Print Buyers on Print Brokers

Earlier this year, I asked a group of senior buyers for their opinions about print brokers. Fret not: I wrote to print brokers, too, to get their own insights. In an upcoming Tip, I will share the brokers' comments with you. (Psst: if you are a broker and haven't sent your 2 cents to me yet, feel free.)

The buyers I polled were selected randomly. I assumed they all work directly with printers but didn't know if they work with brokers. Today's Tip shares their feelings about brokers. Because it is quite long, I've posted the full Tip on our web site rather than here.

For those of you who might not already know, here's some information about print brokers:

Unlike print sales reps, print brokers are not employed by printing companies. Rather, they represent several printers. This gives them the ability to place a wide variety of print projects with the right printer; that is, the printer who has the right equipment.

The broker takes the place of the sales rep, in a sense, as their customers deal with them, not the manufacturer. However, as brokers will remind you, they work for you - not the print manufacturer.

The term "print broker" has had a negative connotation for years. While you'll glean from the buyer comments that, in general, they prefer to work directly with printers, I must caution all buyers, particularly those of you just starting out: not to paint the entire community of print brokers with the same brush - just as you shouldn't paint printers with the same brush (or print buyers, for that matter). Keep your mind open and learn as much as you can from service providers of all kinds.

Newer terms for brokers have been cropping up, such as print consultants, print managers, print distributors, print agents, and print specialists.

By the way, "print broker" is not synonymous with "print manager." I associate print management with a totally different business model. The print management industry - a real force in the UK - comprises large companies that manage entire creative and communications campaigns for clients, from soup to nuts. Business process outsourcing, print outsourcing - these are the phrases used to describe print management firms. I don't associate these phrases with brokers.

Some of the buyers polled work with brokers and love the partnership with them. Most buyers polled feel strongly that since they're professional buyers, they don't need and would not use brokers. The second major objection? The buyers value the relationships they've built with their printer partners, and they don't want to jeopardize them.

Below are all of the collected buyer comments. A new bullet indicates a new buyer's comments.

1. Do you currently work with print brokers? Why or why not?

   • As a print production manager, I consider any of the services a print broker would offer to be part of my job (and training). I might consider using a broker if the job is way off the beaten path and I don't have time to do the research myself.

   • Print brokers duplicate my efforts; also, the pricing I procure is better than that of a broker.

   • My company pays me and my staff to buy print; I would not put my company in a position to pay the up charge (and there is one) for buying services on top of my salary.

     If my company didn't have me, they might choose to use a broker and it might make sense, but I believe having an on-staff buyer is a huge benefit and obviously would not advocate a move to outsourced buying.

     I understand the strategy of the project. Attempting to relay that information to an outside resource who is going to have to relay it again to the printer results in error and misunderstanding.

     Having a first-hand relationship with the printer allows collaboration and brainstorming on materials and production. I don't want to lose that.

     It's confusing…am I a client of the printer or not? Can I call the printer or not?

   • My organization is structured to work directly with a selected stable of printers, leveraging huge total annual volumes in multiple categories. Print brokers tend to work more on a project-by-project basis. Plus, our method builds long-term relationships with our printers that typically would be harder to create and maintain under the buyer-broker-printer structure.

   • We haven't found one that knows us, knows the vendors we are working with as well as we do and is cost-effective. They are not looking out for our organization but in the end, themselves. We find we do much better on our own.

   • I have the time and the expertise to purchase my own printing. Using a broker means giving up a direct relationship with vendors, and paying an up-charge for their services.

2. Have you ever worked with brokers in the past? If so, what changed?

   • I was forced to, at the request of a client who had been told that the broker would offer better pricing. He did not.

   • Yes, I've tried over the years. Errors, inflated cost, little to no added value to the project. I chose to not work with brokers any longer and have eliminated these issues.

   • Yes. Frankly, I was involved (marginally) with a crooked person who milked the system. I've also known a broker who fails to divulge total information to either side, so that he "holds onto his power position," which I feel is a very real danger with most broker situations.

   • A fantastic company actually grew on me. I was anti broker, having spent 13 years at a commercial printer and then coming onto the production/print buying side.

