Issue 17

Companies putting their faith in APS

Changing the hearts and minds of Council staff

New standards for others to follow

Bright future for promotional productsUp, up and away

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In the three months since Christmas it’s been all go at APS despite the current recession and predictions of gloom and downturns. Not only have we been implementing some significant new business – and we are delighted that new customers are putting their faith in us – there has been considerable activity on other fronts.

As you probably already know, APS is not a company to stand still – our ethos is all about moving onwards and upwards and it is this energy and drive that keeps us at the forefront of print management.

Our ‘can do’ approach exists right throughout the organisation, and in all areas of the business there is a drive and determination to be the champions of new initiatives that bring added value for our many customers.

On the technology side, we are in the process of developing new additions to our suite of online services and in digital, a number of changes have now been made to create a new, small offset division for print-on-demand, digital and personalisation requirements.

We have set ourselves a goal to gain ISO 27001 (Information Security) and BS 25999 (Business Continuity) within the next 12 months and if this is achieved, along with our ISO 9001 and 14001 certifications, we would be the first UK print management company with these four ISO accreditations.

Finally, we have signed up to Business in the Community – an organisation that works with its members to integrate, manage and measure responsible business practice. Members recognise the relationship between their company’s values and responsible business practice and the role this plays in creating wealth, building trust and addressing social needs.

Editor

sue.chalmers@apsgroup.co.uk

0161 495 4500 (ext. 4812)

Contents

Issue 17 Design: Origin Print: APS Group, Chetham House, Bird Hall Lane, Cheadle Heath, Cheshire SK3 0ZP email: enquiries@apsgroup.co.uk website: www.apsgroup.co.uk

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“Our ‘can do’ approach exists right throughout the organisation, and in all areas of the business there is a drive and determination to be the champions of new initiatives that bring added value for our many customers.

3 Putting their faith in APS More business from new customers

4 Changing hearts and minds at Peterborough Council Solution for improved brand management

6 Bright future for Presentations New look for promotional products

8 Turning blue to green for Brother Origin’s creative design solution

10 On their bikes for charity Raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care

11 Continuing to expand the APS estate AstraZeneca UK signs up for onsite studio

12 Standards that others will follow Setting new goals for best practice

13 Managing the complex business of compliance New system to reduce bureaucracy

14 Looking for a clearer picture? Greater demand for business transparency

15 Business over breakfast Join our Print Management seminars

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Presentations is going forward in a bold and striking way, having just undergone a transformation of not only its image, but the products it is now able to supply.

Presentations – up until recently known as APS Presentations, started life mainly producing traditional-style folders and binders, but over the years it has been branching out, supplying all sorts of novel and eye-catching goods that help its many customers make a statement.

Now Presentations is making a statement about itself through a rebrand which better refl ects the vibrant and innovative new approach it has to business.

The new branding is multi-coloured, simple and eye-catching and has been designed to ensure it stands out from the competition. It had its fi rst viewing at the Stationery Products Show in London (7 and 8 April) where there was much interest – and compliments from the many visitors to the stand.As well as working with APS’s own design consultancy

Origin – Presentations also works with other design companies that are constantly seeking to push the creative boundaries.

Esther Lawrence, Director, says: “Presentations is all about trying to think outside the box. As well as producing the more traditional type of products, folders and binders, we are attracting a number of new customers because we can offer something quite different.”

“Every customer provides a new challenge for us and we try to take a more imaginative approach to each order which is helped by using a range of new, touchy-feely materials which really enhance our products. Our colourful and contemporary range of merchandise covers everything from branded mouse mats and coasters to box fi les, conference folders, notebooks and pens. All products are relevant for modern day business and are specially designed to enhance a customer’s reputation within the marketplace.”

A bright future for promotional productsPresentations, the division of the APS Print Management business that produces promotional goods for modern-day business, has a bright and exciting future.

First Quench Retailing, the UK’s leading independent specialist drinks retailer, has turned to APS to provide its print management service. The Group, comprising Threshers, The Local, Wine Rack and Haddows in Scotland, runs 1,674 shops and employs 12,000 across the country.

