The 10 Most Innovative Print Management Solution Providers 2018

www.insightssuccess.com December 2018

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LEADERSHIP COLUMN: Is the Single Brand Dead in MPS?

Alexander Ziff CEO & Co-founder

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A Blooming World-Leader in On-Demand Manufacturing

Editor’s Desk

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D printing is going to shake up a lot of businesses which deal with physical goods, and there is no doubt that it is going to bring a lot of intellectual property challenges.”-- Florentin Albu, CIO at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

The successive wave of digital transformation has brought so many possibilities to every sphere of our lives. Manufacturing is no exception. With the upcoming fourth industrial revolution, 3D printing or Additive Manufacturing industry is going to be implemented in a new level. While 3D printing was initially suitable only for rapid prototyping with the printing speed and limited output, it has now been considered as the heart of full-scale capabilities in various industries, from aviation to food, healthcare to retail. To cut it short, we are stepping forward to a new era of 3D printing.

Additive Manufacturing: Dawn of a New Era

Additive manufacturing is a transformative process that creates a three-dimensional object from digital design. The best form of Additive manufacturing or 3D Printing are the products of materials such as: SLS (Selective Laser Sintering), SLA (Stereolithography), and FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) in plastics, and DMLS (Direct Metal Laser Sintering) and LMD (Laser Metal Deposition) in metals.

With the upcoming fourth industrial revolution, Additive Manufacturing is now used mainly for spare parts, small series production, and tooling. For manufacturing with metals, the ability to use existing materials such as steel, aluminium, or superalloys such as Inconel has significantly eased the process of adopting Additive Manufacturing.

3D printing is the beginning of a new era of the 3-dimensional world, where everything is converted from 2D to 3D for better perception and humans can analyze more precisely than ever. Combined with automation, it will surely change the perception of printing in the coming years.

In this issue, “The 10 Most Innovative Print Management Companies 2018”, we’ve portrayed those global organizations which are enriching the Printing Industry with newer innovations and solutions.

On the cover of this issue, we’ve depicted the successful journey of 3D Compare, a global leader in On-Demand Manufacturing. Headquartered in the UK, with active branches in North America and Europe, 3D Compare is a comparison platform that links companies with verified, professional and experienced 3D printing businesses around the world. 3DCompare was founded with a vision to bring transparency, ease of use and reliability to the growing On Demand Manufacturing services. 3DCompare does not 3D Print anything, but its partners do, via its algorithms that help match them with its users.

3D Compare users have immediate access to the latest range of additive manufacturing technology including FDM, SLA and SLS, and a wide array of metal, plastic, resin and ‘multi-colour’ materials. 3D printing bureaus who partner with 3DCompare get a uniquely designed, easy to use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) interface, which allows them to have an instant pricing tool on their own site as well as many other tools.

In this issue, we’ve cherry-picked those companies which are providing innovative solutions to transform the 3D printing industry. 3A Press: Achieving Excellence with Quality Investment; Digital Alloys: Refurbishing 3D Metal Printing with Advanced Technology; Petricor: An Inspiring Trailblazer in the Field of 3D Printing; and SpeedPro Imaging: Pioneering the World of Wide-format Printing are the companies enlisted.

While leafing through the magazine, don’t miss out on our Editor’s Choice: 3 Remarkable Innovations in the Field of Printing Business; Tech-Byte: The Impressive Impact of Organic Networking, and Industry Trend: People Analytics: A Magical Crystal Ball for HR Fraternity.

We’ve also included an Expert’s Talk: Develop Your Innovation Culture for a Future-ready Organisation; Maestro’s Insight: Why 3D Printing Consumables Producers need to get involved in Printing Technologies?, and Leadership Column: Is the Single Brand Dead in MPS? Hope this issue of the magazine will definitely appeal to you.

Happy Reading!

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Upama Goswami

Cover Story

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TECH-BYTE

EDITOR'S CHOICE

The Impressive Impact of Organic Networking

3 Remarkable Innovations in the Field of Printing Business

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People Analytics: A Magical Crystal Ball for HR Fraternity

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18 MAESTRO’S INSIGHT Why 3D Printing Consumables Producers need to get involved in Printing Technologies?

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42 LEADERSHIP COLUMN Is the Single Brand Dead in MPS?

Refurbishing 3D Metal Printing with Advanced Technology

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Develop Your Innovation Culture For A Future-ready Organisation

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Achieving Excellence with Quality Investment

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An Inspiring Trailblazer in the Field of 3D Printing

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Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Senior Editor Anish Miller Managing Editor Suhel Mashayak Executive Editor Stella Andrew Contributing Editors Upama, Nilam, Ryan Visualiser David King Art & Design Head Amol Kamble Art & Design Assistant Asha Bange Co-designer Paul Belin Art & Picture Editor Shweta Ambilwade Business Development Manager Peter Collins Marketing Manager Marry D’Souza Business Development Executive Kevin Thomas Sales Executives Sherin, Mary, Josh, Alice Technical Head Jacob Smile Assistant Technical Head Swapnil Patil Technical Consultants Amar, David, Robert Digital Marketing Manager Alina Sege Assistant Digital Marketing Manager Prashant Chevale SME-SMO Executives Rahul, Gemson, Swati Research Analyst Eric Smith Circulation Manager Tanaji sales@insightssuccess.com

December, 2018 Corporate Ofces Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com

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COMPARE A Blooming World-Leader in On-Demand Manufacturing

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Our platform, 3DCompare addresses the need for small batch, prototype printing which is affordable, easy to access and simple to achieve

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Cover Story

Alexander Ziff CEO & Co-founder

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Headquartered in the UK, with active branches in North America and Europe, 3D Compare is a comparison platform that links companies with verified, professional and experienced 3D printing businesses around the world.

3DCompare was founded with a vision to bring transparency, ease of use and reliability to the growing On Demand Manufacturing services.

3DCompare does not 3D Print anything, but its partners do, via its algorithms that help match them with its users.

3D Compare users have immediate access to the latest range of additive manufacturing technology including FDM, SLA and SLS, and a wide array of metal, plastic, resin and ‘multi-colour’ materials. 3D printing bureaus who partner with 3DCompare get a uniquely designed, easy to use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) interface, which allows them to have an instant pricing tool on their own site as well as many other tools.

