(Editor’s note: Responding to the strong interest generated by our recent four-part series [ Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4] on competition from China by Steve Aranoff and Robert FitzPatrick of The EAGLE, we continue our coverage of this urgent topic by presenting the following guest commentary by production expert and author Peter R. Basiliere. Competition from China also is the subject of today’s eXpert Row commentary by Philip K. Ruggles, emeritus professor at Cal Poly State University, who recently returned from a month-long visit to that country. The second part of Prof. Ruggles’s report will appear on Thursday, Dec. 15.)

December 14, 2005 -- WhatTheyThink.com recently ran an insightful four-part series about the threat posed by competition from Chinese printers. Authors Steve Aranoff and Robert FitzPatrick made these key points:

Clearly this evidence supports the conclusions I reached earlier this year in my book, Diversifying with Mailing and Fulfillment Services: Unlocking Hidden Profit Potential (NAPL, September 2005), excerpted below. Foreign competition is a key market driver for all printers, whether they offer mail and fulfillment services yet or not.