Following a review of its Point-of-Sale (POS) material, and a subsequent tender exercise, APS has been awarded the contract which includes print sourcing and production, storage, distribution of POS to all stores and the provision of onsite creative artwork services.

International health insurance adviser InterGlobal has appointed APS to provide services including account management, print, fulfilment, storage and distribution worldwide of client packs. Founded in Hong Kong and now based in Farnham, Surrey, the company specialises in worldwide medical and health insurance for expatriates. With an excellent communications and fulfilment network, InterGlobal can offer services to clients anywhere in the world.

Anglia Co-operative Society has awarded a contract to APS for the production and supply of printed

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Companies that are putting

promotional materials. Founded in 1897 in Peterborough, Anglia has grown to become the sixth largest Co-operative Society in the country with diverse operations now selling over £300m goods in a year and providing employment for 3,700 employees.

Meanwhile, one of APS’s long-standing customers, Wesleyan Assurance Society, has renewed its contract for a further four years. Founded in 1841, this mutual society is a provider of a range of financial products regulated by the Financial Services Authority targeted at doctors, dentists, teachers, lawyers and other professionals.

Based in Birmingham, Wesleyan went out to the marketplace and invited six print management suppliers to tender for the work which includes an onsite artwork studio, onsite account management, digital and direct mail, storage and distribution.

The tender process set challenges, but in the end it was the APS proposition that best matched the requirements of Wesleyan and as a result APS has been awarded the four-year contract.

Despite the current recession, it is encouraging that APS is able to report some welcome new account wins. New customers are turning to APS because of our open and honest approach to pricing, our environmental credentials and because of our commitment to develop and implement new technologies which provide organisations with a competitive edge.

their faith in APS

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Changing the hearts and minds of staff at

Peterborough Council

For a number of years Peterborough City Council had operated an in-house reprographics unit with the print manufacture being procured from a number of local suppliers. There were, however, growing concerns about the lack of brand management and variable quality; the consequence of many staff doing their own thing and not referring to corporate policy, as so often happens in large organisations.

As part of its commitment to deliver services in a better way, the Council instigated a Business Transformation Programme – an ambitious ongoing

initiative to question whether current products and services are fit for purpose and whether procuring new contracts and/or processes would provide better value for money and greater transparency.Under the Business Transformation Programme, Peterborough City Council appointed APS Group’s strategic partner – The Danwood Group Ltd – to supply a range of multi-functional devices replacing the more traditional printers, photocopiers and fax machines. It was this new and more innovative business approach, coupled with the fact that some of the agreements with local print suppliers were coming to an end, that provided the Council with the impetus to focus its attention on design and print services.

Against this background it was agreed the Council would go out to tender with the proviso that any new procurement arrangement reflected the corporate objectives: to deliver best-in-class services, to provide value for money and to be environmentally sustainable in the long term. Through the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) framework, fourteen suppliers were invited to submit tenders; these were narrowed down to five and eventually to just two who were asked to detail their solutions in formal presentations to Council executives.

The implementation of any new service that leads to changes in the way staff work is, inevitably, bound to meet some resistance. Procurement professionals at Peterborough City Council were well aware that the introduction of a new design and print strategy would require ‘changing the hearts and minds of many of its users’.

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APS put forward a strong proposition that answered all Peterborough City Council’s concerns and which centred on:

• Thesettingupofanonsiteartworkstudioandaccount management office

• Theopportunityforstafffromthereprographicsunit to transfer to APS under TUPE

• Theestablishmentofaprinthubforexternalprinting drawn from local print suppliers

• Anopen,honestandfullytransparentapproachto business

Gilli Galloway said: “From the start it was evident that APS understood the difficulties of trying to manage the brand integrity of a large unitary authority. APS proved to us that it had extensive experience of brand guardianship.”

