Just to let you know......
Steve Bova, Executive Director of the IRgA, contacted me this afternoon to let me know that my request for a "press pass" to the IRgA Convention has been granted.
To those of you who supported my request for a press pass, thank you.
Joel
Déjà vu: (meaning "already seen") is the experience of feeling sure that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situation, even though the exact circumstances of the previous encounter are uncertain and were perhaps imagined.
Yesterday, an industry-friend alerted me to a bid “on the street” from one of our local government agencies. From the bid document, I printed (pdf’d) just the “bid form” page. That page shows you the services this government agency is “calling out”, including descriptions of services and units of measure. If you click on the link below (which will take you to the “bid form” that I’ve posted on Google Docs), you will get a tinge of nostalgia!
Yes, this is a current bid on the street! I kid you NOT!
If anyone knows Bill Berg’s e-mail address (ex-owner, ex-CEO of MBC Precision Imaging, which is now an ARC-owned company), please kindly let him know about this post. When I first met Bill Berg, back in 1970, he was a sales guy for Teledyne-Post in the Wash/Balt area. I’m sure he’d get a kick to see, in 2011(!), a bid form that calls out diazo prints using Teledyne blueline paper!
When’s the last time you got an order for diazo prints?
And, OMG, when’s the last time you got an order for Sepia-Tone Slicks? (I’d be willing to bet you that anyone who’s been in the reprographics business for less than 5 years wouldn’t have a clue what “slicks” are, unless they asked an older veteran reprographer.)
As to Government Agency bids for reprographics services ….. do you take the time to try and educate “purchasing agents” so as to encourage them to “update and modernize” their procurements for reprographics services? Having made that a practice when I was active in the reprographics business, I can tell you, first hand, that, more often than not, they completely ignore your suggestions for improving their procurement (bid) documents. Attempting to convince them to “update and modernize” was an agonizing, frustrating process! But, someone’s got to do it.
Although I miss being in the reprographics business, there are times when its nice to be out of the fray, because you no longer have to worry about being “politically incorrect” when you communicate with Government Agency procurement offices. I’d now like to share with you the e-mail I sent, yesterday, to the purchasing agent at the City of St Pete, about the City’s current bid document for repro services:
From: joelsalus
Subject: Bid#7103
Date: February 2, 2011 2:56:12 PM EST
To: lawanda.bodden@stpete.org
Dear Ms. Bodden,
I just read through the above reference bid document for "Copying Services: Construction Drawings".
The "bid form" you are using for this particular procurement is seriously out of date ... and the "bid form" page is absolutely stupid. The City of St Pete Purchasing Department should be embarrassed for issuing a bid form that calls for services that have been basically obsolete for more than 10 years by now. And, the manner in which the bid form calls for pricing is absolutely idiotic. When the City (or, for that matter, any government agency purchasing department) calls for bidders to bid on services that are provided by a specific industry, in this case, the "reprographics" industry, the purchasing department should, at the very least, have at least an elementary-level understanding of how vendors in that industry sell and price their services and what those services are called. It is quite evident that no one in the City's purchasing department has even an elementary understanding of the services called-out for on the bid form.
I am retired from the reprographics industry. But, when I was not retired, I won this particular city contract. Prior to winning that prior bid, I took the time to educate the city's purchasing person (who that bid was assigned to) - as to how to go about "updating and modernizing" this particular procurement. But, every bit of advice and guidance I furnished to the City purchasing department was completely and utterly ignored. I am a 40+ year veteran of the reprographics, and, during the time I was in business, I participated in hundreds of government-agency procurements for reprographics services. The City of St Pete's procurement for reprographics services (the bid form, in particular, and some of the terms and conditions) is just, flat out, ridiculous, the worst one I've ever come across.
The City Purchasing Department should do this:
a) cancel the current bid document.
b) schedule a meeting with area reprographics firms to get their input on how the bid-form should be updated and modernized, or, if a meeting is not practical, then, at the very least, call area reprographics firms to request their written input/advice as to how the bid form should be updated and modernized.
When the City issues a horribly prepared bid form, there are two outcomes:
a) fewer vendors will submit bids!
b) the few vendors who do submit bids, will be able to take advantage of the City, financially, because of the way the bid form is structured!
Our City's budget is under tight constraints, and it is the City Purchasing Department's primary job to issue "smart" bid documents, bid documents that will invite increased competition, bid documents that will avoid the City from overpaying for necessary services. I am a resident of St Pete. Our city does not have any money to waste. if the City modernizes and updates this procurement, it will encourage more competition and result in lower cost to the City.
