Thomas Playford

"Today's situation has made it difficult for even the finest enterprises to survive," explained Tom Playford, Partner.
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—Tom Playford, Partner The Open Approach

Tom Playford , President of IBFI , announced formation of an IBFI Label Council as a new service of the association for the growing number of members who produce or sell labels and need a communications and education forum dedicated to this product specialty.

For forms manufacturers , the Western Regional Briefing presentations contained a wealth of information on technologies that increase label press productivity , new label materials and how the product versatility of label presses can be used to access a wide variety of niche markets.Manufacturers who are considering adding labels to their product lines learned about options for building sales volume before making investments in equipment , new label press features that can provide a competitive advantage , high growth market segments and distributor expectations when choosing a label supplier.One of the Western Regional Briefing highlights was a plant tour , hosted by the United Ad Label subsidiary of Moore Corporation.

MARKETING AND SALES TOPICS

"Forms manufacturers are becoming printed business solutions suppliers," said Thomas C. Playford, IBFI president.

Playford's 300-employee company, which has annual revenues of $45 million, could be a textbook example of how to successfully add services.The company started out 47 years ago as a producer of forms and today offers document management and print management solutions, literature fulfillment and distribution services, e-commerce applications, inventory and warehouse management, and billing and mailing services.

By the way, the company also offers labels, business forms, business cards, short- to medium-run four-color work, and on-demand printing.

Staying in tuneManagers of Sexton Printing, a St. Paul, Minn.-based producer of short-run magazines, publications, and newsletters, follows the same strategy.
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The quest by La Valla, Playford, and Sexton to focus on offering services considered valuable by their customers demonstrates an important consideration when evaluating which services to provide.
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"'Print management services,' our so-called old-economy business, involves production of forms, labels, and four-color commercial printing in short to medium-length runs," explains Tom Playford, president and chief executive.

The company's "vital business communications" offering, he adds, is a new-economy business, with some trademark products:

--AdvanceNet is an Internet-based document management system that allows clients to manage printed documents and promotional products.Customers can view products, place orders, and check order status on-line, around the clock.

--OnCard offers customers the ability to affix a card onto a card carrier.

--Bill-Me provides billing services; Advance Business Graphics takes over all aspects of a client's billing process except collections.
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"Covered under this offering are customer retention programs, where we build customer loyalty programs," says Playford.

Helping customers grow"Customer business growth initiatives" is an offering designed to help customers expand their business.An example of a product in this category is In-The-Mail, which offers direct-mail programs and fulfillment services.

"We're convinced that diversifying our company in this way has made us less vulnerable to the cyclical ups and downs of the marketplace," concludes Playford.

Reed Business Information ,A Division of Reed Elsevier, Inc.

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Mira Loma, CA-based Advance Business Graphics (ABG) announced that Thomas C. Playford has been elected CEO by the ABG board of directors.Playford will continue to serve as president, a position he has held since July 2000.

Thomas Playford, Partner
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Thomas Playford An accomplished print executive, Tom Playford offers demonstrated strengths in strategic direction and planning, corporate development, operations and financial management, acquisitions, new business development, business plan modeling and enterprise account management. Over his 30-year career, he has been integral in creating new strategic business units, repositioning business units to achieve sustainable profits, and championing sales teams to create exponential growth in national and global accounts.

Tom's relentless drive for corporate excellence and solid financial performance has been key in creating new wealth opportunities for clients of The Open Approach.

Prior to joining the firm, Tom was president and CEO of Advance Business Graphics, a $40-million privately held manufacturer of digital direct mail, labels, forms and literature fulfillment. While at the helm of Advance, Tom implemented strategies that positioned the company in the fast-growing digital fulfillment market, reduced breakeven by over 20%, implemented programs to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence, and implemented a new ERP system, the largest conversion in the company's history.

Prior to joining Advance Business Graphics, Tom was president of The International Association for Forms, Documents and Information Management Solutions and Executive Director of the IBFI Foundation.

A major part of Tom's career was with Moore Corporation where he held a variety of senior management positions including director, corporate enterprise accounts, for Moore North America, where he managed a global team of sales executives that grew Moore's largest global account over 300%. He was also director of Strategic Planning and Development, responsible for building the strategic plans and conducting operational assessments working with Moore North America business units. Working closely with the president of Moore North America, Tom was also responsible for acquisitions, joint ventures, partnerships, and all corporate development and value enhancement activities.

Tom is twice past chairman of International Business Forms Industries, Inc., past president of IBFI, and past Executive Director of the IBFI Foundation. He has written numerous articles on print industry trends, corporate repositioning, and successful strategies in maturing markets. He is on the Board of Directors of the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management, Claremont, CA.

Tom holds an M.B.A. and a B.S. in Marketing from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY.

"Today's situation has made it difficult for even the finest enterprises to survive," explained Tom Playford, Partner.
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">—Tom Playford, Partner