Exclusive Products and Services Rapid prototyping technology is allowing designers a fast, easy way

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3DCompare.com was founded to bring transparency, ease of use and reliability to the growing On Demand Manufacturing services

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ith technological advancement and innovations, 3D printing technology has found its applications in a wide variety of areas such as jet engines, advanced prosthetics, jewellery, architecture, and dentistry etc. With the rapidly growing network of 3D printing, it is estimated to be a $28.9 billion industry by 2020.

to bring their work to life, beyond virtual visualization. 3D Compare compiles quotes from leading manufacturers and provides a fast and accurate way to grasp the potential of a product. 3D Compare helps its customers to bring a full-scale model to life, customizing products according to individual requirements with the manufacturing processes like 3D Printing, CNC Machining, Injection Molding or Laser Cutting. Let’s have some snippets what this outstanding company has to offer: 3D printing Prototype Additive manufacturing works best for complex rapid prototypes. The result is produced to very fine tolerances and costs are kept to the minimum. With the improving scenario, the options have become varied.

Stereolithography (SL) uses an ultraviolet laser focused to turn liquid thermoset resin to solids.

Selective laser sintering (SLS) uses a nylon-based powder to achieve similar results.

Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), atomised metal powder is welded into a solid.

Multi Jet Fusion relies on the selective application of fusing and detailing agents across a bed of nylon powder.

PolyJet, as the name implied, is a jet spraying liquid photopolymer onto a build platform.

collection of images. Without having any previous documentation for a product, the recreated 3D model can go into production.

CNC Machining

Compared to additive manufactured prototypes, CNC machining will allow the use of true production grade materials. CNC will allow the production of intricate details, dimensional accuracy, and critical surface finishes.

Plastic Injection Molding Plastic injection molding is the stepping stone from prototyping to large scale production. Injection molding allows for repeatable high tolerances and multiple materials.

Laser Cutting For more intricate, high precision prototype parts, Laser Cutting is the most suitable process. The level of accuracy met by laser cutting cannot be recreated with any other production process.

3D Scanning For overall improvement of a product, all or parts of it can be reverse engineered with 3D Scanning. Practical applications in rapid prototyping are varied, but, at its core, this process allows the creation of documentation for any existing object.

The object is scanned with either a professional 3D Scanner or a

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3DCompare.com is to provide the best 3D printing services to professionals looking to 3D print a model at high quality via a comparison platform

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CNC machining is great for final production materials. The process is superior in its replication of final products, as well as its ability to hold tight tolerances.

CAD Designers 3D Compare can help you find the best professional if you’re in need of a designer with CAD Designer. You can create new models according to your specifications, or transform files according to your needs.

The company includes a vast array of sectors from architecture to Medical, retail, art, mechanics, furniture, Jewellery, Automotive, Aerospace to packaging.

The Luminary of 3D Compare Alexander Ziff, the Co-founder and CEO of 3DCompare, is a Bachelor’s degree holder in Art and Design from the University of Leeds. Prior to founding 3D Compare, he worked with DCR Ltd as Marketing and Operation Manager. In November 2015, he founded the user-friendly dating app Ciao.

“We firmly believe that with the right support and information, far more businesses will take advantage of the speed, cost efficiency and unique applications that 3D printing allows.

3DCompare is the right platform at the right time,” foresees Alex.

‘Culture of Transparency’—the one that makes all the difference “We offer transparency in pricing, costs, data and the platform itself ”, Alex, the CEO relates to a distinctive

The straightforward design of the 3D printing makes the order process easier for its customers. Users upload an STL file to the 3DCompare website, select the materials and measurements units they desire, and then they are able to assess the respective prices and choose their preferred deal. There is also a chat functionality, so customers can ask questions and better understand how best to meet their 3D printing needs.

The Buzz of Happy Clients The B2B site 3DCompare has a long list of 3D printing services on platform. The partners are reportedly happy with the exceptional service to date. The opinion of the CEO of Proto 3D reflects it rightly: “Being listed on 3DCompare.com has connected us with a whole new range of potential customers from all sorts of industries, helping us to grow our 3D printing service. It has put us in front of customers and all

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3DCompare is committed to providing our service partners with software that adapts to their needs

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area where the company stands out.

3DCompare guarantees partners and providers, and gives a full breakdown of costs on quotes.

without having to spend huge amounts on marketing.”

With quality and openness in mind, 3DCompare has been receiving great feedback from its customers since its inception in late 2017. In less than a year, the platform has dealt with 17,000 quotes, as the CEO puts it.

The rise of additive manufacturing as a proven commodity means that the 3D printing industry is now attracting a great deal of interest. The market for CAD software and on- demand parts services is expected to triple in the next 2 years.

The Evolving Future “3DCompare is constantly evolving its software to reflect the needs of this innovative and evolving industry with new tools, functions, and features being constantly added,” said Jerome Charvet, CTO of 3DCompare. “This is not a static platform; 3DCompare is committed to providing our service partners with software that adapts to their needs.”

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SPEEDPRO IMAGING Pioneering the World of Wide-format Printing sister company, SpeedPro Canada has more than 50 locations.

Extraordinary Solutions and Services SpeedPro Imaging is an extension of its clients’ marketing teams. The company partners with businesses that want to maximize the efficacy of their efforts via large-scale visuals.

Each studio works with the clients on projects such as experiential office design, wall murals, point of purchase displays, event graphics, trade show displays, individual and fleet vehicle wraps and more.

The mission of this organization is “partnering with businesses to achieve success through innovative visual solutions.” SpeedPro Imaging’s main aim is to bring the clients’ messages to life with unmatched timeliness, professionalism and product quality. One of the best representations of the ability to fulfil its clients’ needs is the company’s Net Promoter Score of 96, which demonstrates client satisfaction with SpeedPro Imaging studios.

Larry Oberly CEO

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he print industry embraces new, advanced technology as digital options emerge. Wide-format printing is the fastest-growing segment of the printing industry, as marketers look for bigger and better ways to impact and influence their target audience.

SpeedPro Imaging, the leading wide-format printing and graphics franchise with more than 20 years of experience, is a B2B solution for professional graphics.

With a creative eye and passion for stunning presentations, SpeedPro Imaging provides custom marketing solutions that boost bottom lines. As a whole, SpeedPro Imaging brings in more than $65 million in system-wide sales through more than 130 locations in the United States. Its

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The Winning Strategies From faster printers to new media, including more eco-friendly and sustainable media, SpeedPro Imaging is constantly looking to expand the products and services.

Currently two pilot programs are under testing: The first is interactive, touchscreen digital signage that is being tested in select SpeedPro Imaging studios. This digital signage is a significant value-add for its clients in convention and event spaces who are looking to stand out.

The other is a Direct Color Systems printer that opens opportunities with property managers, sports facilities and architects because of its ability to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) signage requirements. This ultra-violet printer produces textured print by layering ink which is a very cutting-edge technique.

In order to leverage these opportunities, the SpeedPro Imaging team is in close collaboration with the studio owners through Franchise Advisory Council, SpeedPro

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improvements. “We’re looking down the road five to ten years to look at other service and product options that will keep SpeedPro Imaging ahead of the competition and provide our clients with the latest innovations in products and service delivery,” states CEO Larry Oberly.