     I now realize how valuable they are as an extension of our production department. The knowledge and experience they have in the marketplace cannot be obtained by one direct printer relationship, or it would take months' worth of work with multiple companies to gather the information I can get from one source. Not to mention the time taken away from our internal print production staff.

   • Yes, but only very limitedly. And it was rather in a backhanded way – I thought I was dealing directly with a vendor but turned out the broker was the middle man. We just haven't found a reason to use a broker when we do a superb job on our own. Plus, they only add costs onto a job for us – haven't found the savings.

   • No. I am actually using a broker for the first time ever. But don't tell anyone :). I have a project that we're too busy to give the proper attention. It's a package with maybe a CD, brochure, letter, maybe a pURL (it's obviously still in the works). The only broker I would ever use specializes in packages. I wanted someone to take care of the job as much as possible so that my team could concentrate on the rest of the workload.

   • Brokers basically do what I do (buyer), and though they sometimes have more resources to draw from, we have extremely good partners that cover the gamut of our needs. We are also under mandates to print with Union printers.

   • Yes, when I was with a commercial printer. I found the ones I dealt with to be out for #1 and would sell their souls for a nickel. There was no true feeling of partnership.

3. In general, how do you feel about working with print brokers?

   • If I can do it myself, I will. If I need someone to do the running or don't need to do a press okay, I’ll use an independent rep (broker) at times.

   • When working with brokers, I did work directly with printers. I prefer the direct communication, immediate problem solving and ability to attend press checks personally.

   • Love it.

   • I worked for a broker in Chicago for 7+ years before moving to NE. I can see that they performed a valuable service for a certain kind of customer: the uneducated customer that needed print once in a while and for whom price was more important than quality or service. Not that we didn't provide quality or service, but much of the work we ran was ganged, and that meant compromises on pres (and shared makereadies and material costs and so wicked low prices). I would use a broker again for certain kind of work (not the kind I buy at my current job). Something like -- we need brochures, tote bags, coffee mugs, ID badges, T-shirts, and a pocket folder. Especially if I didn't have the time to source all those items, or if I worked for a company where print and buying print was not a core function. That is a core function at our organization, and so I don't need brokers.

   • For me, it's unnecessary. We're experienced buyers who know how to buy print. Print brokers are helpful to buyers in two ways: 1) When you don't know or have the time to find the right vendor/solution (such as a specialty project), and 2) When you don't know enough about printing and buying print and you need someone to do this for you so you can either not have to deal with it or so the broker can teach you over time how to take care of buying print yourself.

   • Print brokers can augment staff during busy periods. They provide another resource for managing workload. Print brokers also may have more extended supplier lists for problematic jobs.

4. How did you find your current broker? How did you evaluate him/her?

   • He went independent from his prior company. I knew him to give excellent service and knew that he cared about quality as if he were working for this company.

   • They contacted me in all cases, selling their services well so I'd try. None ever got more than one or two projects.

   • Put them through extensive vendor reviews. How did I evaluate him/her? Through several months of testing. The sales rep has 25 years in the industry and has stayed current with information and technology.

   • My current broker has been in the business for years and has built up a solid reputation. She has a great sense of humor and has pursued my potential business services for years, but in just the right way. An almost knowing, "Some day, some time, you’ll need me, and I will be there for you." And she is.

   • We have two print brokers that we use. Both originally worked in-house as sales contacts for our printers and moved outside to work independently. The relationships were already in place. How did we evaluate them? They both had proven track records for quality end product, fast turnaround, and great service.

5. What criteria would you use when selecting/evaluating print brokers?

   • As I would any print company: see if there is chemistry to build a long-term relationship with the salesperson, evaluate samples, give a small job.

   • Knowledge, the plants they work with, buying power (i.e., who else they leverage our work with and how good they are at negotiating pricing that ultimately helps us with lower cost).

   • 1. How well do they know the business? 2. Can they provide a value add that I can't? 3. What are their charges? 4. What are their ethical standards?

