Forging a Prenuptial Agreement

Like a marriage, successful consumer-supplier relationships should begin with trust.

Theodore Lustig -- Graphic Arts Online, 11/1/2000

To be successful, the relationship between consumers of printing inks--printers, packagers, converters--and their ink suppliers should be more like a marriage based on compatibility and mutual trust rather than a one-night stand based on price.

But if the marriage is to start off on solid ground, graphics consultant Jean W. Lincolnhol suggests something akin to a prenuptial agreement, in which both parties delineate exactly what each expects from the other.

"Problems occur when both parties make assumptions about what services have been agreed to," Lincolnhol explains. "An ink supplier may offer so-called 'value-added' services, but each supplier may have a different definition as to what that term encompasses, and some services may incur a charge.

"The customer should not assume which services are included in the price he pays for ink, for that assumption may go beyond what the ink supplier can or is willing to provide. Therefore, at the very outset of the relationship, it is best if expectations and requirements are detailed by both parties."

If such an agreement wasn't reached at the start and a dissatisfied ink buyer is considering a divorce, Lincolnhol suggests that it is never too late to have a frank discussion so as to resolve problems. This is especially wise if there is the chance that mutual misinterpretations of expectations are at the root of the situation.

"The customer-supplier relationship is an ever-evolving alliance," she says. "Each side should understand that it needs the other if both are to survive, grow, and prosper."

Taking the initiative

If the customer doesn't ask for information about proffered services, the ink supplier probably would be best served by taking the initiative in detailing them, including any limitations. As many ink suppliers have found to their detriment, when an on-press problem occurs, they are the ones called to press side for a fix. This is the case only because among the equipment, substrate, and ink, it is the ink that remains a changeable variable.

Adds Lincolnhol, "The good ink supplier knows his role is to provide support to all customers. He must do what he can to help them prosper, because he profits as well from the business generated by their mutual success. But the supplier also needs his customers to realize that only if he can make a profit can he stay in business and offer extra services."

In evaluating either an existing supplier or a potential one, Lincolnhol counsels purchasers of inks to ask the following questions: What exactly are my ink requirements, and does this supplier provide them? What level of included services is acceptable, and am I willing to pay for those that are not? Most important, what level of interaction should there be between my operation and the supplier's? Do I want the supplier to be a fully integrated support component of my business, or someone who meets my price demands and just drops off his products on my loading dock?

"The customer whose only concern is getting the most ink at the cheapest price will eventually pay a price he can ill afford," Lincolnhol points out. "When a buyer demands a product at low cost, he probably will end up with a low-cost product, with little or no additional support from the supplier. Or he may lose a reliable and quality supplier who refuses to do business with him because there is nothing to be gained from continuing the relationship."

The wise and future-oriented customer for inks, Lincolnhol says, "will work closely with his ink supplier to help him develop value-added products and services that will be directly beneficial to the customer's operations. That's the basis for a marriage that not only works, but is long lasting."

Words of warning

But Lincolnhol also has words of warning for the ink supplier.

"Don't take customers for granted, even if you've been doing business with them successfully for many years," she says. "In the age of accelerated consolidation among both printers and ink suppliers, relationships are subject to constant change. The ink supplier who does not stay abreast of what's happening among his customers does so at his peril. The wise supplier keeps in touch so he can anticipate changing needs."

Lincolnhol concludes, "When the customer for inks trusts that his supplier is providing the highest-value product at a fair cost, and the supplier trusts that the customer understands and appreciates that value, the relationship is what it should be--a win-win alliance."