Owner Forum, and their Ask the Owners internal communications network. The company also has close relationships with its most important vendor partners regarding new equipment, media, ink, industry trends and product verticals.

Clients’ Attractions SpeedPro Imaging takes pride in partnering with its clients. The team at SpeedPro Imaging collaborates with each client and determine a custom solution for each individual business.

Visual solutions may include wall murals, floor graphics, indoor signage, outdoor signage, point of purchase displays, custom graphic installations, vehicle wraps and more. The studio owners work with each other across over 130-studio network in the U.S., sharing knowledge and experience to give each client the best product possible. SpeedPro Imaging works quickly to deliver quality work on time.

Global Recognitions SpeedPro Imaging was ranked #399 on the Franchise 500 list and #198 on the Top Global Franchises list by Entrepreneur magazine for its outstanding performance in areas including unit growth, brand power and financial strength and stability.

The company was also ranked #23 by Franchise Gator on their 2018 Top 100 Franchises list that focuses on a brand’s financial stability, growth, transparency, engagement, continuity and sustainability.

Sketching the Future Roadmap Apart from the two pilot programs, SpeedPro Imaging has invested heavily in new training programs for its studios and has scheduled completion of a number of new initiatives in the areas of Sales and Marketing, Recruiting and Retention of the important studio team members and production and workflow

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We value the relationship between our clients and their customers and deliver quality work on time, every time

Let’s Meet the Dynamic Key Persona of SpeedPro Imaging Larry Oberly became the CEO of SpeedPro Imaging in November 2017. With over 27 years of experience in franchising, both as a franchisee and at the corporate level, Oberly started his career in franchising sector by opening two successful Baskin-Robbins locations in the St. Louis area.

After years as a franchisee, Oberly made the switch to the corporate side of the equation. He joined RE/MAX as a franchise development consultant in 1998, quickly rising through the ranks.

Within seven years, he was serving as the vice president of the U.S. regional development overseeing seven regional business units and 1,400 offices. Soon after, he moved to RE/MAX’s international division, where he grew the company’s network from 55 countries to more than 100 countries and territories, with 3,900 offices outside of the U.S. When Oberly made the move to SpeedPro Imaging in 2017, he found himself attracted to the creative industry and a company on the forefront of the digital future.

Words of Inspiration for New Entrants “Don’t go it alone. Join a company such as SpeedPro Imaging that has the power of a network of entrepreneurs that provide the very best to our clients and that is helping us innovate through testing and collaborating around the new ideas,” Oberly concludes.

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3D Printing

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Consumables Producers need to get involved in

PRINTING TECHNOLOGIES? “To sell the oil, give away the lamp!”

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his Chinese proverb already made sense thousands of years ago, when a certain wick sucked up oil of a defined viscosity – and it certainly helped finding new customers for the seller’s oil. This principle has always been utilized; think of the razor blade, game console sellers, mobile phone service providers –or 2D Printer producers offering the machine even at a loss, knowing the specially designed cartridge will more than compensate for the poor hardware deal by selling the modern oil: The ink.

Unfortunately today’s giant chemists like BASF, Covestro, Evonik and the like believe in the “Open Platform Initiative” of the new sun in the 3D printing sky, Hewlett Packard. This is certainly a good deal for HP, as they already lost reputation during the years they couldn’t deliver -after having announced their new technology way before. Realizing their patents and building the machine became a nightmare, thousands of unplanned man-years went into this endeavor; and the big players on the chemical side didn’t really know how to access the market that was so young, undeveloped –and still doesn’t show a clear path as to what technology will “win”. So the chemists tested the waters with HP, and it looks as if both sides have found a winning position.

Why then “unfortunately”?

Because both sides will fail: If you dig into the annual reports, truth is that the printer sellers make their profit

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margin on the oil side –they need to sell consumables in order to finance R&D and machine production. On the other hand the chemists produce their oil, well adapted to the machinist’s needs. Should the hardware partner face economical reality and be forced to achieve margin by taking the nice consumables business into his own hands, the chemist will realize how helpful he was –and how helpless he is now.

And there is even a third loser: The 3D printing r/evolution is retarded! The machinist only knows his kingdom, he creates machines. But 3D printing is about chemistry, the oil is king, for sure! So the chemist should invent the new technologies, as he defines the ingredients of tomorrow’s magic substances, enabling incredible properties. Carbon3D is a good example here, his founder, Joseph Desimone, is a chemist, the well funded company received over 400mio$ and is a unicorn, showing a pre IPO value easily surpassing one billion $.

So chemistry it is! The next revolutionary printing step will be brought to life by a chemist’s imagination.

This is why these big players need the courage to add a hardware leg and start tinkering with prototypes. They cannot wait for the machinist to tell them what material they need, neither for customers cozing their wishes. In the end product producers don’t care about machines, technologies and chemistry, all they need is affordable material properties for production methods that need less |December 2018|

Maestro’s Insight

post processing, like assembly. The time is in favor of intelligent more complex design, the chemistry can offer the properties, but the hardware is lacking speed, reliability and affordability. That is why 3D printing didn’t climb up the industrial ladder and injection molding still isn’t replaceable.

In consequence, hardware is the chemist’s “must have”, as it is the chemistry that defines the printing rules, the algorithms, and the speed. It all starts with the combination of molecules, and the hardware is the necessary evil the chemist needs to bring to a working prototype level; a TRL 5 (technology readiness level, 5=technology demonstrator) would already be sufficient, so the baton can be passed on to the professional machinist for optimization of the hardware side.

This is exactly what we do at Geniusthingks.

With a bucket full of 3d Printing inventions we don’t talk to printer producers, but to chemists at first. They give all the necessary input to determine material properties and speeds. We offer technologies from FDM filament heads mixing colors and materials, to huge daylight resin printers, gel pushing robots for prototypes surpassing 100m³ of print volume, house printing robots -and our specialty: drum printers that will replace these lame ducks of planar printers, ac/decelerating for every layer.

Printer design will see a paradigm shift in the coming years, when chemistry allows for faster layers than today’s machines can offer mechanically due to their physical limits.

Industrial production needs to come close to injection molding speeds plus assembly time, so layer-speeds of 100msec need to be achieved.

This is more than a breakneck speed for the current producers; with HP offering 7.55sec/layer, claiming to be 10 times faster than the next fastest machine, their “industrial” future doesn’t look too bright.

Geniusthingks however has filed several patents potentially surpassing this requirement and is looking for partners to realize the prototypes.

|December 2018|

Markus Ulrich Founder & CEO

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Markus Ulrich is the Founder and CEO of Geniusthingks. His think tank offers unconventional solutions for tough nuts to crack, mainly in the 3D printing and smart bullet weapons-industry. Markus studied mechanical engineering, founded and led an IT-database company for 13 years and built machines all his life.

