The print trade journals are full of companies reporting that they are now “one stop shop” operations. You can get everything from business cards, brochures, folding cartons, labels, booklet labels, offset printing, digital services etc from one company. The theory is that there is safety in adding more products and services, and that the customer likes it because they can get everything from one supplier simplifying the process. Frankly, I just can’t buy this argument. I know that there is some demand for this, but how can one company become an expert with deep knowledge about each one of those very complex processes?
At JH Bertrand, we have been studying the booklet label and extended content market for 31 years. We see so much more to learn and explore. There are so many nuances and combinations of processes just in our niche alone...yet to be discovered. I couldn’t imagine how a small to mid-size print company could handle all those processes well. Frankly, I don’t believe it can be done with the expertise that the marketplace demands today. Going beyond the knowledge factor, how can one company afford to buy the best equipment to provide the best products under this theory of business? It can’t unless the print company wants to go into deep debt. There is something deeply flawed about the “one stop shop” concept. Can you imagine if your brain surgeon told you that he/she could take care of your brain surgery, your glaucoma, your knee replacement and your radiation treatment? I think you’d be getting a second opinion pretty darn quick. When you try to offer everything without having the expertise in one area, you won’t have the deep skills necessary to provide the best solutions. The global view is that you whittle away any real advantage you have with your customer when you move away from your core strength. They don’t know you as an expert anymore, but a jack of all trades who can be easily dropped when a real expert opinion is needed. I think this puts a lot of great label and offset printers at more risk. The better solution for these print companies is to resist this trend and outsource its non core strengths.
This is precisely why you will see JH Bertrand maintain its core, laser like focus on the booklet label niche. We want to know everything that there is to know about our niche. We have not even scratched the service on how digital compliments our core labeling products. There are so many substrates and combinations of materials that we haven’t yet tried. There are die cutting nuances to be discovered. There is so much we can do. Every time we do an R&D project, it generates another 10 areas to explore. Our deep focus provides tremendous benefit to our customers since we can truly offer expert advice and provide the best engineered solution for them.
Going into 2013, JH Bertrand is a debt free, well positioned and focused company in the booklet label niche. We attribute our long success to resisting dangerous trends that can turn a great business into a marginal one at best. This is good for our customers and us.