Business Chief USA February 2019

SUPPLY CHAIN
AN EVOLVING MARKETPLACE
Traditionally, most publishers have
tended to outsource the printing of their
books or educational materials but have
kept marketing, distribution, warehousing,
order fulfillment and customer relations
in-house. Some, especially academic
presses, even printed their own books.
This mindset has been slow to change,
but increasingly the household names
in publishing are coming to appreciate
the advantage of outsourcing more of
their non-core work – and LSC is keen to
seize this opportunity. “We have moved
from an old-style print manufacturer to
what you might call ‘Print Plus’. We are
to complement the manufacturing side.”
The traditional core business model
of printers like LSC was to work with
publishers to help them find ways to
reduce costs. Printing was regarded
as a production cost, to be pared down
wherever possible on the principle
of lean manufacturing. In those days,
LSC won business through competitive
pricing, dependable quality and above
all service – now, McCree insists that
the same attention to the client is being
extended right through to the supply
chain. Responsibility no longer ends
with the finished product but goes right
through marketing and sales, distribution
and cash collection. “We help publishers
sell more books as well as driving the
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EXECUTIVE PROFILE
Dave McCree is the President of the Book & Directory
Group at LSC Communications and is responsible for
Sales Leadership and strategic relationships within both
platforms. Dave has been in the printing industry for
close to 30 years with a rich background in leading the
print sales and manufacturing divisions. Dave’s focus
has been on expanding LSC’s innovative solutions and
supply chain management services as well as supporting
and promoting the evolving publishing industry.
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