Production print for utilities
A customer-facing overview for utility communications leaders
Every notice matters. Your print has to deliver.
Bills, outage notices, service updates and conservation programs all ask customers to pay attention.
Production print
assessment & managed service
Bills, outage notices, service updates and conservation programs all ask customers to pay attention. FlexTG helps utility teams evaluate the production-print environment behind those communications — with a focus on workflow, consistency, turnaround and cost.
We speak utilities
The service is essential. The communication is, too.
Utilities use communications to collect payment, explain service, update customers and encourage better usage. The attached industry research makes the implication clear: print is still a material part of that customer experience — even as digital channels grow.
$6.5m
average annual print spend
Reported by utility respondents in the 2017 Keypoint Intelligence–InfoTrends study.
38%
of communications spend was print
The largest reported spending category in that utility respondent group.
2.4
print vendors on average
A fragmented operating model can make visibility and accountability harder.
What is changing
- Customers expect relevance. Statements, notices and service messages can be tailored to usage, location or service needs.
- Digital has raised the pace. Print needs to support short runs, on-demand production and campaigns that connect to web, email and mobile.
- Service communications are more visible. Outages, infrastructure work, conservation and safety all create a need for clear, timely information.
- Procurement is structured. 61% of surveyed utilities reported standards or rules governing print procurement.
What remains critical
- Statements and invoices. Transaction documents remain a core customer touchpoint and an operational requirement.
- Accuracy and continuity. The right output needs to be ready when customers, field teams and regulators rely on it.
- Cost and control. Utility buyers seek value across quality, price and turnaround — not a one-time print purchase.
- Multiple audiences. Customer, operations, marketing and revenue teams all put different work through the same ecosystem.
Source: Ricoh, Vertical Market Guide: Selling to the Utility Market (February 2020), drawing on Keypoint Intelligence–InfoTrends 2017 research. Market figures describe study respondents, not FlexTG customer results.
What utilities teams manage
There is no such thing as “just a print job.”
Utility communications sit at the intersection of operations, regulatory expectations, customer service and revenue. These are the friction points reflected in the attached industry guide — and the questions a production-print assessment should resolve.
“The turnaround has to match the event.”
The guide notes that utilities turn to non-approved vendors when a contracted vendor cannot meet a delivery or turnaround requirement.
“The bill is an operational document and a customer moment.”
Statements, invoices and other transaction documents are essential communications — and can carry usage education or relevant service information.
“We need short runs without a closet full of expired materials.”
Digital production is positioned in the guide as a way to produce on demand and avoid storing out-of-date materials.
“We need to see every handoff.”
Customer, operations and marketing work can flow through in-house, contracted and non-contract providers at the same time.
“The message has to work across channels.”
The research connects print with web, email, social and mobile efforts; the challenge is keeping the experience coordinated.
“Procurement needs a defensible decision.”
Quality, price and turnaround are all procurement requirements. An effective case needs the production facts behind it.
This is not a device conversation. It is a workflow, communications and control conversation that happens to show up in print.
The work itself
Three functions. One communications engine.
Utility communications do not live in one department. Operations, customer communications and growth initiatives have different triggers, formats and approvals — and they can all depend on the same production workflow.
Operations
Keeps essential work accurate and moving
- Bills and invoices
- Compliance documents
- Contracts and forms
- Maintenance guides and schedules
- Safety data sheets
- Reports and service bulletins
Customer communications
Explains service, usage and next steps
- Statements and customer notices
- Newsletters and educational pieces
- Usage and conservation guidance
- Welcome kits and information packages
- Direct mail and postcards
- Personalized offers
Marketing & growth
Builds awareness and supports new services
- Campaign collateral
- Advertisements and banners
- Presentations and proposals
- Product information
- Signage and event materials
- Sales support documents
What that demands of a production environment
Transactional integrity
Account documents and service notices handled consistently, at volume.
Short-run flexibility
On-demand work helps teams update material without committing to obsolete inventory.
Personalization
Variable data can make usage, service and offer messages more relevant to the recipient.
Connected workflow
Ordering, production, finishing and delivery visible in one process.
How FlexTG can approach it
A production approach built around the customer communication.
A production print conversation should begin with the utility work your teams actually run: the transaction documents, service notices, campaigns, approval steps and procurement requirements behind them.
Understand the complete communication environment
Start with bills and statements, service notices, campaign collateral, vendors, finishing, vendors and the work routed outside. Goal: create a shared current-state picture before recommending change.
Match production to the moment
Review volumes, updates, formats, delivery needs and personalization requirements. Goal: identify where workflow or production changes could reduce friction.
Make ordering and governance practical
Examine how teams request, approve, produce and reorder materials. Goal: support practical control without creating avoidable administrative work.
Build service and visibility into the plan
Set an approach for maintenance, supplies, reporting and ownership that matches the operating and service territory in scope. Goal: establish clearer accountability.
Approach is proposed for discussion and tailored to the environment assessed with your team.
Turnaround, quality and control
Where to improve speed and control. One decision at a time.
Utility teams need a production environment that meets the event, the regulator and the customer — with visibility into capacity, sourcing and what the work actually costs.
| Outcome | What to examine | Where opportunity can appear |
|---|---|---|
| Throughput & turnaroundKeep work moving |
|
|
| Cost & material controlReduce avoidable waste |
|
|
| Quality & accountabilityMake standards usable |
|
|
Potential outcomes depend on the assessed environment; no savings, uptime or turnaround figure is implied.
The next step
The production print assessment
Before any recommendation, begin with the environment your team actually runs — the campaign types, workflows, store footprint, outside providers and cost lines connected to production.
Scope & baseline
Confirm the settings, communication types and priorities that define a practical starting point.
Walk the environment
Review production devices, office fleet, finishing, workflow and the work routed outside.
Analyze and model
Bring volumes, formats, turnaround and cost lines together into one current-state picture.
Readout and plan
Review findings, agree the measures that matter and shape the roadmap with your team.
What you receive
- A current-state map of the production work your teams run today, in-house and outside.
- A view of workflow, turnaround and finishing across the communication types in scope.
- The cost and vendor lines connected to production, gathered in one place.
- A complimentary cost benefit analysis of the environment assessed with your team.
- A proposed, right-sized production print roadmap to review together.
Request your production print assessment
Tell us where the work sits today. A FlexTG production print specialist will follow up to scope the assessment.
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