   • The criteria are similar to those of a printer/print rep: Solid reputation: I want someone others have depended upon and who has come through every time. Flexible: I am a control freak as far as printers go. There are some I refuse to use. I want someone who will respect my likes and dislikes. Honest: I need to be able to trust any vendor/partner. In a situation where there is an intermediary, there is the potential for blame-laying. I need someone who will tell me the truth without making me worry. Same price: For my needs, anyway, I don’t expect to pay more or less than if I did it on my own. Brokers can frequently obtain better pricing from printers because of volume, but they also have to do most of the footwork and take responsibility. It should pretty much cost a customer the same. FSC certified: Not a deal breaker for me right now but it will be in the future. Because brokers are part of the chain of custody, they must be FSC certified if you plan to claim such on your printed piece. Luckily, more and more brokers are becoming certified. Sense of humor: I just need this no matter what.

   • Potentially, a broker could have a lower pricing structure with a given vendor is he/she does a lot of volume with them.

   • I would want to know the vendors sourced by the broker. If these vendors are not useful to us, we would not need the broker's services. I would also want to know the broker's history in the print world. Does the broker know the industry? The broker would have to be able to add value to my staff, given the strong print industry knowledge that we already possess.

6. Are your brokers local? Does this matter?

   • All brokers I worked with were local except for one, and the distance only made the problems worse – errors were higher.

   • Broker must be local. Part of the reason for using a broker is to get speedy service and delivery.

   • If I dealt with them, I would not want them to be local. Local folks tend to focus on local opportunity only, and often do not see bigger pictures. I would look for a firm with a national presence.

   • Yes. The rep is only 20 minutes away and can typically get in to see us within an hour or two of placing a call. They service the heck out of us with a great sales rep and a stellar customer service team.

   • Yes. I need someone who can quickly and easily meet with me in person to discuss a job because the only jobs I am likely to give a broker are complex or because I have specific concerns that can be better expressed in person. I need to point out where we can save room, learn options of where a CD can be inserted, review samples of similar pieces. My company's products aren't easily shipped; I need to point out how they can be fulfilled into a final piece.

7. What qualities in a print broker are critical for you?

   • Same as for any print salesperson: he learns and understands my business, ascribes to the values and mission that my company has, is proactive in offering suggestions to save time and money.

   • Their business partners (aligned with great companies), service, understanding our business is huge.

   • Character – especially truthfulness; that they take the time to know you and to know the job you want them to broker.

   • Should be knowledgeable about the industry, should be cost-conscious, and be service-oriented.

8. What kinds of jobs/projects do you give to brokers?

   • Primarily jobs that need a quick turn around or for which my budget is limited. Jobs that he can take and run without much input because he knows what I'm looking for in terms of quality timing and price.

   • All of our in-store signage campaigns for our three brands, along with different collateral that may need to pack in with the particular event or promotion. (Flyers, buttons, ribbons, floor decals, clingz etc.)

   • Time-consuming; intricate; requiring creative and focused solutions. Perhaps a job I've had trouble with before and don't want to deal with again.

   • It is generally the rare, complex project that would require a broker's services.

9. Is there an advantage to working with a broker?

   • Brokers can usually save you time. They do most of the footwork and take responsibility for the printer even if the printer doesn’t take responsibility. They can obtain good pricing because of the volume of work they likely print. They potentially have more contacts and access to newer or otherwise unique technologies that a vendor grid structure or core vendor group would be less likely to provide.

   • Yes, multiple presses, sometimes at different facilities to produce a monster program with an extremely tight deadline.

   • Yes. A broker can reach resources that we would ordinarily not access.

10. Is there a disadvantage?

    • …experienced print buyers could be awesome brokers if they chose to, and vice versa. Brokers reside alongside print buyers as peers in my opinion, and I believe we have much to learn from one another – not necessary sell to one another!!!

    • There are no disadvantages when the right job is placed with the broker. The problem comes in if you don't realize that the broker is the print company's client, not you. If there is a problem at press or later, the broker adds another layer between you and the printer. - If you like to buy print and you are decent at it, you just don't need a broker. - Cost. AND we very much value the relationships we have with our vendors. We hold ourselves and our vendors to high standards and don't feel that we get this with same quality relationship with a vendor if a broker is involved.

    • Not in my case, although I am aware of many brokers or resources that don't have the buying power, customer service or alignment with great companies.

©2008 Margie Dana. All rights reserved.