Discussion

By Steven Schnoll on Feb 01, 2011

Andy
I would like to correct a fact in the above piece. The Canon Essential Business Builder Program has been providing independent consulting services for market and business development for the last three years to rave reviews for its users.

By Andrew Tribute on Feb 01, 2011

Stephen there is a real difference to Canon's Essential Business Builder Program that is another "copy" of the Xerox Profit Accelerator programme and the original Kodak MarketMover, and the new offering from Kodak that is more like the work a company like Accenture would do but done with the skill of printing and publishing specialists. I would also like to suggest that Canon understand the English language. Program is a piece of computer software whereas programme is a series of activities that operate together. I think they are offering the latter even when we speak American English.

By Steven Schnoll on Feb 01, 2011

Andy
You are completely wrong. The Canon program is completely designed as a true consultative experience. An outside mentor goes into the company does a SWOT analysis and then builds on the results to determine what direction the company must take. No two experiences are the same. The Canon program is not canned like the others.
I know what a program is in American English and the Canon program is a series of unified activities. I think maybe you should do some homework first before you definitely state what a company like Canon is doing.

By Gordon Pritchard on Feb 01, 2011

When Kodak purchased Creo in 2005 - Creo already had such a program in place under the Value in Print initiative. Kodak never supported that initiative and eliminated it along with the associated people in 2008. Glad to see they may have seen the light and reinstated it.

By Don Piontek on Feb 01, 2011

Andy
The Jetstream is well-suited to the transactional market, but offset customers have different quality criteria. Do you see Oce' and manroland developing hybrid offset-injet platforms for offset work that incorporates VDP?

By Andrew Tribute on Feb 02, 2011

Stephen
I apologize for my comment on the use of the word program, it was uncalled for. I do however wish that Americans would understand that there are two different kinds of program (programme) and the first one is software and the second is a series of activities. It would make life a lot easier if companies would use the correct language.

There is still however a major difference between the Canon and Kodak approaches.

As far as Don's comment I think the hybrid at this stage is unlikely between manroland and Océ as Océ is not in the business of add on inkjet heads. manroland does however have an agreement with Kodak to use the older Versamark type CIJ heads.

By Gordon Pritchard on Feb 02, 2011

Andrew, best take your language concerns up with the New Oxford American Dictionary?, Oxford American Writer's Thesaurus, ?Apple Dictionary?, and Wikipedia that all state: "program |?pr??gram; -gr?m| ( Brit. programme) noun"

End of.

By Andrew Tribute on Feb 02, 2011

Gordon, I appreciate that but at least in Britain we acknowledge the America spelling to differentiate what is digital and what is analog, or should I say analogue.

By Elizabeth Gooding on Feb 14, 2011

Once again - separated by a common language. Sigh.

Andy - with respect to the Kodak consultancy practice, I would say that to some degree they have simply done a better job packaging and marketing their offer. As other readers have noted, other manufacturers had similar offers in the past and abandoned or starved them. Xerox would be an example - they had a very robust practice for years with analysis services, information design and other services organized for vertical industries as well as service providers. Many of the leaders of that practice are now at other manufacturers or independent. Oce has had a similar offer for several years - but it was not branded in a way that clearly conveyed the offer. Called Transpromo Application Development Services (TADS) suggests it is a programming programme ;-) even though it is broader than transpromo and is more focused on the front-end of the process (analysis, design, process reengineering) than the "application development" moniker implies (although implementation of an application is offered too.) Hats off to Kodak for their approach but they are not alone in the market. Perhaps just alone in their level of marketing.