PIPI Shows how Paper is Affecting Printing Companies,

and Suggests Approaches to Consider

Given the vital importance of paper to our industry, in our October 2022 PIPI (Printing Industry Performance and Insights) study, we explored the following topics: paper’s effect on meeting customer needs; is the paper situation getting better; how much firms have increased paper inventory; is increased inventory helping; and the impact of growing paper inventory on cash. We present our findings for each of those topics with actionable suggestions. Our last section includes ways to respond to paper supply issues, which we drew from previous supply-chain research and tested in this study.

PIPI Connects a

“Comprehensive Strategic Approach”

to Printing Firm Performance:

Here are Execution Tips

A few years back, we researched effective management practices in the printing industry. We looked at past research on how strategic planning affects firm performance. We found that when printing firm leaders strategically plan, set goals, and analyze financial ratios (those three together), they likely experience enhanced firm performance. We labeled this a Comprehensive Strategic Approach (CSA). We re-examined our original CSA findings in the October 2022 PIPI (Printing Industry Performance and Insights) survey. And yes, we again found a positive relationship between applying a CSA (strategic planning, goal setting, and financial ratio analysis) and firm performance. Therefore, to help printing firm leaders effectively apply the three CSA elements, we provide a plethora of execution tips arranged in a simple bullet-point format. Our October 2022 survey also examined “budgeting” as a possible fourth CSA element. Surprisingly, we did not find a clear positive relationship between budgeting and firm performance. We also discuss those findings and provide budgeting execution tips.

PIPI Delivers a Big Picture of The Printing Industry:

Revenue Trends, Covid Recovery, Inflation Effects, Business Outlook,

Employees per $1m in Sales and Actionable Thoughts

We present a big-picture view of the printing industry drawn from our October 2022 PIPI (Printing Industry Performance and Insights) survey. Our big picture includes revenue trends, covid recovery, inflation effects, business outlook, and employees per $1m in sales. We provide actionable suggestions throughout the report.

October 2022:  Connecting a Comprehensive Strategic Approach to Printing Firm Performance

October 2022 How Paper Is Affecting Printing Companies and Approaches to Consider

October 2022 Survey Results:  Revenue Trends, Inflation Effects, Business Outlook

April 2022 Survey Results: Revenue Growth

April 2022 Survey Results: Marketing, Sales, Social Media