Panel Session:
· Hanny Gan (APJ Business Manager HP Industrial Print, APJ) (moderator)
· Wattana Krisnavarin (K. Nung), Deputy Managing Director Thainam (Thailand)
· Tom Tjanaria, Chairman Next Printing Group (Australia)
· Laurensius Chandra, CEO Bintang Sempurna (Indonesia)
EXECUTIVE BOTTOM LINE
To remain competitive and resilient in the rapidly evolving print industry, leaders must proactively diversify their business models, embrace calculated risk, and foster a culture that values experimentation and learning from failure. Strategic agility—rather than operational stability—will be the defining advantage in the next era of print.
STRATEGIC CONTEXT
This session addressed the urgent need for print businesses to adapt to shifting customer demands, digital disruption, and intensifying competition. As highlighted in other Dscoop sessions, the industry is experiencing a convergence of technology, customer expectations for personalization, and the necessity to move beyond traditional product lines. The panelists’ journeys underscore the imperative to rethink legacy business models and leverage both existing assets and new technologies to capture emerging opportunities.
KEY INSIGHTS
· Diversification is not just about new products or technology, but about bold strategic moves and a willingness to reinvent the business (“Stable is dangerous. We always have to improve.”).
· Success in new markets often requires building new teams and capabilities from scratch, rather than relying on legacy structures.
· ROI timelines for transformative investments (e.g., digital presses) may be longer, but focusing on small and medium customers and growing with them can yield sustainable value.
· A culture that accepts failure as part of innovation is essential; penalizing unsuccessful ideas stifles initiative and long-term growth.
TACTICAL TAKEAWAYS
· Establish separate business units or teams for new ventures to avoid legacy resistance and accelerate capability building.
· Leverage existing equipment and infrastructure to test new market segments before making large capital investments.
· Actively encourage staff to propose and pilot new ideas, with leadership signaling that learning from failure is valued.
· Monitor industry leaders’ R&D and market moves as early indicators for when to pivot or diversify.
STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS
· Companies that institutionalize agility and continuous improvement will be better positioned to capture niche and emerging markets.
· Building a reputation for reliability and customer-centricity (e.g., rapid response, high-quality output) can create defensible market positions.
· Early adoption of digital and flexible technologies enables faster adaptation to micro-market trends and customer fragmentation.
· Long-term transformation depends on aligning shareholder and staff mindsets with a vision of ongoing reinvention, not just stability.
HIDDEN CONNECTIONS
· The most successful diversification efforts combined technical innovation with organizational change—new teams, new mindsets, and new customer engagement models.
· There is a recurring theme across Dscoop: leveraging community and collaboration (with universities, artists, and other businesses) accelerates learning and market access.
· The shift from “product” to “platform” thinking—using existing assets in new ways—mirrors broader trends in adjacent industries.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
· How can your organization systematically identify and act on early signals of market or technology shifts before they impact core business?
· What legacy mindsets or structures are holding back your ability to diversify, and how can you create “safe spaces” for experimentation?
· Are you measuring ROI in ways that capture long-term strategic value, or are you constrained by short-term financial metrics?
· How can you leverage your existing capabilities and relationships to build new communities or ecosystems around emerging customer needs?
This summary distills the session’s most actionable and forward-looking insights, equipping print industry executives to lead transformation in a time of accelerating change.
Here are the panelists’ one-sentence statements on diversification:
· Laurensius: “Try to look for very simple steps or opportunities—what you can do with your current setup, with your current equipment—then do it. Just do it.”
· Wattana: “Just do it. When you talk to the team, let’s do it. Let’s do it together.”
· Tom: “Stable is dangerous. We need to always improve, look at new technology, and keep thinking: what is the next thing we’re going to do to keep up with the market?”
