By Susan Cotter, Senior Program Manager/Analyst

I recently had the pleasure of presenting at the In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA) conference with Jason Fonner, Director of Print Operations at HM Document Solutions (HMDS). In 2018, HMDS embarked on its digital transformation journey with the purchase of new hardware and software technologies. Madison Advisors was honored to be selected by HMDS to assist in its digital transformation journey and partner selections.

The presentation, “Digital Transformation using Customer Communications Delivery Hub with Inkjet Technologies,” highlighted best practices and HMDS’ journey towards a successful implementation and winning back print applications that previously had been outsourced. Our audience included decisions makers for in-house printing and mailing operations at various points in their own technology refresh projects.

Our presentation focused on the vital part played by in-house operations due to in-depth knowledge of the enterprise’s business needs and organizational structure. As such, in-house operations have a crucial role in building a center of excellence for enterprises to streamline their customer communication strategies and bridge the gap between online and offline channels. The concept of creating a center of excellence for a project like this was extremely well-received.

We walked our audience through the key steps of a successful transformation roadmap:

1) Developing an optimization strategy
2) Discovery and analysis
3) Creating a target operating model
4) Building a strategic roadmap
5) Partner and technology selection
6) Building business cases and a transformation strategy
7) Integration with chosen partners

HMDS’ center of excellence included subject matter experts from print operations, marketing, finance, risk and product segments. Their digital transformation involved strategic investments in inkjet technologies and partnering with an established Customer Communication Management (CCM) software provider. As a result, the in-house operations team has won back 20% of the enterprise printing that had been outsourced to outside providers. Quite a win for Jason and his team!  HMDS’ journey continues, and it’s been our pleasure to have been part of it along the way.  IPMA gave us a great audience to discuss the process and demonstrate how Madison Advisors can help other like-minded organizations succeed in their journeys.