Coyle Print Group

by Sara Hann-Reynolds

Just a fad? Not this time. Two Chicago area brothers identify an industry sector that was itching for service and efficiency. With 80% growth last year and a receptive market, it looks as if they have discovered a hot business trend.

When Sean Coyle of Northfield, Illinois, went looking for a challenging career move in 1998, the one thing he knew like the back of his hand was the commercial printing industry.

For 14 years he had worked in the center of the nation’s number one print market, the Chicago metropolitan area, as an account executive for various top print suppliers. But the Chicago native was tired of competing on price alone. The printing industry had far more to offer. It simply lacked people who were willing to take a risk and change the way the industry served its customers.

At about the same time, Sean's brother, Pat Coyle, was winding down his second season in the National Football League as Director of Marketing for the Indianapolis Colts. He, too, was thinking about his next career move.

After extensive market research and the initial development of a database of top- notch print production suppliers across the country, Sean and Pat launched their new company, Coyle Print Group, in February 1999. Within eleven months the brothers had generated $2.9 million in sales. Twelve months later sales boosted 80% to $5.5 million. Today, with a highly receptive market and no signs of slowing, the company is moving forward with an ambitious five-year plan that includes a sales goal of $50 million. "I believe our growth is strong and fast because we’re always ten steps ahead of our competitors," says Sean Coyle, President of Coyle. The company's repertoire of print production has included CD-ROM marketing programs, product packages, self-mailers, point-of-purchase, direct mail, bind-in magazine inserts, co-op mailings, and corporate catalogs. But record-setting demand for support services such as fulfillment, inventory management, and distribution has also contributed to Coyle’s growth.

The difference -why customers are seeing significant cost and time savings -is because of Coyle's ability to greatly reduce customers' print production responsibilities, and worries.

Just the facts Today's most successful companies are focusing more on core- competencies and pursuing outsourcing arrangements with specialists The second biggest opportunity for companies to save money is with efficient print procurement, says the National Association of Purchasing Managers

Last year, for example, a customer needed to produce scratch-off game cards but had no idea where to start. Coyle was brought in to find qualified suppliers and manage the production and delivery. Just days prior to delivery, multiple changes developed -the card size increased and the quantity increased from 1.5 to 5.5 million cards -the original supplier’s printing press could no longer handle the job. Coyle quickly searched its database to secure a new supplier - one that could effectively handle everything in-house including card size, programming, proofing, variable imaging, security issues, and seeding of winning cards. It was the only way to meet the customer's original delivery date. "When a print buyer has multiple projects to manage, it's a great relief when we can step in and manage projects without added cost to the buyer," says Pat Coyle, Vice President Marketing.

To further improve customer satisfaction, Coyle is leveraging technology in ways its competitors have yet to explore. The company's workhorse is its database of over 600 carefully selected suppliers in Chicago and across the country. This database has been integrated into a Web-based tool that enables both buyers and printers to communicate and complete transactions online from anywhere in the world. Brand managers, marketing directors and CFOs have experienced cost savings of up to 40%, employee boundaries have evaporated, and processes have been noticeably simplified.

Customers who want to know exactly where their jobs are at every moment also have access to real-time Web reports. They can watch jobs move from press, to bindery, to lettershop, to the mail stream - anytime, anywhere. In addition, customers have access to their own online library with customizable templates and storage for digital photos, electronic files, and frequently printed documents such as business cards and brochures. And direct marketing customers take advantage of Coyle's Web-based warehouse system to track inventories, manage distribution, and run reports. As new technology changes the print production process and corporate print buyers, advertising agency buyers, and graphic designers have less time to manage their projects and keep up with a multitude of industry changes, experts like Coyle will be in high demand.

Is it possible Coyle Print Group simply hit on a new industry fad? Not likely. Companies searching for new ways to increase profits will see to that.