Like all councils, Peterborough was keen to keep work within the local community and awarding a contract to a national supplier with manufacturing capability located well outside the area could have proved unacceptable. The APS solution, however, to establish a hub of local printers, providing they could match the high-quality standards and the pricing criteria as set by APS, was the perfect compromise.

As part of the implementation, staff from the reprographics unit transferred to APS under TUPE,

an arrangement successfully put in place by APS for a number of its other clients who wanted to outsource their in-house design and print arrangements.

“There were a few problems at the start, in the same way as any new contract takes time to embed, but being honest and frank about the problems on both sides meant that they were quickly addressed,” Gilli Galloway explains. “The biggest challenge was how to change the hearts and minds of staff who were used to operating in a certain way and could be reluctant to change their existing working practices.

“The Council took the view that it had appointed a long-established print management company and would ask the professionals to challenge the way things were being done and to prove to staff there was a better way to do things now and in the future.” To spread this message across all departments, APS worked closely with the Council’s corporate communications department and ran a series of workshops to encourage buy-in from users of the new service. A follow-up communications campaign focused on how staff can get the best from the contract, with hints and tips, a simplified design brief and an introduction to the APS staff team (as cartoon figures!).

The supply of accurate and regular management

information was a new and welcome feature for the Council and, together with monthly contract meetings to discuss operational issues and measure service delivery against Key Performance Indicators, means that Peterborough is now in full control of its design and print spend.

A few months into the contract, Gilli Galloway said: “We feel that APS is really working with us. APS has demonstrated there are new and better ways of doing things and, as a consequence, is gradually changing staff attitudes. Additionally, through building a number of checks into our new processes we are now in full control of our branding.”

Gilli continues: “We now need to continue to work closely together to ensure we embed the changes into everyday working practices. The quality of our design and print is much improved and we know that we are getting better value for money, a major objective of our Business Transformation Programme.”

“The Council had been operating in the same way for a number of years and as a result there were serious issues with brand integrity, quality, and budget control. The Council realised that this was not the best way to progress and that it needed to address these concerns in order for it to build and protect its brand going forward and to ensure high quality and value for money.” Gilli Galloway, Business Development Manager, Strategic Procurement, Peterborough City Council

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A bright future for

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Presentations is going forward in a bold and striking way, having just undergone a transformation of not only its image, but the products it is now able to supply.

Presentations – up until recently known as APS Presentations – started life mainly producing traditional-style folders and binders, but over the years it has been branching out, supplying all sorts of novel and eye-catching goods that help its many customers make a statement.

Now Presentations is making a statement about itself through a rebrand which better reflects the vibrant and innovative new approach it has to business.

The new branding is multi-coloured, simple and eye-catching and has been designed to ensure it stands out from the competition. It had its first viewing at the Stationery Products Show in London (7 and 8 April) – where there was much interest – and compliments – from the many visitors to the stand.

As well as working with APS’s own design consultancy – Origin – Presentations also works with other design companies that are constantly seeking to push the creative boundaries.

Esther Lawrence, Director, says: “Presentations is all about trying to think outside the box. As well as producing the more traditional type of products, folders and binders, we are attracting a number of new customers because we can offer something quite different.

“Every customer provides a new challenge for us and we try to take a more imaginative approach to each order which is helped by using a range of new, touchy-feely materials which really enhance our products. Our colourful and contemporary range of merchandise covers everything from branded mouse mats and coasters to box files, conference folders, notebooks and pens. All products are relevant for modern-day business and are specially designed to enhance a customer’s reputation within the marketplace.”

promotional productsPresentations, the division of the APS print management business that produces promotional goods for modern-day business, has a bright and exciting future.

