FAQs

1 What is Vision in Print?

Vision in Print was established in 2003 as an Industry Forum, one of fifteen that approved and supported by the then DTI as a part of the Government's manufacturing strategy.

2 What is an Industry Forum?

An Industry Forum was a body established for the specific purpose of enabling the transfer of lean techniques and best practice and expertise between companies within a particular sector. Its role was to develop and implement a programme of practical activities to benchmark and improve competitiveness within individual companies, using expert personnel employed by the Forum.

3 When did it start and who runs it now?

The Print Industry Forum - now known as Vision in Print - was officially launched December 2002. Vision in Print became an independent company limited by guarantee on 1 April 2003. It completed its start-up funding in March 2007. Then in June 2007 it became a wholly aimed subsidiary of the BPIF, which established ViP in the first place. It is now a fully integrated division of the BPIF but serves members and non-members alike.

4 Do similar Forums exist in other sectors?

The first industry Forum was established in the automotive sector in 1996 by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). In its 1998 Competitiveness White Paper the Government undertook to fund a three-year programme consisting of up to ten projects to adapt the SMMT model. To date those sectors that have been successful in applying for support include aerospace, oil and gas, ceramics, metals, tourism, shipbuilding, and process industries.

5 How do printing companies benefit from the establishment of an industry Forum?

ViP will provide a powerful focus on the key issues facing the industry - how to raise productivity to world-class levels and how printing, packaging and graphic communications companies can earn increased profits. The focus will be about practical actions: ViP's success is measured by the extent to which businesses benefit financially from its work. It is to everyone's advantage if ViP can help the industry become more competitive but, unfortunately, best practice is not yet commonplace. If ViP can encourage print companies to benchmark, they can more easily capitalise on the changing and more demanding expectations of their customers - particularly in an industry where the prevailing price pressures are usually pointing downwards. More importantly the improvements will feed through to their bottom line with higher revenues and greater profitability.

6 Who runs ViP?

An Advisory Council of industry representatives, whose role is to give strategic direction to the work of ViP and determine priority areas for action, reviews the strategy and performance of ViP. The Council comprises a number of the CEOs of the industry's major companies, but with representation also from smaller to medium sized companies, from suppliers and from the Unite print union.

7 Who supports ViP?

The Forum has the backing of all the major trade associations, including the BPIF, SPEF, PICON, BAPC, SPA, and EFTA. It is also backed by Pira International, Unite, IPIA, Proskills Print, IP3 as well as regional bodies such as Print Yorkshire.

8 3 Pillars

The UK Printing Industry has evolved a 'Three Pillars' strategy for implementing the programme of actions set out in the Print 21 report as essential to strengthen performance. The organisations primarily responsible for the three Pillars are: Vision in Print (Productivity and Competitiveness), Proskills Print (Training) and the BPIF (along with other trade associations), (Representation and Partnership). All parties have agreed to work together to ensure strategic coordination involving not only those organisations but other key players in the industry's supply chain as well as Government itself.

9 Who pays for the Forum?

Start-up funding was provided by the DTI but is now complete. ViP is now a division of the BPIF but has to pay for itself and needs to charge commercial rates for its services. Luckily, companies get very fast payback and so are able to justify investment in ViP programmes.

10 What does ViP actually do?

Our specific remit covers benchmarking, manufacturing improvement, customer service, customer added-value services and better administration. Most importantly, it's about creating the right culture for effective teams and continuous development. ViP is essentially a 'task-based' organisation, focussed on practical programmes. ViP is a small team, with recruitment limited to staff with the expertise necessary to support its performance improvement activities.

11 Is Vision In Print just for the benefit of big print groups?

Absolutely not. In fact, SMEs have more to gain from modern process improvement techniques than large companies, but all too often they don't have the time to take advantage of them. We know that the vast majority of print companies are small companies and we are deliberately building programmes and seeking funding to focus in on SMEs.