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PETRICOR An Inspiring Trailblazer in the Field of 3D Printing project named “Open House Technology” which is attempting to develop a completely automated manner for using additive manufacturing to complete an entire building. Their aim is not only to develop an application for industrial purposes, but also for commercial and residential purposes. Petricor aims to make construction more efficient, more expensive, and more time-consuming through their technology.

Along with Open House, Petricor is also working on an omniprinter. This is a low cost omnidirectional 3D printer that can print in a wide area that can be used as an educational tool for entrepreneurial use. It also has an omnidirectional vehicle that lifts and transforms heavy balanced loads to automate different tasks and autonomously transport loads across the floor by syncing with upper modules that are used on the factory floors.

he techniques concerning 3D printing are becoming more innovative every day. Not that long ago, we thought that 3D printing would only involve plastics. Now 3D printing involves plastics but also materials like glass and others. Moreover, the techniques related to 3D construction are also gaining popularity.

Many of the researchers are working diligently to craft an automated 3D printing system that can complete an entire building's basic structure.

The Leading Light of Petricor Leadership is all about mentoring your team to pull maximum throughput in less time for the betterment of company, but to fill a company’s coffers in this fast paced, hyper-competitive world is not an easy task. To do so, a leader must have adept proficiency about the core services and attitude to trigger innovation in the team. One such innovative and courageous business leader is Edgar Bolivar, CEO, Petricor. He is an Automation Specialist, Theoretical Physicist, Autodidact, and Industrial Engineer who has laid down a framework for the latest 3D printing and electromagnetism theories. Now, he is spending his full time to develop 3D printing technology, and made many significant discoveries that involve a completely automated system to construct large objects such as houses and buildings. His findings encouraged him to work developing the 3D printing technology both for commercial and residential structures.

New Mexico-based Petricor is one such trailblazing company that is constantly working to develop a new technology in manufacturing buildings. Their technique of additive manufacturing includes concrete as well as the use of many other materials. They are now working on a current

His early work centered on Electromagnetism and Plasma Fusion. After eight years of working as an Automation Specialist for the food industry, he had done many experiments related to electromagnetism, and he also theorized a Plasma Engine and a Plasma Reactor.

Edgar Bolivar CEO

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The objective behind crafting this interesting product is getting users acquainted with the technology to justify the investment in Petricor’s bigger industrial product, Open House 2.0. Open House 2.0 is a larger version of Open House 1.0, and it is built with robust industrial components designed to perform under industrial settings and conditions.

While throwing light on the future prospect of Petricor, the CEO revealed an interesting thing. “Petricor is about to release the next version of their prototype through a crowd-funding campaign and make the Open House 3D printer available to purchase by the public,” adds Edgar.

About the Pioneer of 3D Printing Petricor has proficiency in engineering cutting-edge robotic 3D printers. “Our initial focus has been the creation of an omnidirectional 3D printer named Open House which is our solution to the lack of adequate housing,” states the company CEO, Edgar Bolivar.

Petricor is a one-stop shop for automated construction, both in the education and industrial sectors. “It is important that clients and users get educated as fast as possible of the technological advances in the additive manufacturing for civil industry,” states Petricor. “We believe in the disseminating information openly to be able to speed up the development of technology, and we want to create a field of no competition or barriers for development.”

Innovative Product with Top-notch Efficiency Petricor is taking 3D printing outside of the box with its Open House printer.

The Open House Printer, which will be Open Source to allow developers to create new tools, will be able to print in a wide area without hard restrictions or limitations in size. Initially, it will function as a 3D printer only, but later versions will be a multi-faceted tool that will perform virtually any tasks with minor modifications or by designing the right tool for the job.

The company has built a state-of-the art platform known as Open House 1.0 which empowers end-users with different vital tools required for 3D printing with its effective robotic arms.

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Our Open House platform is a landmark innovation in 3D Printing.

Distinctiveness of its Services Combining the aforementioned research and testing areas into its solution while organizing it and making it public and readily available is one of Petricor’s unique strategies.

Normally, companies keep this information for themselves, but for Petricor, solving the housing problem as fast as possible is more motivating than keeping the information to themselves. “If we let others play with our technology for construction it may potentially mean that it will be one day less that a person will have to sleep out in the cold,” states Bolivar.

Industry Scenario through the Prism of Petricor According to Petricor, the field of additive manufacturing in construction is cloudy at best and current hardware solutions to solve the housing problem are just proposals. There is no hard research in these proposals. In order to completely address 3D printing in construction, areas outside of hardware development, software, and robotics must be considered such as materials design, architectural design, geographical locations, and most importantly, civil engineering. It is after enough data has been gathered in these topics, that proper hardware development can be addressed. “It is incredibly important that we have researched every angle if we are going to put a label on a product saying that it will automatically print a building that people will live their lives in,” asserts the CEO.

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The

Impressive of

Impact

Organic Networking T

he main reason for the invention of website, Internet and technology devices that provides the platform for software to run and connect with each other is mainly to make networking of services, products and people possible. Technology leaders such as Cisco, Arista and Apple are dedicating their resources to provide various business enterprises and the masses the ability to communicate their values through technology mediums called as Networking.

The works and provisions of these organizations are very outstanding, and are believed to last for ages. This is because the growth of technology is not going out of style so soon, but rather it is believed to continue into the future.

Technology networking strategies is good, but to make it more eective there is the incessant need to incorporate organic strategies.

You may be asking what I mean by Organic Networking or Strategies. The organization that will survive in the market in the near future, considering the increasing rate of competition are the ones who take the necessary steps, to develop more human connection for their business, more than they do for machines such as provided by AI. The Factors to Consider for an Eective Organic Networking: Even as our age is encouraging more of technology strategies, if we must survive the future of it all, then we must connect more people, than we do for machines. As an

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Tech-Byte

innovative networking solution provider, it is going to pay more, when you include human intelligence and physicality in your networking strategies over machines.

Imagine a day that the machines are going to have a serious breakdown, and the owner organization do not have the capable persons to figure out the cause of the breakdown and possibly provide a feasible solution? What will be the fate of the organization? This means that, there will be a great loss of value and possibly a strike off the industry. I know you would never want that to happen. So, plan from now, to never pay for the loss in the future.

Balance Your People to machine Deployment: Social Medias are for networking, Newspapers and various Medias are also for networking, but there are people behind the arc of this innovation. The more you incorporate AI and machine learning strategies, always remember the need for Control Engineers and those are human beings.

The most successful organizations identify the major importance of |December 2018|

people networking and how best to utilize human intelligence in their business quest.

