Abstract

The concept of print service providers offering services beyond print is not a new one. An increasing number of these companies have remodeled their business strategies and have adopted value added services to enhance growth and profitability. The need to differentiate one print service provider from another is not only based on products or technology, but also on the unique value of the provider as perceived by the customer (Gorelick, 2004). Further, many value added services (VAS) are a natural extension to the company’s distribution function making it easy to integrate them in a single organizational structure. Examples of these services include fulfillment, warehouse management, and facilities management (Cummings & LeMaire, 2008). The purpose of this research was to understand the perceived value of distribution services within a print service organization. Thus, the study focused on the following objectives: 1. Introduction of the distribution center concept as a way to promote a company’s VAS. 2. To determine if print service providers are offering any, all, or different services than those outlined in the proposed distribution center model. 3. To find out how these services are structured within a specific organization. 4. To assess the viability of the model in today’s printing industry. A summary of the key findings include: • The study participants felt that it would be difficult to have a standardized organization for all VAS. • It appears from this research that there are three primary types of value added services that are offered by the research participants’ companies: traditional, first generation and second-generation value added services. • None of the participating companies provided any pre-existing structures that focused exclusively on VAS. It was difficult to identify any common themes or make any generalizations among these five companies. However, all of the companies interviewed offer multiple (9-21) value added services. • The level of profitability from the companies’ value added services is varied among the research sample and appears to have some correlation to the company size and type of business.

Publication Date

2010

Document Type

Full-Length Book

Comments

RIT Printing Industry Center (CIAS) research monograph

Department, Program, or Center

Printing Industry Center (CIAS)

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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