This Month's Spectrum Summary:

(The following is an excerpt from the February 2003 issue of Spectrum. Spectrum is a proprietary monthly briefing published exclusively for the clients of I.T. Strategies, Inc. © 2003)

Market Access: The Key Ingredient as the Industry Evolves Toward "De-Integration"

This month I.T. Strategies consultants discuss with your SPECTRUM editor what they see as a changing industry structure and the growing importance of market access. We see emerging a new class of inkjet enterprises energized primarily by industrial and other high volume markets. Examples are Inca, Dupont's WF textile printer, and Flint Ink's new Jetrion enterprise.

Potential users, however, are cautious since they fear the new technology may not work in their applications. Press speeds are too high and the environment too demanding for inkjet. Reliability is in question, and digital vendors need to provide service turnaround similar to that offered by their offset press supplier.

The most likely to succeed are enterprises initiated by companies closely associated with a given user community. Examples include the ink companies Flint, Dupont and Sericol, offset press leader Heidelberg, Markem, and Dotrix. Each of these organizations has intimate knowledge of a given market, appropriate infrastructure, and the trust of their customers. These strengths we define as "market access." Each is a system integrator that might be termed a "market access company," or "MAC." Flint Ink's new Jetrion operation is viewed as an outstanding example because of the financial resources behind it, worldwide manufacturing locations, and voiced long term commitment to digital. They are not sure their users are ready for digital, but they want to have the capability in place as insurance.

Other examples are discussed, including MacDermid and Markem. Market access has been difficult for the Japanese digital vendors, a hurdle overcome through aggressive pricing and channel acquisitions.

Behind these new enterprises is a trend toward specialization. In these new markets, one vendor can no longer try to do it all. What is needed to succeed is a lot of capital, enthusiasm to stay with it for the long haul, market knowledge, and a grounding in technology. Outside technical consultants normally play a role in developing systems for the MACs.

It would seem users would know their own needs best. One problem is that most users don't have the capital to develop their own system from scratch. Development is tougher than most expect. There have been user forays into digital, but the results have been mixed. Timing is critical and patience is needed. There is resistance to change and organizational structures that are incompatible with what digital printing has to offer. It's easy for technology to run too far ahead of the market. Technology can be bought, but not market access. Market access is an essential beginning, but not the end.