We have invited Karis here today to give us her industry insight
into the world of print.
Karis, you’ve been trend-watching in the print sector for the last five years
as a communicator and as an editor,
but I supposed you would never have guessed what was gonna happen to the
print industry over the last year right?
Absolutely, so much has changed in such a short time.
Back in January, still blissfully unaware of what was to come.
I did what many of us do at the start of a new year.
I looked ahead to 2020 and thinking about
what it might bring and on a professional level,
writing about what might be on the horizon for the print industry.
Well I could never have predicted what was in store,
and just how much the world was about to change,
as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There has been a huge amount of uncertainty and disruption,
changes to our routines, our behaviour, and whats important to us.
It's also accelerating and intensifying many of the trends
that we were already experiencing pre-COVID.
Just look at the unbelievable levels of digital transformation,
as countless businesses adjust to working from home.
With this accelerated change, comes new opportunities.
Research from McKinsey shows that businesses that make decisions
and move fast in times of crisis,
can maintain a lead over their competitors that can last years.
So, I want to talk about one of the technology trends that identified
in a January article for Print Media Centr
which is now, I believe going to be accelerated by the pandemic
Industry 5.0
The fourth Industrial Revolution, Industry 4.0,
is all about digital transformation
smart processes and interconnectivity,
aided by advancements like the Internet of Things,
fast data networks, 3D Printing, and smart sensors.
So what is Industry 5.0?
While all the other industrial revolutions have been about
dehumanisation,
Industry 5.0 is about rehumanisation.
It’s about bringing the human touch back to manufacturing
and increasing collaboration between people and smart systems.
It’s not anti-automation,
but more intelligent use of automation,
and enhancing the role of both humans and machines.
Think about it - every great idea or innovation that has changed the world
started with a spark of human creativity,
and creativity is pretty hard to automate.
Looking at the automotive industry,
a pioneering sector when it comes to automation
some of the values of Industry 5.0 have been identifiable for a while.
“Robots can’t deal with the degree of individualization that we have today.”
That’s what Markus Schaefer, head of production at Mercedes-Benz said in 2016
as the carmaker made the decision to replace some of their robots
with people.
Without the human element, robots couldn’t manage the level of
customisation that Mercedes offers its customers.
‘Humans are underrated.’
That’s what Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted back in 2018,
adding that excessive automation at the company had ‘been a mistake’.
The overreliance on robots was to the company’s detriment,
resulting in missed production targets for its Model 3 car.
I’m sure you’re thinking, what does the rise of Industry 5.0
mean for the print industry,
and for your business specifically?
I’m going to look at three interlinked but distinct ways
that Industry 5.0 applies to print:
REHUMANISATION,
PERSONALISATION,
AND AUGMENTATION.
Let’s start with looking at the REHUMANISATION angle.
Print is perfectly positioned for Industry 5.0 adoption,
and for the rehumanisation of automation.
A combination of technological innovation and human creativity,
world class feats of engineering
coupled with stunning design and artistry.
It’s intelligent and connected, as well as evocative and emotional.
Print is far from a ‘one size fits all’ industry,
and that has never been a more accurate statement than in today’s
digital print landscape,
as print needs to work in collaboration with online experiences,
such as creating integrated programmatic print campaigns
that utilise online data for an impactful,
personalised piece of direct mail,
or bringing a piece of print to life with augmented reality.
Within industry 5.0 this trend for extended reality,
shows how print is perfectly placed to tap into the opportunity,
for merging digital and physical communication.
But part of the challenge of Industry 4.0 adoption for many print businesses
is that there are so many complex decisions to be made to turn a concept
to turn a concept into a tangible end product.
Integrating automated workflow solutions
and embracing smart processes and interconnectivity is vital,
but the best asset of any print service provider is still its people.
With all this talk of Humanisation you might be suprised to hear that
I think it's a good time to ask the question,
what should I be automating?
We're being pushed further towards the adoption of automation
and now is the time to ensure it’s being implemented intelligently.
Today’s print businesses know that
shorter runs and faster turnaround times mean
effective workflow software is essential,
and successful workflow automation starts with an in-depth knowledge
of your production and processes.
Automating your prepress tasks, autocorrecting colour management,
implementing a digital front end that supports variable data
any number of specific automation features
that mean less operator involvement means the intelligent,
creative humans you employ, armed with free time and high-quality data,
are able to take on higher-level responsibilities
such as the supervision of your systems,
live decision-making, and determining opportunities
to elevate quality and production processes.
