The Challenge

Our customer, a leading educational book publisher, wanted to change print suppliers but was concerned the transition to a new supplier would hurt their business.

Like many customers with large print budgets, changing suppliers can be a scary business and often means buyers stick with the ‘devil they know’ rather than moving.

However, our customer needed to move their print to take advantage of the cost savings and service improvements Webmart offered over their old supplier.

For this customer, there was a particular challenge in that their business has multiple divisions, all with their own ways of working and different print requirements, specifications and priorities.

So, our transitions team swung into action.

How it was achieved

First, we provided our client with a full plan for the move, covering key stakeholders and milestones.

This visibility at the outset, enabled the client to see the process was well planned and to monitor progress throughout.

Our team then held meetings with all our client’s divisions to understand their needs. This involved investigating the types of work involved and assessing the specification of each print project. We also took samples of all products to ensure our first delivered projects would meet expected quality standards.

Both the account director and transition manager were onsite with the client at least once a week during this period to oversee the switch and help maintain business as usual and the delivery of our improved service levels. During this phase we gained a deep insight into our customer’s print briefs and campaign objectives, and we also identified immediate opportunities for change, improvement and innovation. This included both design and warehouse teams to ensure our processes dovetailed with their existing workflows; and to investigate how our involvement could make life easier for them.

Throughout the transition, we held regular meetings with all stake holders to ensure the switch was progressing smoothly on all sides, and to update them on progress.

The Results

The full move over to Webmart was made ahead of schedule and within the planned 3 month window. We delivered improved levels of pricing and service on schedule and ensured business as usual was maintained.

Our customer felt in control and informed throughout the process and noted only a positive impact on the business.

Edit: and we’re delighted to say they remain a happy Webmart customer five years after the move!

To explore how you can seamlessly switch to Webmart, please either call our transitions team on 01869 321321 or fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you.