Please give a copy of this e-mail to Mr. Moore, the City's Director of Purchasing. I will, under separate cover, send a copy of this to the Mayor's office.
Respectfully yours,
Joel H. Salus
I’d like to point you to another thought-provoking (and very well written) article by Elizabeth Gooding, who writes for the digitalnirvana blog.
In this particular article, Elizabeth points out the fact that most “service providers” who offer printing (and other) services to “marketing departments”, seldom (and some don’t at all) use their own services to promote their own businesses.
If we recognize that our customers have marketing needs and provide services to them to help them achieve their marketing objectives, then why don’t we (service providers) recognize and attend to our own marketing needs?
Here’s a link to the article on digitalnirvana:
Results for Survey #1 (Reprographics 101 - General Survey) are posted on Google Docs.
You can access the Survey Results by clicking on this link:
My comments about the survey:
(1) After I first posted the Survey, I posted several articles. Posting multiple articles after the Survey was posted made it not-so-easy for blog-visitors to even know that we were conducting a Survey. I’ll have to think about a solution for that, as I will probably post additional surveys in the future.
(2) I first posted the Survey on Thursday, January 27th. Late last night, Tuesday, February 1st, I printed the Survey results, and, this morning (Feb 2), I posted, on Google Docs, the Survey results through Feb 1st. I’m not planning to post further updates to the Survey results.
(3) My further comments about the Survey results:
a. I’d like to thank one of my ex-partners (who is a retired reprographer), the one who is a wiseass, for being the only respondent to say “I could care less” to the question about whether blog-visitors would care or not care if the blog was discontinued. (MF, you know who you are!)
b. Between the time the Survey was first posted and now (6 days later), approximately 140 visitors visited the Reprographics 101 blog-site. But, only 32 chose to participate in the Survey. Apathy? Not-so-easy to get people to participate in a survey?
c. In the Survey, I asked a question about what “other blogs or web-sites” people go to, to learn about what’s going on in the reprographics business and industry. 5 people indicated “other”, but I failed to ask them to share the names of those “other” blogs or web-sites they visit. If anyone would like to share with others what “other” blogs or web-sites they visit to learn about the business and industry, please kindly share those “other” sites by using the “comment” section for this post.
d. 94% of the Survey respondents indicated that they go to “Reprographics 101” to learn about what’s going on in the reprographics business and industry. That ranked “Reprographics 101” the highest in terms of where people go to, to learn about what’s going on in the industry. I’ve shared the results of the Survey with Shaun Meany (PEiR Grop Point of View blog author) and with John Cronin (author of The Blueprint and Pres of PLP) and with Jared Willis (author of the blog, Buildit). I’d encourage them to write more articles on their blogs, as that would, I think, increase their readership numbers.
e. When asked “which blog or web-site is the MOST informative,”:
i. 25 out of 32 indicated “Reprographics 101”
ii. 1 out of 32 indicated “ARC”
iii. 1 out of 32 indicated “RSA”
iv. 1 out of 32 indicated “ReproMAX”
v. 4 out of 32 gave these responses, “none”, “other” and “impossible to say” and “haven’t visited much”(?)
f. 23 out of 32 indicated that they visit “Reprographics 101” more than once a month; several indicated that they visit several times a month or every day.
g. To the question I asked, “would you be offended if Reprographics 101 had advertisements?”, those who did respond (31 out of 32) said that they would not be offended. Note: While I thank you for that response, the likelihood of “Reprographics 101” carrying ads is highly remote, since I don’t know how to implement advertising on a blog-site. (I’m not that smart, as most of you know.)
h. 100% responded that the author of Reprographics 101” is deserving of, and should be afforded, a “Press Pass” to the IRGA Convention. (I’m waiting for Steve Bova of the IRGA to get back to me about the request I made for a “press pass” to the IRGA.)
i. The percentage of “owner-employees” who visit “Reprographics 101” is quite high. But, I’m positive the reason for that is because, when I first began to let people know about “Reprographics 101”, I contacted only owners of reprographics companies.
j. Approximately 75% of those who responded to the Survey have been in the reprographics business for more than 11 years and nearly 50% for more than 20 years.
I would like to thank all who participated in the Survey!
Please refer your reprographics industry friends, associates, vendors, etc. to “Reprographics 101”.
Joel
In this article, the strangest comment was this one, “The financial crisis is a blessing, because it has created a sense of urgency.”
I immediately found myself wondering, “what’s that guy smoking? …. must be some weird stuff! And, to whom was the financial crisis a blessing?”
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Found on Southeast Construction News:
Article Title: 2011: Time to Appreciate That Things are “Less Worse?”
