RESPONSE: Ron Kendig, General Manager - Advanced Solutions and Commercial Print, North American Graphic Arts for Xerox Corporation. Editor’s Note: In Jeremy Smith’s recent eXpert Row column entitled Is Xerox Aiming Too High in Their Effort to Topple Heidelberg?, he discussed Xerox’s efforts to compete with Heidelberg in the commercial printing industry. Jeremy took issue with Xerox management and their progress thus far. By it’s very name - eXpert Row is a space for our writers to express their opinions without fear of being censored. Our job is to make sure they are qualified before they write to our members. We believe Jeremy is qualified and look forward to his future columns. In fairness, we have published Xerox’s response to this article to ensure a balanced view. Xerox is a major supporter of our efforts and they understand the diverse opinions that are often expressed within this community. Indeed, there have been several occasions when industry suppliers have disagreed with takes published in eXpert Row or our Special Reports. And in fairness, we have published their response. This reply was written by Ron Kendig. Ron is General Manager - Advanced Solutions and Commercial Print, North American Graphic Arts for Xerox Corporation. For additional information, you can search for Xerox in our archive. On this topic, we have published several eXpert Row writings and interviews that state their plans to compete in the commercial printing industry - including two recent interviews with top executives - Elaine Wilde and Frank Steenburgh. Jeremy, I read with interest your WhatTheyThink.com column "Is Xerox Aiming Too High in Their Effort to Topple Heidelberg?" As a 23-year veteran of Heidelberg – most recently as marketing director for digital presses – and a current Xerox executive, I’d like to offer another point of view based on my experience at both organizations. The premise of your editorial suggests that Xerox is on a mission to topple Heidelberg. Our goal is not to eliminate competition, but rather to become the most respected and trusted digital printing supplier in the graphic arts business. Heidelberg has made some very strong statements lately, like the one you reference about dominating the digital printing market. There are a number of hurdles they’ll have to overcome. They’ll need a strong, worldwide team of service staff for digital presses. Leadership of this industry also demands solid competency in systems integration, and expertise in total solutions. These things are important because digital printing is fundamentally different from analog printing. Analog machines are like appliances in that, once delivered, they are largely maintained by the customer. The infrastructure required for digital printing is totally different. Since joining Xerox in early 2000, I’ve found the resources in virtually every area to be immeasurably greater than those at Heidelberg. At the On Demand show, Charlie Pesko said the commercial printer’s job is changing. The key to success for that printer is learning the new technology and business model – and that’s where Xerox’s strength lies. After all, we created this industry. The economic environment today is arguably the worst ever for small and medium-sized printers. Margins for commodity printing are shrinking. The ability of these companies to provide digital printing and variable data services is quickly moving from a competitive asset to a means of survival. There’s been a lot of talk about personalization and one-to-one marketing since Benny Landa started pitching it to our industry in 1995. The number of printers involved with variable data is still relatively low; growth has been slow. But more and more printers are gaining the competencies needed to succeed in this area and, most importantly, they’re making money at it. During the past year, I’ve talked with a number of commercial printers who’ve said that their customers are asking for this service. That’s a big incentive to jump on the bandwagon. Who is better-equipped than Xerox to counsel these printers? Xerox has been amassing expertise in variable data printing since 1977 in our "data processing service bureau" sector. That expertise covers the full spectrum of what customers need – things like programming, configuration, implementation, planning, marketing and sales. Heidelberg has an understanding of traditional printing workflows – not the integrated digital data streams that are constantly changing at every rotation of the imaging cylinder. Every day, I help commercial printers, prepress companies and others in the graphic arts industry to make the shift. The ones who do so are extremely profitable. Some are so successful that we can’t convince them to talk about it for fear of encouraging their competitors into the same market space. Two years ago, I saw an industry shift happening – a shift so fundamental that it forced me into a very difficult personal decision. I left Heidelberg, where I had built a successful career spanning three decades. I went with Xerox – the company I see as the digital printing leader. It’s the best decision I ever made. As the industry continues to evolve, both the commercial printers and suppliers will have to change their business model, which will entail a greater reliance on digital technology. Today, virtually every product Xerox makes is digital and we are advantaged in the digital printing space. As a matter of fact, according to CAP Ventures, Xerox is the number one provider of digital color presses for production environments. We recently sold our 5,000th DocuColor 2000 Series digital color press –the most successful product line of its kind with one-and-a-half times more placements than all comparable competitors combined. I am proud to be an industry leader, influencer and change agent for Xerox. I am proud to work for a company that chooses to lead, not only in technology, but lead our customers into the very profitable New Business of Printing. We take our goals, our customers, our jobs and our competition – including Heidelberg –very seriously. They would be wise to do the same. In the end the winner will be the commercial printer. Regards, Ron Kendig General Manager Advanced Solutions and Commercial Print North American Graphic Arts Xerox Corporation (678) 202-7258 Email: [email protected]