For example; if you write an article and share it on a website, who do you expect to read your article; human beings or machines? It is obvious that the organic networking aspect of computing will never go out of style; else, there will be a day in the future that digital connection and values will be measured on the number of bots that read your articles and/or that paid for your services. So, remember to balance the rate of your people to machine deployment, by acknowledging the need of human networking over technology networking.

The Need for Organic Sense in Networking and the Future: Technology is the miracle of our age, Artificial Intelligence is a major molding factor of this development, IoT is the liberator from machine isolation by providing the platform to interconnect millions of them over the virtual platforms, but humans make these things possible.

Networking is an innovative concept with high profile technology terms. If one does not implore deep interest and concentration while exploring this realm, there may be a serious distortion of original motive of indulgence, and this can lead to serious breakdown of enterprise infrastructure. Sometimes, it maybe direct and other times, it will be indirect, but in all, it will always have an impact. The future of technology is very bright, and that is mainly dependent on how available we make the resources to help manage what we have today in the near future. For this to be possible, the networking solution providers must incorporate more of organic sense in their solutions and industry advancements.

Technology will advance, more machines will be connected, devices will be programmed to run independently, but in all these things, the humans in the network will still rule the universe. The more organic you make your networking strategies, the lesser the fear of a disastrous future for your organization.

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DIGITALALLOYS Refurbishing 3D Metal Printing with Advanced Technology applications. Digital Alloys metal 3D printers have the unique ability to mix multiple metals in a solid part, enabling customers to push the limits of design and create new products with optimized thermal, electrical, magnetic, and mechanical properties. The company is led by an experienced management team, and backed by Boeing Lincoln Electric, G20 Ventures and Khosla Ventures.

The Astute Leader Duncan C McCallum is the experienced CEO, investor, and board member with 20+ years of successful launching, leading and ďŹ nancing new ventures. As CEO, Duncan has co-founded, built and sold two companies namely Cilk Arts and VeloBit. As a venture capitalist at Bessemer Venture Partners and Flagship Ventures, he led investments in 16 companies that produced 12 acquisitions and an aggregate market capitalization in excess of $1.5 billion.

Duncan McCallum CEO

T

he adoption of current 3D metal printing technologies in production is limited by slow print speeds, high production costs, and complexity of achieving consistently high quality metal.

Digital Alloys is an organization which develops high-speed, multi-metal additive manufacturing systems that print production quality parts, in almost any metal, at a fraction of the cost of other systems, making metal 3D printing economical for a greatly expanded mix of

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Early in his career, Duncan led control system research teams at Draper Laboratory. He holds two degrees from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Joule Printing- A Simple New Technology in Printing Despite great interest, the use of metal additive manufacturing in production applications has been limited by high production costs, slow printing speeds, complexity, and quality issues. Current methods take too long to be practical, or require the use of dangerous materials, specialized hardware, and multiple complex ďŹ nishing steps involving shrink compensation software, chemical baths, and furnaces. Look past the hype around

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metal 3d printing, and you’ll find it’s rarely used in production.

Joule Printing™ solves these challenges. The core invention was inspired by a few simple observations: 1. Low production costs require both an inexpensive raw material and high printing speeds.

2. Printing speed is gated by how quickly heat moves to the desired melting location.

3. Metal 3D printers work by positioning and then melting raw material to build up 3D parts.

For optimal speed, cost, and repeatability, the process should use as few steps as possible.

4. Repeatable quality requires an ability to directly measure and control the melting process.

A key is that positioning and melting of the wire occur simultaneously in a single step. This radical simplicity lowers cost, saves time, and increases repeatability. There is no need for powder handling, feeding and spreading, no need for binding/debinding, and no need for sintering – and no need for the costs, time delays and variability these steps introduce.

Joule Printing™ provides precise closed-loop control of melting at the voxel level. Since the wire is held in a precision motion system, we know exactly where the melt is deposited.

Unlike a direct energy deposition system, there is no dripping or splashing. We use the precision wire feed system to measure and control how much metal goes into the melt |December 2018|

We celebrate teamwork, innovation, and the ongoing development of our people

pool. The electric circuit provides measurement and control of how much energy is applied to the melt.

This combination of tightly controllable process parameters allows the system to deliver consistently dense (99.5%+) isotropic parts that are stronger than castings. In addition, the process data for every voxel is saved for post analysis. In combination with our machine learning technology, this provides the capability for non-destructive QA of printed parts.

Advantages of Joule Printing When you’re using joule heating, you’re heating the metal from within.

Since there is no thermal time constant, you can heat the metal very rapidly with very low energy. This means that there is no thermodynamic speed limit; we’re able to print at the speed at which we can move with precision and accuracy. Our goal is 5 or 10 kg/hour by the end of the year. With a very high speed and low raw material costs, overall production costs are significantly reduced.

Future Prospects Reflecting on the future prospects of the company Duncan says,“We’ll be building our first factory for providing printed parts in 2019. Our goal is to ship the printers to customers in early 2020.”

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3

Remarkable

Innovations

in the Field of

Printing

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|December 2018|

Editor's Choice

I

n the year 1450, when Blacksmith Johannes Gutenberg ďŹ rst introduced a movable type press in the German city of Mainz, a printing revolution had got erupted.

This invention encouraged more people to proliferate and distribute their creative/informative ideas though printed texts. Sooner, plethora of work related to literature, religious scriptures, scientiďŹ c papers, ontological treaties, law texts among other started publishing out in the European region which later got adopted globally at large scale and helped individuals and others to promote/sell their ideas.

This printing revolution still considered as one of the most important event in the history of printing and for the humankind as a whole. With the passage of time many other inventions have been taken places that have boosted the printing business at large.

Here we have enlisted some of the recent developments that are worth mentioning, and which are also considered as a turning point for the arena of printing business.

Nano Printing: 3D printing has witnessed many remarkable breakthroughs in recent years, Nano printing is one such innovation. Due to this cutting-edge printing technology it is now possible to print and integrate tiny components directly on to the integrated circuits include micro-lenses onto photonic circuits and deformable structures on MEMS actuators.

Interestingly, what was a dream some decades ago has become a reality with this technology as it is now possible to print microscopic objects with complex geometry and sizes of nanometres to several millimetres. Such things can be printed on a single printing step and that too on a scale which was not possible before. Such innovative change of on-printing brings new perspectives for developing nano and microscopic 3D component in a hassle free manner.

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Moreover, its application has significance in many vital areas including Artificial Organs, Tissue Engineering, Stem cell-based Regenerative Medicine and Therapy, Fabrication of Nano Scale Devices among other. Customers also reap huge benefit by utilizing this technology as it provides great precision, stability, and support 3D custom design at large scale.

How this Technology Works?

