It’s easy to write off the current corporate management trend promoting collaboration over competition as a move to appease Millennial employees. After all, 88% of younger employees have expressed a preference for working in a collaborative, rather than a competitive, environment.
However, according to Laura Montini in her Inc. Magazine article Why Collaboration Wins Over Competition, many firms have found this approach significantly
boosts innovation, productivity and communication in the process.
Vendor Implications
The collaborative approach isn’t just an internal trend. Some corporations now ask their vendors to cooperate—from coordinating parts designs to creating pairings among marketing services partners. Using preferred lists, they invite firms of differing specializations to work together as part of the same team, their team.
While initially, it can be an awkward concept—asking would-be competitors to work together—it makes sense. It allows the company to bring together specialists in specific areas so that only the best work is done on each project. Collaboration also allows the participating firms to focus their attention on honing the skills they are best at without diluting time, talent and budget trying
to be generalists and performing all tasks required by an engagement.
Why This Makes Sense for Printers
For
commercial printers, establishing project-specific partnerships rather
than trying to acquire specialized equipment and skills can deliver
quicker and better results, along with very happy customers. After all, brand managers and agencies are increasingly looking for innovative solutions that require
specialized capabilities to set their products apart.
As commercial printers and print finishers, it can be quite easy to incorporate a collaborative arrangement to expand capabilities without
interfering with each other’s hard-won client relationships. Only the company with the contract needs to be customer-facing. The fact is, all
parties to a project are invested in achieving the same goal: providing a solution that leads to the next piece of business from a satisfied
client.
Should you find yourself in need of a team player with specialty coatings expertise, give us a call.
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