A bright future for

Origin turns blue to

Brother’s commitment to product excellence and technical innovation was recognised in 2008 when it was awarded the prestigious Blue Angel accreditation worldwide. Blue Angel is a global standard awarded only to the most environmentally-friendly products around the world. It covers approximately 3,700 products andservices in 80 product categories – everything from

commercial vehicles to varnishes. Brother was the first company of its kind to receive Blue Angel accreditation across its latest range of inkjet multi-function printers. Brother approached Origin to develop a creative and meaningful way to communicate this exciting development to its consumers across 21 countries and in 17 languages. The agency started by looking

at the seven core standards required for Blue Angel certification – although scientific and technical in nature, these standards needed communicating in a way that took Blue Angel beyond a mere badge and into a serious statement of environmental intent for Brother. It was obvious that the campaign would need to speak with a diverse and distinct visual language – but how could that be done effectively without going over budget?

Origin’s design solution created an original visual library for Brother that related to the key Blue Angel issues (emissions, energy consumption, hazardous toner, longevity, end of life, noise levels and recyclability). This not only saved the client a substantial sum on rights usage of stock photography but also produced an entire range of emotive images unique to the client. By adopting a visually-led route, Origin put the emphasis of Blue Angel on people rather than products, making the certification more understandable and more appealing. This emotive and approachable theme became the foundation for a global campaign encompassing comprehensive press assets, digital materials(including web banners and a micro site), point-of-sale items and exhibition support collateral. Each country was supplied with an individually translated marketing campaign pack, ready for brand communications. Speaking on the exercise, Creative Director Mark Bottomley commented: “Our long-standing relationship with Brother means we were able to explain a vision of how best to communicate Blue Angel globally and they trusted us to come up with the goods.”

Brother is a major global force in electronics and one of the leading brands manufacturing desktop printers, multi-function printers, fax machines, labelling devices, sewing machines and typewriters.

green for

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On their bikes...

Rick Snelson, APS Director, and Beth Kellegher, receptionist, are taking part in a 300k cycle ride from London to Amsterdam in August to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

for charity

Billed as the perfect challenge for cycling enthusiasts, it will be quite an ordeal for them both as Beth can’t remember the last time she was on a bike and Rick is still recovering from knee surgery!

The event is organised by Marie Curie and the sponsorship money raised will go towards providing nurses, funding hospices across the country and research into finding a cure for cancer.

The dynamic duo have to each raise £1,350 to take part in the three-day event which starts on Friday 28 August. Staff from APS Finishing Department decided to support the cause and boost their funds by dressing up specially, as our picture, right, shows, to organise a collection on Red Nose Day.

Meanwhile...APS’s healthcare consultancy – Pulsar – decided this year to ‘do something yummy for money’ with members of the team baking some mouth-watering cakes and biscuits for staff in return for a donation to Comic Relief. Through efforts within APS and also through sponsorship from clients they have raised nearly £800.

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AstraZeneca UK is a long-established customer of more than 25 years, the original relationship being with ICI, then as Zeneca and more recently as AstraZeneca (AZ). Onsite facilities have proved very successful for APS customers and the Brand Teams at AZ decided the service would be of benefit to them. From initial agreement last November, the service which provides an onsite artwork studio and account management resource, went live on 2 February.

An awareness day was organised at the beginning of April to mark the official opening of the service which has already become an integral part of the AZ marketing team.

Studio Manager Ewan Harding was on hand to demonstrate the full range of services that are now available to all AZ users and account managers Nathan Tiller, Sarah Holden, Nicole Hampton and Nancy Wheeler attended to answer any questions.

From a total of 120 staff based at the Luton headquarters, 94 called in and were quick to register for a competition to win an iPod and collect bags of specially-branded APS Easter eggs. Many of those who visited already use the service but many who haven’t said they would be interested in using the studio for their future artwork requirements.

Another onsite office to

the APS estate

After many successful years of service for AstraZeneca UK, APS has strengthened the service proposition even further by opening an onsite resource at the organisation’s headquarters in Luton.

From left to right: Ewan Harding, Nancy Wheeler, Rebecca Revill, Nicole Hampton and Nathan Tiller

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New standards that others will follow

With quality and environmental certification well under our belt, the goal now is to gain ISO 27001 (Information Security) and BS 25999 (Business Continuity) within the next 12 months.