In this printing technology, Nanoscribe’s Photonic Professional GT system uses the technique of two-photon polymerization. In this process a laser gets expose to a photosensitive resin by a high-numerical aperture objective that too in a controlled trajectory following CAD design. The interesting thing here is that the material gets solidified only in the laser focused spot and thus allows printing the exact 3D structure with submicron features. Such advancements have expanded the use of this technique for printing pre-manufactured circuits and opens new ways for executing on-chip printing as well. Nanotechnology for printing – is truly innovative as it alters materials at the atomic and molecular level.

Water-based Printing Many printing technologies use inks made from harmful chemical substances which creates negative impact on the printer, wearer and the environment at large. Usage of harsh chemicals and toxic waste also always keep various regulatory agencies on vigil. Therefore, there was a dire need of a technique which can do a fine printing by minimizing the bad effects on environment at large. The birth of water-based printing fulfilled that need.

The innovation of water-based printing has started a new era in printing space which is hugely considered as environment friendly. In this technology, the ink is not made of plastic and other damaging petroleum or fossil fuels; instead ‘water’ here is act as the main solvent and thus makes it an environment friendly printing technology.

Moreover, what are making this technology scalable and popular are its other fascinating features famously includes its fine print quality and affordability over the other prevailing printing technologies.

Its solvents decrease the time and heat necessary to absorb the ink film on fabric and instead of just spreading on the outer layer of the fabric, its ink flow deep into the fabric and create a much better look and ultimately a much better end-user experience. Further, water based inks are thinner and you can actually print with higher precision to give a good texture as compared to thicker inks like plastisol.

Moreover, the increased softness and flexibility of water-based prints have the potential to win customers heart every time when they touch a fabric printed using this technology. Many leading organization are considering this technology over plastisol and it is just the matter of time before this technology becomes an industry standard in the printing business.

Conductive Ink: Invention of conductive ink is one the greatest milestones in the business of printing and it has the potential to change thefuture of printing business as well.

What’s unique in this technology is its ‘ink’ which contains conductive materials like silver nanoparticles or conductive polymers which gives them the ability to conduct electricity. This conductive (Silver) ink has multiple uses today including printing RFID tags as used in modern transit tickets, they can be used to improvise or repair circuits on printed circuit boards as well. Although, this technology is in early stage and its mainstream adoption may probably takes several years but it is a promising technique which can be effectively used in many different applications including the creation of interactive posters, billboards, and other advertising materials.

Interestingly, this technology also holds promise to play sound just by touching a paper or connect you to your phone app just by interacting with a poster on the wall that is linked to the app. Moreover, it has the same capacitive sensing technology that is present in modern day electronic devices like tablets, smartphones among others.

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|December 2018|

Develop Your About the Author Natalie Turner is a Keynote speaker and Author of the book Yes, You Can Innovate. Discover your innovation strengths and develop your creative potential which was selected as book of the month in both the UK and Singapore earlier this year. She is the Founder and CEO of The Entheo Network, a global innovation company and has exemplary expertise in the eld of marketing, business strategy, and leadership development.

Under her leadership, the company provides a suite of innovative products and services to help individuals and organizations create new sources of value whilst building innovation skills, capabilities and culture. She is also the inventor of the 6 ‘I’s® Innovation which measures innovation strengths of individuals and teams to unlock the innovation culture in an organization. www.6-i-innovation.com.

INNOVATION for CULTURE a FUTURE-READY

Organisation A

s the digital landscape continues to change at a rapid pace, dismantling and disrupting the way that we do business, how can we ensure that our leadership and organisational thinking evolves at the same rate? The CEO is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the company that they lead, which, in today’s world, means ensuring an organisation can adapt to this fast rate of change. To do this, leaders need to know how to innovate with agility and speed. This means, on the ground during day-to-day work, that each employee has a clear understanding of how they contribute to creating value out of new ideas and a common language to enable them to work together. As a CEO, part of your role is to foster a culture of innovation that can harness the often disparate skills and mindsets required to successfully innovate. The key is to understand that innovation is a journey, which includes spotting trends and discontinuities and generating new ideas, through to investing and implementing those ideas that can potentially have the most impact. The skill is to know how to match people’s strengths to the right part.

How do employees currently react to innovation conversations?

Often, the first people to embrace innovation tend to love ideas and can identify trends, patterns and opportunities. They are curious and fit the classic stereotype of creativity – playful, open-minded and attracted to

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|December 2018|

Expert’s Talk

Natalie Turner Founder & CEO

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novelty. Innovation, truly deep and sustainable innovation, combines both creativity and discipline, which are curious bedfellows. It is a considered process that requires a raft of different skills and ways of thinking, combined towards creating a common outcome. In fact, the innovation journey is more like a cycle that can start at any point, not just in the playful and curious spaces.

There are probably many employees in your organisation who do not identify with this sense of curiosity, or think that they have light bulb moments, but who are nonetheless crucial to the success of innovation as an outcome. You will not embed an agile innovation culture without showing employees of all stripes and skillsets where they fit in. The innovation culture needs a common framework and language. Within this shared understanding, different styles are more likely to interact with, and appreciate, the contribution of others. Creating the best environment for each stage of the journey, so that people are empowered to contribute their strengths will improve the likelihood of success.

Understanding the innovation journey Start with aligning teams around PURPOSE, what are they trying to achieve and why? Then move to how they can identify opportunities through understanding trends and patterns, often related to changes in human behaviour. Then move to the creative space where people ignite ideas, through practices such as brainstorming and value proposition design. After you have an array of ideas, submit them to analysis and experimentation, separating the good ones from the bad, investigating whether they are useful, not just novel. The interrelationship between these three spaces is often where you see design thinking processes in action. Now, if you have a few really good ideas that have a high chance of working, start to think through how to best make them work. If not, revisit the original-identified opportunity or generate alternative ideas and solutions.

When ready for investment, innovation leadership is really critical. This is often the graveyard of ideas. Here demonstrate courage; assign resources, whether it is people, time or money. Once ideas are funded, find people who are great at implementation and getting things done. Once the idea is starting to get traction and have an impact, harness the skills of improvement and optimisation to scale and leverage the ideas into other areas of opportunity.

There are no straight roads. This is why innovating is often so difficult. Not only are you trying to do something new,

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you have to harness diversity towards an often unknown outcome. Creating the best environment for each stage of the journey, so that people are empowered to contribute their strengths, will help to create a successful outcome.

This means teaching people when to contribute and when to pass the baton on to someone else. This is true collaboration, anchored in a clear purpose that is focused on the success of the idea.

Give each of your employees a proactive role in the innovation journey Culture could be termed “how we do things around here” and part of what contributes towards this is how leaders act and behave towards the people that they manage and lead.

Even more so when it comes to innovating. If people understand their contribution, they will have the confidence and courage to start thinking of themselves as innovators.

