_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ SMP
Group
and transport formats. Point of sale, on the other hand, sees SMP produce in-store advertising for leading retailers across the UK and Europe, also working directly with brands on experiential events. Its product portfolio ranges from posters and displays to freestanding display units( FSDUs) and shippers, and its services run end-to-end, including concept, 3D construction, print manufacture, in-store execution, and even compliance management and reporting.
The variety of SMP’ s offering has shaped its approach to manufacturing, which has evolved significantly in recent years. The company runs both litho and digital print, carefully selecting the production method based on the requirements of the end product.“ We use different technology print processes across manufacturing to produce work without a production bias,” opens Bradley Slade, Managing Director.“ We’ re constantly analyzing efficiencies, quality, speed, reduction of waste, and how we deploy labor. In recent years, the balance has shifted towards digital; advances in technology have improved productivity and this technology gives us more flexibility, reduces waste, and improves quality.
“ We’ re exploring the options to automate our processes and workflows through software development and scheduling tools. In fact, tech development is our largest single annual project spend, and we’ ve built our own in-house team to develop and deploy a wide range of technologies. However, given the variety of our products and the varied specifications, there is a limit to what capital equipment alone can automate. A lot of our process improvements are around planning, scheduling, and how we handle and manipulate data. We’ re not looking to deploy more humans to the process, but we are looking to utilize them and get the maximum value from their skills while automating repetitive tasks.
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