believes is the key to success.

“The No. 1 predictor of success is the quality of your relationships," he said.

Ross Bernstein, inspirational speaker and author, kicked off the event with a keynote session to engage the audience.

This perspective may not surprise print service providers (PSPs) who prioritize their relationships with customers and vendors. He also shared seven strategies to boost sales and create momentum, a key trend at this year's event.

1. It all starts with passion.
2. Be generous
3. Build trust
4. Focus on your mental toughness
5. Find the silver linings
6. Be willing to adapt and change
7. Think hard about your legacy
8. Bonus tip: have fun!

Transforming 4 Industry Challenges into Opportunities

One of the most valuable sessions at the Alliance Summits is when attendees get to hear about the data. Nathan Safran, vice president of NAPCO Research, and Lisa Cross, principal analyst, took the stage to discuss four industry challenges that print service providers (PSPs) can transform into opportunities.

No. 1: Increasing Sales and Profitability

Unsurprisingly, the No. 1 challenge facing PSPs is increasing sales and profitability. Cross explained that expanding market competition, profitability pressures, and selling to a new breed of print buyers are some of the key drivers of this challenge.

“You might not even recognize who your new buyer is,” she said.

There are opportunities, though; she recommended starting with current customers, finding outsourcing partners, better cost tracking, identifying the most profitable and most unprofitable customers, differentiating from competitors, reviewing the sales process, and talking to peers at the Leadership Summit, which is genuinely one of the highlights of the event.

No. 2: Automation and Increasing Productivity

One of the event's themes is the push toward more automation to address various pressures. Safran explained that it is vital to profitability because labor shortages, shorter runs and faster turnarounds, and pressure on profits necessitate a focus on automation. While automation is a growing facet of the printing industry, 79% of print providers surveyed by NAPCO Research report room for growth as they have some, mainly, or all manual processes still in place.

“There is tremendous opportunity to introduce automation,” he said.

To give a glimpse at what the competition is doing, Safran shared data showing how PSPs are investing their money: replacing or upgrading aging equipment and software systems (69%), automating operations (64%), investing to increase productivity (55%); automating workflows (77%); and re-tooling operations to increase automation and productivity (64%).

Nathan Safran, vice president of NAPCO Research, and Lisa Cross, principal analyst, took the stage to discuss four industry challenges that print service providers can turn into opportunities.

No. 3 Recruiting and Retaining Personnel

Another of the hot topics at the Leadership Summit is the challenge in recruiting and retaining personnel. Cross shared data that shows two-thirds of sign and display graphic providers and 72% of commercial printers report hiring challenges.

“I believe we work in an invisible industry,” she said.

It’s crucial to educate the next generation of workers, she explained, and help them understand the benefits of joining such a robust industry. She noted some key ways to attract Gen Z, including messages highlighting work/life balance, career growth and development, and job duties.

Interestingly, Gen Z values a clear career path and wants the company they work for to reflect their goals, she said.

No. 4 What Does AI Mean for My Business?

Finally, Safran broached the ever-changing topic of AI, which was widely discussed at this year’s event. He noted that some of the biggest challenges are in understanding the technology and addressing employee fears. He said there is a learning curve, but with preparation, it’s possible to climb the learning curve.

He suggested focusing on a specific task rather than trying everything at once. He also noted that for those venturing into AI, it’s important to start small, but start now and appoint someone to be the “AI Champion” and drive the growth and success of the technology internally.

Speaking of AI …

You know it's good when there is excited chatter among the audience during a session. That happened during the keynote session from Steve Metcalf, Imagine AI Live's co-founder and CEO, “Stop the Presses: What’s your AI Strategy?”

Steve Metcalf, Imagine AI Live's co-founder and CEO, wowed audiences with examples of how AI can drive business.

He shared a powerful quote from Karim Lakhani, a Harvard Business School professor who said, “AI won't replace humans, but humans who use AI will replace humans that don't.” He extended that sentiment to the printing industry, adding, “You can very easily extend that to businesses who use AI will replace businesses that don't.”

While showing the audience “real-time” examples of using AI to work smarter, not harder, Metcalf provided the audience with AI platform ideas and examples to bring back to their businesses, as well as a seven automation strategy using AI:

• Automate your content and build enterprise memory forever.
• Create agentic prompts and standardize all knowledge workflows.
• Chat with your business and spin up experts everywhere.
• Talk to your data. Make data analytics conversational.
• Automate everything. If there is repetition and toil, remove it.
• Spend time with AI leaders to develop strategies, tools, and connections.
• A CEO leads the way. Like everything, it’s all about passion.

Workforce Development is Key

In two sessions during the event, Adriane Harrison, vice president of HR consulting at PRINTING United Alliance, delved into the importance of workforce development in a time when hiring skilled staff is challenging. She started with a peer panel exploring leadership strategies. Harrison was joined on stage by Casey Hendrick, COO of United Direct Solutions with locations in Louisville, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio; Jennifer Pettinger, CEO of Sun Print Solutions in West Valley City, Utah; and Jesse Dodge, CEO of Japs-Olson in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

The group touched on the importance of embracing a people-first culture, focusing on career development and employee growth, maintaining rigorous hiring for leadership, considering diverse employees with different backgrounds, and using retention and performance-based rewards, ensuring these strategies are transparent.

The workforce development panel was moderated by Adriane Harrison, vice president of HR consulting at PRINTING United Alliance (right). She was joined by (from right) Casey Hendrick, COO of United Direct Solutions; Jesse Dodge, CEO Japs-Olson; and Jennifer Pettinger, CEO of Sun Print Solutions.

Harrison pulled the first part of the session together with four key takeaways:

• Build a good culture
• Have a career development plan
• Communication strong
• Bonus structure/skin in the game to incentivize people

There are plenty of opportunities in workforce development, but there are also some challenges for PSPs to navigate. While remote work is desired, it’s not always feasible, so showcasing the benefits of working onsite while ensuring remote employees feel included in the culture is important. This also plays into the value of in-person learning and training, which is critical for hands-on industries. Fostering a collaborative environment where employees can learn organically is a great way to address these challenges.

Of course, the topic of innovations entered the discussion, with omnichannel communication being a way to use direct mail to engage younger audiences. But, it’s a good idea to balance traditional strategies with innovation, adapting to new technologies while supporting the traditional print formats.

In Harrison’s general session on the future of HR, she spoke about the challenges of managing four generations in the workplace. She provided ideas about how to build a great culture. Companies with a positive culture are five times more likely to be high-performing because of greater engagement, which results in higher productivity. Building culture starts at the top, and when company leaders actively connect with their teams, everybody wins.

As with all PRINTING United Alliance Summits, the evenings were buzzing with networking, where attendees eagerly discussed the latest trends and valuable insights they had gathered over the previous days. The overall positivity and enthusiasm for exploring new technologies were among the key takeaways from the final day.

The only downside of this year’s event is that it’s over.