Printing both digital and litho jobs, the company has forged ahead with a mix of contracts spanning four sectors: government and local authorities; housing associations; law; and retail. Its portfolio of top-tier clients includes Transport for London (TfL), Deutsche Bank, the BBC, Hyde Housing Assoc-iation, London Borough of Tower Hamlets and Selfridges.
Creating opportunities
These high-profile customers give SPM a burly industry base, but it’s the firm’s government contracts that make it stand out. Such contracts are notoriously hard to win, and SPM has worked hard to get its foot in the door. More recently, we have found you can’t get in without accreditations, explains production director Mark Sayer. In June 2007, SPM gained ISO 14001 accreditation and created an ongoing improvement programme, which included reducing IPA use by 25% and increasing usage of FSC papers by 20%.
In July 2007, the company became FSC certified and put together a four-year business improvement programme that involves achieving ISO 12647-2 colour management standard next year and ISO 9001 the year after.
Also potentially lucrative is its Gold Accreditation from Exor Management Services, an organisation used by local authorities for construction and printing contacts. It’s like a tender, Sayer explains. We had to provide a lot of information, such as a three years’ worth of account records and insurance documents. A database of printers is then created and companies are ranked according to their marks, he explains.
The buying process in government organisations is complicated, but SPM justifies this by the amount of work it procures. If you have two or three government organisations on board, it forms a good base to build on, says Sayer. You get paid on time, they won’t go bust and they will keep your firm going strong.
With large bodies such as TfL, SPM has also found routes to increase its work throughout the organisation. Print buying is generally not centralised, meaning that within each contract you only deal with a fraction of the organisation, says Sayers. There is a lot of room to expand contracts.
We think we can stand up to the bigger boys we are aware we are up against, he adds. We just have to show the organisations that the belief driving us is held by every one of our staff. We don’t make one person look after an accredi-tation, but make sure everyone is included, he adds.
SPM regularly goes beyond its call of duty, illustrated by its decision to become carbon neutral. It has also taken part in Vision in Print’s lean man-ufacturing programme and is launching an account manage-ment department to provide clients with increased levels of quality and service.
It is this vision that sets the firm apart. We never wait to be asked, we just do it, says Sayer. Our work is more than just a series of letters behind our name. We drive change, get behind it and do it properly.
SPM AT A GLANCE
Sectors Government and local authorities, housing associations, law, retail
Staff 23
Established 1991
Location Rotherhithe, London
Turnover £2.6m
Clients Transport for London, Schroders, Deutsche Bank, The BBC, Hyde Housing Association, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, The COI, Selfridges, University of Greenwich, City of London Corporation Accreditations ISO 14001, FSC, Gold Accreditation from Exor Management Services, Southwark Council Gold Award for environmental practices