Author: debwood
Date posted: 1/31/2011
(Note: I’m posting only some of the information that appeared in “debwood’s” article; see link at end of post to access full article.)
“Things are moving in the right direction, with the world economy rebounding and six consecutive quarters of economic growth in the United States, but construction has been immune to improvement and will be the last sector to recover, says Anirban Basu, Associated Builders and Contractors' chief economist, who spoke at the Central Florida Chapter of ABC’s Economic Outlook forum in Orlando.
“At some point, construction will recover; it always does,” Basu told more than 100 people in attendance. But for now, “less worse is the new excellent.”
The U.S. economy is in recovery, much of it motivated by the stimulus package. But that work is winding down and the private sector is not ready to step forward to create new jobs or start building again, Basu says.
Since the start of the recession, the construction industry has lost 1.9 million jobs. The U.S. economy now supports 25% fewer construction workers. However, Basu maintains, “things are getting better,” with private-sector job creation moving in the right direction. In Florida, the education, health care and hospitality industries have added jobs, but construction is still losing jobs. Orlando was the exception, with 600 more construction jobs in December 2010 than one year prior. Tampa, on the other hand, lost 4,500 construction jobs during that period.
“Things are turning around faster in Orlando than people realize,” Basu says.
Nationally, the American Institute of Architects’ architecture billings index shows an increase starting in October 2010. Basu indicates that means contractors should start getting busier in about 14 months.
“We have seen the worst of it,” Basu says.
Economic forum panelist Ted Garrison, of Garrison Associates of Ormond Beach, Fla., advised attendees to “get out of the building industry” and restructure to improve processes, to work more collaboratively, to shift toward integrated project delivery and to focus on solving owners’ problems.
“The financial crisis is a blessing, because it has created a sense of urgency,” Garrison says. “We need to make fundamental changes if we want to survive.””
Click on this link to read the full article:
Service Point’s UK division gaining traction with PrintNet, SP’s “Web2Print” application. Service Point recently announced two major “scores” in the education and public sectors. For SP UK’s recent “scores”, see “Press Releases” in latter part of this post.
Although many consider Service Point to be a “reprographics” enterprise (a good portion of its revenues do come from Sales to business in the A/E/C Industry), Service Point is a diversified print, imaging and reprographics company, and Service Point, in an effort to grow in spite of the recession that severely impacted it’s A/E/C industry revenues, has been pushing forward its initiatives in Web-2-Print applications to gain traction in public, education and finance sectors.
Reprographers who are looking for ways to grow their businesses, beyond A/E/C industry revenues, should, I think, take the time to read-up on what Service Point is doing to generate non-AEC business.
Here’s some of what SP UK says on its web-site about Web-2-Print
Web-2-Print made simple...
Like to access your print online and be able to manage it as well?
Web-2-Print is exactly that - a new and incredibly convenient way to order, manage and budget for all of your business print requirements, both online and on your desktop. Service Point is delighted to launch the PrintNet range of tools (the evolution of our ReproNet print ordering system). Combined they create a ground-breaking approach to Web-2-Print: a selection of options that gives your organisation true choices in the development of your very own internal online print strategy.
Low impact
PrintNet Web-2-Print is available in three levels of service - each level is developed to help you evolve your online print activity at your own pace. Buying online is also a great way to lower the impact on our environment and your budget as well.
· PrintNetLite – online print ordering
· PrintNetPro – online print management
· PrintNetPlus – online print & document management
In both of the Press Releases you’ll see below, Service Point uses the term “tender process”. The “tender process” in Europe is what we in the U.S. refer to as the “bid process.”
When U.S. government sector and education sector “customers” hold procurements for printing, imaging and reprographics services, they generally issue “RFP’’s” (Request for Proposals) or “ITB’s” (Invitations to Bid) to prospective proposer/bidders, and “price” is generally (but not always) a major factor in determining which proposer/bidder wins a procurement. I don’t profess to know how important “price” is to public sector “customers” in the UK. If Service Point UK won these procurements (the ones they mention in the press releases below) because SP UK was the “low bidder”, then that would mean that SP UK is being very aggressive with its pricing, which could negatively impact gross margins on a forward basis. But, if SP UK’s recent tender wins were won because of superior technology and service (whether real or perceived) and SP UK’s prices were not all that low, then all should consider these recent wins to be major scores.
Of the many rules out there about being successful in business, three are very important standouts to me:
(1) make it easy for customers to do business with you!
(2) develop (or acquire) and implement technology applications that support rule #1.