They will also understand when they will have the most impact. The innovation journey needs a different culture at different points; a culture that allows for ideas to be generated is not the same as one needed to investigate those ideas.

Innovation and the CEO Lead by example. Understand the part of the innovation journey that you are best at, and be aware of the bias that you will have because of that. Increase the awareness of yourself and others,so that you can empower everyone to cultivate environments that allow their strengths to flourish.

Ensure that every skillset and its contribution to innovation is respected and rewarded. This can only be done by understanding the whole of the innovation journey, end-toend. Diversity is key, if you have a lot of people who are good at generating ideas, you may end up with very little that actually gets done. If you have a lot of people who are good at implementation, you may end up dealing with today’s work very well, but not have the culture of a future-ready organisation that can adapt to fast-paced change tomorrow. In empowering your leaders and employees to develop their creative potential, in the broadest sense of the word, innovation will start to seep through the whole of your organisation, embedding a culture that will increase the likelihood of you creating impactful value out of new ideas.

|December 2018|

3A PRESS CORP Achieving Excellence with Quality Investment printing company of the Rosado family, Imprenta Rosado.

It was in 1979 that second generation Mr. Alexis Rosado took the responsibility of the company and incorporated it into Insertco in 1982. Alexis took the company to a newer height of success which continued until 1995 when it was sold. Next year in 1996, the third generation of Rosado, Marie and Alex, found a niche within the Life Sciences Industry to supply Instruction for Use literature (inserts and booklets) as well as a need within the industry for a reliable local/minority owned packaging supplier. Thus, 22 years ago in April 23rd 1996 3A Press was born.

Unique Services & Solutions 3A Press Corp is a Packaging solution provider for the Life Sciences, Consumer and Food & Beverage Industries. Its services include – “Instruction for Use” literature (inserts and booklets), Folding Cartons and Kitting process.

Marie Rosado President

Alex Rosado VP & General Manager

T

he printing industry has redefined every aspect of digital lifestyle with newer and innovative approaches. Founded in 1996 by Marie & Alex Rosado, 3A Press provides printing and packaging solutions for clients. As a packaging solution provider for the Life Sciences, Consumer Products, and Food & Beverage industries, 3A Press services include “Instruction for Use” literature, Folding Cartons, and Training & Assembly Kits.

Inception Story of 3A Press 3A Press Corp is a family owned and minority certified company. This family tradition of printing excellence goes back to 1948 when Victor Angel Rosado founded the first

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“Instruction for Use” literature: Pharmaceutical products present a variety of challenges and 3A Press provides solutions for them.

Folding Cartons: Folding Cartons is the latest growing industry and 3A Press is ready with its innovations.

Training & Assembly Kits: Individually separate but related items are grouped, packaged and supplied together as one unit.

VIA 3 Emergency Printing: VIA 3 is the shortcut to the most urgent projects; an innovative service created by 3A Press.

What makes 3A Press unique is the ability to quickly adapt to its customers’ demands and to the ever- evolving printing industry.

Success Strategy of 3A Press 3A Press is the first printing company in PR that operates

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consumer spending, the state of the global economy, new technology and the speed of change, changing customer expectations, globalization and environmental concerns among others.

under an ISO 9001:2015 certified environment.

The dedicated team of 3A Press is committed to assuring the organization stays attuned, in terms of systems, processes, equipment and resources to serve the requirements of its customers, especially of the rigorous Life Sciences and Food & Beverages companies in PR. The team at 3A Press continuously raises the bar to new levels of performance by timely assessment of client expectations.

Capturing local opportunities for PR owned companies that used to purchase their packaging requirements outside of PR has also been a key strategy to 3A Press.

Client Oriented Services Nothing moves until a customer believes in your company’s capabilities and places an order. 3A Press, therefore, takes to heart that Customers are vital to its organization and motivation for continuous improvement. The company truly believes that creating value to its customers is its main purpose and the key driver to its actions.

“We look for solutions, we upgrade our equipment to increase our efficiency and create cost saving solutions, and we get involved in the development of new designs to ensure an efficient packaging piece. We make sure our customers know that we have their best interest in mind and we truly care about them”, asserts the company.

Creative Solutions to Shield Obstacles There are a number of important factors affecting demand for printing globally. These include: trends in

|December 2018|

We are gratefulfor your trust.

We want you to know that we are engaged and committed to creating value for you

In spite of the challenges the printing industry faces, the team of the company is very proud with its evolution throughout recent years.

They have implemented new processes and state of the art equipment has been acquired to meet key customers’ needs and expectations.

“In addition, 3A Press was the pioneer printing with the G7 certified tech, which provides a method of attaining a desired grayscale and tonal curve used for calibrating and proofing and/or printing system. In other words, to assure color consistency across the various printing batches (jobs)”, Alex adds.

Future Prospects of 3A Press Many years ago printing changed the world and now the world is changing printing. The internet, globalization, digital printing, personalized medications among others are changing the way of doing business.

The company understands that from its line of services, inserts and manuals will eventually decrease and folding cartons will continue to grow.

“In light of the above realities the major investments have been in our Folding Cartons division with the acquisition of a recent acquisition of a second XL Press. This one is a XL 106-7 + L Heidelberg Press -- the most advanced press in the Caribbean. Also a brand new Expertcut 106 PER 3.0 Bobsts Blanket Die Cutter. We are also exploring other printing technologies to increase our line of product and services”, Alex concludes.

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PEOPLE ANALYTICS:

BALL FOR

“

T

HRFraternity

he secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world” - Steve Jobs

The said quote itself explains the power of recruiting ‘right’ candidate. A right candidate has the potential to transform an organization fortune to a new level. A right candidate brings quality and effectiveness that builds a brand and develops a unique customer experience, while a ‘wrong’ candidate can lead to a lot of extra stress and issues that can hinder the development of a business. But at the core, hiring right talent is important, and this is where HR personnel struggle the most.

With the advent of an emerging technique known as “People Analytics”, hiring right candidate will get easy than ever before.

Necessity of People Analytics Competition for onboarding top talent is getting fierce, especially in industries, like IT, financial service firms, healthcare sector, and manufacturing, that are going to witness a massive transformation. Ever growing numbers of job seekers, shaken economy and neck-to-neck ruthless competition are making HR’s job even more challenging to find right talent for the right job. One technique that is seen as a solution for the said problem is “People Analytics”. It is an emerging field that is pulling everyone’s attention due to its potential to assist HR people in recruiting the right talent.

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|December 2018|

Industry Trend

Understanding People Analytics People analytics or HR analytics is the application of statistics, mathematics, and modeling which collects and process worker-related data to see and predict patterns. This technique assist organizations to predict whether a particular person fit for a given job or not. Due to its ability to boost hiring and retaining the right talent, some people have gone so far that they have even started calling it as a “crystal ball for HR”.

