Change is inevitable, in business and in life. Actually, change in business is good since it’s a reflection on growth and movement, which, I believe, are two things that keep a business vital and poised for sustainability.
Since 2010 we at Shamrock have seen lots of change. First, spurred on by a lagging economy, Shamrock, like many companies in the past five years, was forced to take a cold, hard look at our bottom line and find ways to survive. Not only did we survive, we grew healthier in the process. Since 2010, Shamrock has become a leaner company. It was painful, but the end result was worth the distress. We suffered through layoffs, furloughs and attrition by employees impatient with the process. Today, we are stronger, more profitable, more efficient, and we have a better understanding of where to put greater emphasis for long-term growth.
We’ve determined what will help us drive our business to continue to achieve growth and, in 2013 we plan to dedicate our business to technology in order to become more connected with our clients, and help serve their future needs with a vision suitable to the electronic age.
Among the technological advancements to encourage our clients’ growth and time-saving efficiency is Resource, an online, secure procurement system that allows our customers to order various products and services that are essential to their business. Here’s a brief overview of Resource: I like to think of it as a simple retail store application on steroids. It’s robust and allows clients to purchase and design their products online. It can store several thousand client images that maintain the integrity of the client’s brand. And Resource is designed to enhance purchasing efficiency so that procurement officers can utilize their time more effectively (a great time and money saving benefit). Plus, it’s a simple-to-use multi-tasker with applications for direct mail, managing data and design, and ordering specialty items.
Another technology we’ve added to serve clients’ needs is TDMS. This application allows clients to archive print material from as far back as 10 to 15 years. TDMS archives changes in logo design and branding, and provides the history of a marketing piece or business form, which may be useful for many things, including an historical documentation of a company’s progress. We’ve designed it so that TDMS and Resource can work in unison to help clients maintain the integrity of their brand and easily purchase all marketing items on an as-needed basis, with little hassle and great speed.
Finally, since 2010 we enhanced efforts to build stronger client relationships. By simply getting our executive team more involved with our clients’ senior executives in order to exhibit how we’re focused on preserving their bottom line, we have developed stronger and more resilient relationships among the companies we serve. We’re fully invested in taking a team approach in order to understand every facet of our clients’ business, including marketing, IT, and sales, in order to provide each client with the best possible tools to ensure their success, as well as ours.
This team approach has been quite effective. It’s not only made Shamrock a more unified company that offers every person with a role in assuring our clients’ success; it has also helped our clients identify greater opportunities for success this past year.
My very best wishes to all of you for another successful year on 2013!