(3) if you are successful with one public-sector customer because the way you serve customers is perceived (by customers) to be superior (including, but not limited to technology applications), then don’t keep it a secret; aggressively push it out to other similar customers
Service Point UK is mindful of those rules. Congrats to SP UK’s team on their recent public sector scores.
In a recent post on the PEiR Group Point of View blog, Shaun Meany, President of ARC’s PEiR Group, began the year by posting food for thought about what reprographers should be thinking about to grow their businesses. Keep that in mind as you read these Service Point Press Releases.
One company in the U.S. has, in my opinion, a standout business model – Mimeo.com. (I’m not saying that other companies don’t have standout business models, I’m “just saying” that Mimeo.com’s is outstanding. Mimeo.com makes it “ever-so-simple” for customers to do business with them, and the technology applications they’ve developed and implemented are totally awesome.
__________________
Extracted from recent Press Releases issued by Service Point Solutions (www.servicepoint.net)
__________________
Service Point signs framework agreement with Aston University valued at 900,000 pounds
• The collaboration will run for 3 years plus 1 roll- on year contract
January 26th, 2011 – Service Point Solutions UK signs an agreement with Aston University in valued in 900,000 pounds. The contract will run for 3 years plus roll- on year. This agreement strengthens the position of the company in the educational sector, one of the key targets of the company.
Based in Birmingham - the UK’s 2nd largest city by population - Aston University is one of UK's prominent Universities. Proud of their International reputation for their Business, Language and Engineering studies they support 9000 full time students of which 1500 are over-seas students mainly from China, Asia and the Middle East. Ranked 13th in the UK University listings they are ambitious to enter the top 10 as a preferred destination for UK & Overseas Under and Post Graduates
Service Point UK will supply the full range of Printed Services for: Stationery, Operational and Marketing & Communications collateral in both Lithographic and Digital quality. SPUK has won the sole supply of Printed Business Stationery to be implemented online via SPUK’s PrintNet Web-2-Print system. Cira 250 users form the initial client base growing as the system is rolled out to tutors and key organisational development departments. Simplicity and scalability of solution was essential in the selection of a print partner who could deliver flexible services in response to the client’s changing needs. The combination of SP’s local presence to the University and highly personal print management service delivered conveniently online met the requirement of the tender.
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Service Point UK signs agreement with Bridgend County Borough Council
• SPS UK will provide Web-2-Print services • The contract will run up for 3 years plus 1 year roll-on • The agreement strengthens the position of SPS in the Public Sector
31 January 2011 – The UK subsidiary of Service Point Solutions, S.A. (ticker: SPS.MC) recently signed a framework agreement with Bridgend County Borough Council to provide Web-2-Print services. The contract will run up for 3 years plus 1 roll-on year.
With over 7,500 staff Bridgend is one of the largest employers in the county borough. The Chief Executive has stated that the Council is striving to be a modern organization with a reputation for providing the best services in Wales, achieved through better service delivery and improved performance management and the “Transforming Bridgend” strategic change initiative is in the process of delivering this. To this end aligning with leading strategic business partners for the delivery of exceptional value and quality is critical.
SPUK’s successful bid sees provision of the full range of Printed Services across the organization to include: Business / Operational Stationery and Marketing & Communications collateral on-demand - supplied in both Lithographic and Digital print. As the sole supplier of Printed Business Stationery over 40 users will be able to access their requirements online via the Service Point Web-2-Print solution - PrintNet. Additional services include: Copying, Report and Bid work as well as opportunities with Planning Departments and IT as the relationship evolves. SPUK was judged best supplier in Lithographic and high quality Digital print within the tender process.
ARC announced that it will release its Q4 2010 and Full-Year 2010 Results on February 22, 2011.
On October 11, 2010, ARC issued revised guidance on its expected 2010 results, lowering its full-year 2010 EPS forecast to a range of $.04 - $.09 per share (excluding any one-time charges that may be incurred.)
ARC is very consistent in issuing Press Releases for upcoming earnings results. On February 9, 2010 (last year), ARC issued a press release to say that its Q4 2009 and Full-Year 2009 results would be released on February 9, 2010. Two weeks prior to that, on January 27, 2010, ARC issued a press release (in advance of its press release on February 9) to say that earnings results would be better than previously forecast.
Since ARC has not issued any further guidance (either lower or higher), since it last released revised guidance on October 11, 2010, I think it would be reasonable to assume that ARC’s Q4 2010 results and full-year 2010 results will fall into the EPS range forecast on October 11, 2010 ($.04 - $.09).
According to the “earnings estimates” on MarketWatch.com, 4 analysts have issued projections for ARC’s full-year 2010 EPS results.