Next, let’s talk about PERSONALISATION.
For digital print businesses, the word ‘personalisation’
will have been a familiar buzzword for a long time.
People love special, individual and unique interactions
with printed products.
With Industry 5.0, personalisation is going mainstream,
as bespoke experiences become the standard.
Consumer behaviour is changing, people want individualised,
high-quality experiences over frivolous purchases,
and we want to be seen, appreciated and understood by businesses
and brands more than ever.
As servitisation continues, it’s more important than ever for manufacturers
to be true partners and true service providers,
not just the company that sells you a machine.
It’s more important than ever for printers, too-
you can’t just be the company that sells your customers print.
You’re selling solutions, experiences, relationships.
Those that embrace Industry 5.0 will be the best technology partners
of all for your print business -
smarter automation means up-to-the-minute data,
and we can use that quality data to improve how we design manufacturing
processes for stronger personalisation.
Industry 5.0 will mean we’re less constricted by
conventional manufacturing -
as we rehumanise production, the role of humans will become more
specialised and more flexible.
As print service providers, it will allow you to
personalise your production operations
to your requirements as a business,
in order to meet the highly personalised requirements
of your customers.
For your business, this is where that next step
on your automation journey comes in
The connected technology in your print business, software and hardware
is producing huge amounts of really useful, accurate data,
from job data to estimating to human labour data
Automation and Industry 4.0 has made that possible,
but Industry 5.0 allows us to analyse that data
and put it to use by making informed decisions, and quickly –
you can make adjustments to jobs and even your business model in real time –
as long as you’re equipped for your needs and the needs of your customers.
You need your skilled employees to run those systems,
identify the most meaningful metrics for your business,
establish trends, and make adjustments accordingly –
they also need to be familiar with your technology
enough to trust the data sources
in order to make high-stakes, data-driven decisions
that impact the business.
Finally, AUGMENTATION.
Industry 5.0 presents us with an opportunity to add value
and enhance productivity and efficiency
without compromising on customer experience.
Industry 4.0 is great for automating tasks that fall under the three D's
‘dull, dangerous, and dirty’,
but we are in danger of adapting ourselvesto be more like machines –
we need to reconnect with the value that human problem-solving capabilities,
creativity and ingenuity, and ability to understand and engage with customers
on a personal level brings to production.
Fully automated manufacturing or ‘Lights Out’ manufacturing
doesn’t provide many opportunities for creativity, or added value,
and it isn't at useful for meeting that growning demand for personalisation.
And augmentation isn’t just about enhancing the quality of customer
experience in print,
it’s about enhancing the quality of careers in the industry, too.
Smart technology and robots aren’t going to take our jobs,
but they are going to drastically change the nature of work
and what the ideal employee skillsets look like.
As leaders in the print industry,
a proactive approach to the future of the workforce is needed now –
it’s more important than ever to invest in education,
training, and upskilling employees for value-add tasks.
Choose technology partners that share your vision for the future,
to combine resources, bridge skills gaps and
develop targeted job development and training schemes.
One idea for how to approach enhancement now would be to start at the end -
think about the applications,
about the end product in your customers’ hand.
Your customers are getting more and more creative with the possibilities of print,
from innovative applications to a variety of media types –
and they don’t care about the automation in your business,
they care about bringing their vision to life.
Work backwards from your end product and think about all the touchpoints –
is your workflow is optimised for your individual needs
and does it allow you to meet the personalised requirements of your
customers.
the right print technology partners,
whether it’s manufacturers or software solutions providers,
will give you options that empower and enable you to configure your production
from prepress to finishing your way, as well as providing you with ongoing,
quality support.
It's a great time to think about the future of your business
and what's important to you.
Strong relationships with loyal and satisfied customers?
A reputation for quality and excellence?
Happy, motivated and skilled employees and colleagues?
Whatever your vision, I’m willing to bet it won’t be achievable without
a harmonious relationship between humans and technology.
Rehumanise, personalise, augment: but first you need to reassess.
Print businesses are perfectly positioned to adopt Industry 5.0 –
you already know how to blend human creativity with technology
you know how to craft personalised and customised experiences,
and you know how to keep enhancing and innovating to improve quality
and customer experience.
Invest in quality, not just technology.
Quality solutions that give your business the ability to exceed
your customers’ wildest expectations.
Quality relationships with partners that understand your needs,
and with the customers you serve.
Quality people within your business,
and the skills, innovation, and creativity they provide
that gives your company an edge
that no competitor could possibly replicate.