Shree Printwell: How to plan a future - The Noel D'Cunha Sunday Column

The PrintWeek India team received the "Achiever's Planner" from Shree Printwell Offset in Ahmedabad, we were delighted. Needless to state, everyone seeks a good planner and a well-planned well-produced planner is a delight. When we spoke to Dwipal Patel we realised not only are the accolades pouring in, but many more people have become increasingly alive to the simple act of rewarding colleagues and staff with a planner.

Patel says, "We have sold this planner to USA, UK, France, Italy and of course in India." In India, the Printwell team has handed over the planner to dignitaries like the CEO of Crossword, William Pen Stores, RJs as well as industry leaders, business owners and promoters. Patel says, "We have received such amazing comments. It provides amazing satisfaction to create such a product."

Printwell wanted to make a tool which helps entrepreneurs to achieve their official and personal goals. At the same time, as Patel says, this enables users to take the jottings and notes to the next level of knowledge. How so, we asked Patel. He replies, "There are simple tasks, but if any entrepreneur executes as per the format in the "Achiever's Planner", then that person will surely achieve the next level.

Turn your specialist subject into a fruitful proposition

All printers are constantly on the lookout for an edge – that little bit of something that lifts them clear of their competition. One way they can achieve this is by targeting a specific niche market.

And so, the Printwell design team and in-house designer Yashwant Suthar has "worked ever-so-hard" to create a world-class product. They have ensured the planner can help in bifurcating the goals plus measure it weekly. Patel feels, if we measure it weekly, then a human being has 51 chances of improvements in a year. This can be huge and could be a game-changer. Patel adds, "We have also kept weekly articles post-Saturday. This will enhance users to boost their knowledge-base in all the business aspects with bonus user gets into the weekly reading habit. A thing no other planner offers."

Patel adds, "This is our first product line which we are going to put in the retail segment as well as the online marketplace like Amazon as of now. Which is why we had to consider all the aspects of user experience and the highest quality of material with printing. We used special paper with accurate pagination. It was difficult, but because of teamwork and proper planning, the execution of the job was perfect. We did not encounter any hurdles in the production process."

The art of specialisation

It might be a business sector – for instance, financial services or the property/construction industry. Or it might be a particular type of printed product, such as photobooks and calendars. But regardless of the niche area, individual printing companies choose to target, the aim remains the same: boosting the bottom line.

We ask Dwipal Patel, how was the idea for the planner, born?

He says, we always love to gift the best-printed product to our customers, This is the mindset of our company. With this basic concept in our mind, the idea was born in July-2018. That's how we started designing the diary."

Interestingly enough, something else transpired. In July, Dwipal Patel met Ramesh Kejriwal of Parksons Packaging. Patel says, "Ramesh Kejriwal briefed me that a printing company should also to have another business vertical. After I got this advice, our inspiration to create this product which should be one of the best in India got a big boost."

And so, it was back to the drawing board. The Printwell team worked "almost non-stop" during August, September, October. Patel says, "one of my friends, Mitesh Halani joined me and we were able to take this planner to the global level." There were three rounds of meticulous dummy-making through digital prints. That's how the final product was perfect. And from a simple diary, the "Achievers Planner" became one of the most sought after planners.

Printwell in 2019 

Printwell is on a growth path. In addition, there is "a lot of cost optimisation which has created more visibility of our in-house management and cash flows." Patel adds, "We will have small capex investments in our post-press division. These are not significant investments as we had invested approx Rs 16 crore in January 2017." This means Printwell is focusing on total utilisation of if existing infra optimising the investments.

Patel says, "We are always looking to up-sell and add value for existing customer base in Gujarat and elsewhere. Of course, we are keen to add business wins and new clients along the way." The creation of "Achievers Planner" has been a step in the right direction. "One doesn't want to too beholden to one specific niche or sector, and these are constant risks that need to be managed strategically on an ongoing basis. Therefore introducing planner as an offering, is an area of market development that helps to reduce the risks as does breaking into or growing other sectors which we have managed successfully in recent months."

Dwipal Patel feels that other commercial printers shouldn’t hesitate to develop niches of their own and offers the following suggestion. Which is how Printwell has forayed into packaging in 2017. At that time, Pravin Patel, managing director, Shree Printwell had said, "We believe packaging is the future. Our investments are in line with our strategy to be future-ready." In the past few months, Printwell has produced top quality jobs on a variety of substrates that range from 600gsm to paperboard and MetPET board as well as lenticular sheets with 3D printing.

"Putting the strategy and risk management to one side, being a specialist is absolutely what we have been striving for. I would say that from our experience having and developing employees is a must to achieving this goal, harnessing their combined knowledge and developing skills continually to drive customer trust and recommendation," says Patel. 

Needless to say, the "Achievers Planner" is enabling the Patels to achieve their goal.

If you have produced a diary, notebook, POD, business stationery, marketing materials, personalised wallpaper, etc, please share the details with us. Contact noel@haymarketsac.com