· Low estimate: $.05 EPS
· High estimate: $.15 EPS
· Mean estimate: $.09 EPS
From previous 2010 Quarterly results Press Releases:
· Net income for the first quarter of 2010 was $717,000, or $0.02 per diluted share.
· Net income for the second quarter of 2010 was $1.7 million or $0.04 per diluted share.
· Adjusted to exclude the period's goodwill impairment, net income for the third quarter of 2010 was $0.3 million, or $0.01 per diluted share.
Through the first 9 months of 2010, ARC reported $.06 EPS per diluted share (which excludes one-time charges.) (Comment: I know. If you add .02 + .04 + .01, that equals $.07, so the $.06 must be ‘after’ the effects of adding the quarterly EPS numbers, then rounding to the nearest full penny.)
ARC management forecast full-year 2010 EPS in a range from $.04 to $.09. In order for ARC’s actual full-year 2010 results to fall into that range, ARC would have to report, for Q4 2010, somewhere between a loss of $.01 EPS and earnings of $.03 EPS. (Comment: Yes, I “aced” addition and subtraction in 2nd grade, but fell off later on when I encountered Algebra, Geometry and I managed to altogether avoid Trigonometry.)
So, what’s your prediction of ARC’s Full-Year 2010 EPS Results?
If you care to make a prediction, post it as a comment to this post.
My own personal prediction is that ARC will report $.03 EPS for Q4 2010 and $.09 EPS for the full-year 2010. I would imagine that ARC, by now, has gained at least some traction in its efforts to grow its non-AEC business (MPS and Riot Color.) And, ARC has continued right-sizing its costs.
I previously estimated that ARC’s full-year 2010 Sales will come in at right around $445 million.
And, in a recent post, I predicted that ARC’s 2011 Sales will end up being around 15% more than ARC’s 2010 Sales, as the reprographics industry begins in 2011 its long awaited recovery.
______________
Simply for reference purposes, here are the ARC Press Releases I referred to in the commentary above:
WALNUT CREEK, CA, Jan 31, 2011
American Reprographics Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2010 Results Conference Call
WALNUT CREEK, CA, Jan 31, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --American Reprographics Company (NYSE: ARC) today announced that it will hold a conference call with investors and analysts on Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 2 P.M. Pacific Time (5:00 P.M. Eastern Time) to discuss results for the Company's fourth quarter and full year 2010.
The news release announcing the fourth quarter 2010 results will be disseminated on February 22, 2011 after the market close.
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WALNUT CREEK, CA, Oct 11, 2010
American Reprographics Company Revises Annual Forecast
| Company Lowers EPS and Operating Cash Flow Projections on Weaker Than Expected Demand for Reprographics Services WALNUT CREEK, CA, Oct 11, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- |
American Reprographics Company (NYSE: ARP), the nation's leading provider of reprographics services and technology, today announced that it is lowering its annual earnings per share forecast for 2010. The Company currently expects to see annual EPS in the range of $0.04-$0.09, down from its earlier forecast of $0.15-$0.30. Operating cash flow for the Company is expected to be in the range of $50-$60 million, down from $65-$80 million. These projections exclude any one-time charges that may be incurred through December 31, 2010.
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WALNUT CREEK, CA, Jan 27, 2010
ARC 2009 Earnings Expected to Exceed Estimates Due to Less Than Anticipated Decline in Fourth Quarter Revenue
WALNUT CREEK, CA, Jan 27, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- American Reprographics Company (NYSE: ARP) ("ARC" or the "Company"), the nation's leading provider of reprographics services and technology, today said that it expects to exceed its previously announced annual earnings per share forecast for 2009. It now anticipates earnings per share (on a fully-diluted basis) to be in the range of $0.35 to $0.38, excluding previously announced one-time charges.
The Company said that its earnings per share performance was the result of a lesser decline in fourth quarter revenues. The Company's previously announced earnings per share forecast was in the range of $0.27 to $0.33.
ARC executives will be available for comment during the 2009 fourth quarter and year-end earnings call scheduled for February 23, 2010, when they will provide details on the Company's financial and operational performance for 2009.
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WALNUT CREEK, CA, Feb 09, 2010
American Reprographics Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2009 Results Conference Call
WALNUT CREEK, CA, Feb 09, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- American Reprographics Company (NYSE: ARP) today announced that it will hold a conference call with investors and analysts on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 2 P.M. Pacific Time (5:00 P.M. Eastern Time) to discuss results for the Company's fourth quarter and full year 2009 and first quarter 2010 business outlook.
The news release announcing the fourth quarter 2009 results will be disseminated on February 23, 2010 after the market close.
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