It’s an ambitious programme, but we are confident that it is achievable and we have set up project teams which are now working to agreed timetables to implement the systems.

As APS continues to deal with more and more data, our customers will require evidence of good practice in the management and protection of their valuable information.

ISO 27001, the gold standard in information security, is the only auditable international standard which defines the requirements for an Information Security Management System (ISMS).

Thousands of organisations around the world have already become certified to the standard and many more are set to follow, as regulators, investors,

partners and customers increasingly call for companies to have their information security externally audited. Where the protection of information is critical, such as in the finance, health, public and IT sectors, it provides assurance for our customers that their information is being well cared for.

ISO 27001 represents global best practice in this area, specifying an ISMS that ensures the confidentiality, integrity and availability of corporate information.

BS 25999 is the world’s first British standard for Business Continuity Management (BCM) and has been developed to help organisations minimise the risk of any disruption to the smooth running of the business.

Continued operations in the event of any interruption, whether due to a major disaster or a minor incident, is a fundamental requirement for APS and has, therefore, decided to commit to gaining BS 25999.

By helping to put the fundamentals of a BCM system in place, the standard is designed to keep your business going during the most challenging and unexpected circumstances – protecting your staff, preserving your reputation and providing the ability to continue to operate and trade.

BS 25999 has been developed by a broad-based group of world-class experts representing a cross-section of industry sectors and the government to establish the process, principles and terminology of BCM.

It will provide APS with a firm basis for understanding, developing and implementing business continuity within our organisation and will give us confidence in business-to-supplier and business-to-customer dealings. It also contains a comprehensive set of requirements based on BCM best practice and covers the whole BCM lifecycle.

APS Group is setting new standards which other competitors will follow; we intend to be the first UK print management company with the following four ISO accreditations; environmental, quality, information security and business continuity.

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The ‘Introduction to Print’ sessions were run by the account management staff responsible for Peterborough City Council and were attended by nine marketeers from ARCS.

Following on from this success, APS is organising further workshops/onsite training

events for customers and prospective customers. It is anticipated that these events will be held three times a year with suppliers being invited to participate.

If you would like to attend a workshop, please call Ann McLaughlin, Business Services Director, on 0161 495 4500.

Whether we like it or not, and regardless of industry sector, compliance is on the increase. It has moved from being a back room concern to becoming a top priority for businesses, but there are still many issues concerned with bureaucracy. As a consequence, the administration required for implementation and long-term maintenance of international standards can deter organisations.

APS has, therefore, decided to invest in a software system that will radically reduce the time, effort and cost of achieving and maintaining full compliance of our existing standards, Quality and Environmental, and the two new ones in the pipeline, Information Security and Business Continuity.

We looked at many solutions that are available in the marketplace but eventually decided on Q-Pulse which we considered was the best system for our business needs.

Q-Pulse is taking over the management of our current systems for Quality and Environmental and will be especially valuable for the work needed to gain ISO 27001, a standard that is too vital to be bogged down in paperwork.

Workshops for customers

Managing the complex business of compliance

The software system will not only make ISO 27001 easier to achieve, but crucially will make it simpler to keep up over the long term.

The software combines best-practice compliance management technology with a proprietary toolkit for the documentation and process management of the standards. It uniquely incorporates a business mapping solution that enables individuals and teams to quickly and effectively collect, group and understand information.

By automating vital tasks, such as document approvals, and providing easy-to-use audit management tools, the system provides an efficient means for driving ISO workflows throughout the organisation and ensuring that compliance is upheld.

In the future any issues raised by customers will be logged on the new system and a process will be instigated immediately to ensure that all individuals involved refer, respond and react accordingly and within set times. It means that every issue raised will be analysed and trends can be identified that will ultimately lead to improvement opportunities.

A new investment in technology will ensure that APS has its finger well and truly on the pulse when it comes to compliance management. A new and robust system – a vehicle that will help APS to do things better – has been put in place to deal with this ever-changing and complex area of business.