How ‘People Analytics’ can help HR fraternity • Identifying the features or variables in jobs and employees that matter/counts most • Matching those important job variables with a pool of applicants or recruits • Predicting the likelihood of a worker to stay on the job for a long time or to “churn” • And recommending salaries and other compensation to bolster longevity Importance of Peoples Analytics There are lots of important questions that arise into the mind management peoples like: How can we find more top performers? What do our most successful leaders do to excel at their work, and how can we replicate that across the organization? Which people are most likely to stay for long?

Which employees are likely to leave? With the right analytical tool in hand, one can get the right and accurate answers to these vital questions which pays a pivotal role in shaping company’s fortune and can assist an organization to maintain a robust workforce.

Popular HR Analytics Tools Power BI Power BI link multiple sources like SQL database with people’s data, live twitter feed, machine learning API’s and more. All these different data sources are then combined with an aggregation process to create one large database.

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The consolidated data then can be used to create pivot table to let end user get a quick insight in the key areas of the workforce. And, all these meaningful insights then the end user can see in a user-friendly manner with Power BI’s dash boarding capacity.

SPSS Dealing with analytics requires some sort of technical capability to make the most of it. But what if the end user is not a technical person but still want the same results which can be derived from the above tool. Answer to this said concern is ‘SPSS’ tool. Without having extensive statistical knowledge, an end user can do an exploratory correlation analysis or a quick regression analysis. This makes SPSS one of the most commonly used HR analytics tools in social sciences.

Rstudio It is a people analytical tool which is best suited to process huge data sets. It provides valuable insights that can help an organization to maintain robust workforce. It’s potential to let end user visualize and statistically analyze candidate data with the help of user friendly interface is the prime reason behind its popularity.

Interesting Research Finding Many recent studies even prove the effectiveness and productivity of People Analytics techniques. Recently, Deloitte’s Bersin found that organizations that use people analytics techniques at a sophisticated level reported 82 percent higher three-year average profits than corporations without properly-deployed people analytics methods.

Over the world more number of schools, colleges, and universities are opening up than ever before. There is an increased awareness for education as well. More people want to get access to quality education to raise their living standards. All these are resulting into increased number of job seekers. With business competition going intense with each passing year, recruiting right talent has become the need of hour for HR personnel. The potential benefit of People Analytics will then definitely assist HR fraternity in recruiting and maintaining a robust workforce if applied meticulously.

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|December 2018|

IS THE

SINGLE BRAND Dead in MPS?

I

f you are an MPS provider, you may have realized the “single brand from a single vendor” solution is falling out of favor with end customers. So, what has changed and is MPS a sustainable offering?

As of 2018, we are 20-years into the bell curve for MPS. For many years, prospects were first time buyers who viewed their environments as messy. Printers and copiers were everywhere from different manufacturers and vendors.

Control was distributed among departments, Facilities, and IT. Acquisitions methods were just as diverse and included purchases, leases, contracts from local dealers and national supplies resellers.

Print was a big mystery to customers. They had no idea how many devices they had, how many pages they were producing or how much they were spending. They needed a clear picture of what they had and potential solutions. Then they struggled with satisfying all stakeholders and gaining consensus on a final solution. Projects were time consuming, political and even risky for the project lead.

You played a valuable role as an MPS vendor. In the customer’s eyes, you were the expert who taught them something new and showed them a path forward. You offered expertise and people to find out what they have today and were able to develop a complex solution. The journey took many months from concept to assessment to proposal. You earned the role of trusted advisor so it was only natural that the customer would see a “single brand from a single vendor” as the best available solution.

Pricing changed. You wrapped up the solution into bundled pricing that simplified costs for the end customer and

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enabled you to shield pricing for hardware, maintenance and supplies. After all, there were managed services wrapped around all products so the customer agreed with the bundled pricing format. Bundled pricing enabled you to work with margins behind the curtain.

Come decision time, the customer realized that Implementation would affect every user and the potential cost savings put it near the top for cost-savings initiatives.

These two factors elevated the project to the most senior management levels for approval and executive sponsorship.

The sales cycle got longer but the project became more important to more people. The final result was often a case study of successful transformation from a messy environment to a lean, managed print environment.

So, what changed in recent years? The MPS market had certainly matured. Customers had lived through the transformation from unmanaged to managed. With the end of their first MPS contract came a new perspective and different buyer attitude. The customer was no longer sick and in dire need of expertise. Their fleet was no longer messy. Devices had been consolidated and processes streamlined. Customers had clear visibility to what they devices they had, how many pages they produced, and the total cost of ownership. The mystery was solved.

Your role changed. In many cases, the customer was more experienced in real-world MPS than your sales team. Sales people struggled to teach customers something new, something of significant potential value. Talk of potential cost savings by switching vendors was no longer compelling – the big savings had already been taken. The MPS story from one vendor sounded the same as the other

|December 2018|

Leadership Column

vendor – in fact, the story sounded exactly the same as the one told years earlier by their current MPS vendor.

Now the end customer was asking about your ability to support their existing fleet, to do repairs and provide consumables. The potential for placing your new hardware was not clear. These new MPS opportunities felt like they belonged more to the vendor service and inside sales teams than to the account sales department. The customer was now clearly in control and driving the sales process.

In the past few years, many dealers have exited the MPS market and refocused on their traditional selling motions.

They found MPS operations different and costly. Sales reps were harder to train and it took longer to get them hitting quota numbers. So, like a rubber band, dealers re-focused on their core competency. So, what does the future look like for those dealers wishing to stay relevant in the MPS market?

Ben Harris Founder Harris Technologies

It is time to look inward to tackle five key obstacles to growth and profitability in MPS: • Redefine your value and how you will educate the customer • Define a strategy for pricing and supporting both OEM and compatible supplies • Justify managed services independent of products • Learn how to participate in an open sourcing model • Decide if a fragmented customer environment and sourcing model is good business The days of single brand and single vendor are gone.

Sourcing methods have changed dramatically for everything – including print – and the pace of change is accelerating. Vendors must rethink the value provided and how to educate the customer. MPS vendors will still spend months doing assessments and proposals only to be faced with the purchasing process that would unbundle pricing and force transparency to price by product category. The decision then is can you re-invent your practice to enable you to participate in this new arena and win – profitably.

|December 2018|

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ben Harris is the Founder of Harris Technologies, Inc. Ben Harris enjoyed a 15 year career in corporate sales, selling and implementing large contracts to Fortune 500 companies around the country. In 2006, he decided to begin a new journey, leaving the big office and tie to start up his own firm. After years of perseverance and dedication, Harris Technologies has become a recognized leader in their space.

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