Marketing staff from Anglia Regional Co-operative Society Limited (ARCS), based in Peterborough, provided positive feedback to a couple of workshops organised on their behalf by APS at Cheadle recently.

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Looking for aclearer picture?

Transparency can, however, mean many things – from the open disclosure of certain policies to a public explanation of ‘why’ a company is taking a certain approach or utilising a certain strategy.

One area of transparency, more than any other, is likely to be the future of all businesses. It’s when a company provides a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at its culture, work environment, special events, lives of its employees and more. It’s all about doing things that can build a lifetime bond.

Trust is a major concern. How can you trust one company over another? Transparency is going to help to address this issue – at least for the companies, like APS, that embrace it.

As we go forward, there is going to be more engagement in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as organisations make continuing commitment to behave ethically and to contribute to economic development.

For years, APS has been practising many of the principles of CSR and we feel it is important to formalise our approach into a cohesive and integral part of the business. As a first step, we have signed up to Business in the Community (BITC), a membership organisation that mobilises businesses for good.

One of The Prince’s Charities, BITC inspires, engages, supports and challenges its member companies to improve their positive impact on society. Working in partnership with BITC, APS will work towards publishing a corporate social responsibility report to demonstrate how the company manages its business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society.

We look forward to a long association with BITC and working across four areas of key importance – the workplace, the marketplace, the environment and the community. The top campaigning priorities are tackling climate change and developing the talent and skills of the existing and future workforce.

In a post-recessionary ‘new world’ there will be greater demand for businesses to be more transparent. This, however, is something that is not new for APS; we have always been open and honest, particularly with regard to our pricing and open-book accounting.

”Trust is a major concern. How can you trust one company over another? Transparency is going to help address this issue – at least for the companies, like APS, that embrace it.

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Business over breakfastThe different models available for the delivery of your marketing collateral and point-of-sale requirements in these highly challenging and demanding times are numerous. So how do you determine if Print Management is for you?

Two years ago the company invested heavily in the area, developing its logistics operation and creating a national distribution centre in Ikorodu on the outskirts of Lagos. This will become active in May 2009 and will supply goods to 26 depots throughout the country.

During a recent visit to the UK, the operations team from Nigeria requested a brief tour of a site currently utilising Jungheinrich equipment, the

supplier for the mechanical handling equipment at the Ikorodu centre. It was decided the best place to do this would be at APS, which operates similar equipment in a brand-new warehouse facility.Mike Ferguson, Area Sales Manager for Jungheinrich, said afterwards: “The visitors and myself were very impressed with the site and also with the time that the APS team took in supporting Jungheinrich and would not hesitate to recommend APS for prospective customer visits.”

Warehouse operation impresses visitors

APS organised a breakfast seminar held at the Institute of Directors in London in March at which representatives from the financial services, retail and charity sectors attended a valuable half-day session to simplify and assist with what can be a complex process.

Following very positive feedback we are organising another event on 30 June at the same venue for anyone considering undertaking a review of their print spend.

For further information contact Cameron Moir

on 0161 495 4500 or alternatively register

online at www.apsgroup.co.uk

APS Logistics recently hosted a visit for a group currently involved in the setting up of a Cussons’ state-of-the-art warehouse operation in Nigeria.

browser has been produced using vegetable-based inks with ‘alcohol-free’ fount solution and is printed on 170 gsm 9lives 80 silk: 80% recycled, NAPM approved paper, 20% virgin fibre sourced from sustainable forests and is Totally Chlorine Free (TCF)

APS Group – delivering proven, tailored services that span every aspect of modern print management in an environmentally responsible way.

To find out more, visit our website: www.apsgroup.co.uk Or contact: Timothy Wickham on 0161 495 4500, e: timothy.wickham@apsgroup.co.uk APS Group, Chetham House, Bird Hall Lane, Cheadle Heath, Cheshire SK3 0ZP

Andrew Erskine on 0131 524 9605, e: andrew.erskine@apsgroup.co.uk APS Group, 7-9 North St. David Street, Edinburgh EH2 1AW

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