IDL Worldwide

Source: Retail Digital

Date :25/05/2007 04:11:47

IDL Worldwide: Its all about timing and message

Written and produced by James Buchanan & Nick Ledue

Providing in-store retail merchandising solutions means IDL Worldwide must communicate brands concisely and meet compressed lead times

For IDL Worldwide, synchronizing all that must be done to fulfill and exceed its retail client’s needs means taking ownership of the entire process, from the client’s marketing concept to delivery of the finished products.

“We feel a deep sense of project ownership when we are working with one of our clients,” says David Ball, president of IDL Worldwide. “It’s our responsibility to meet and exceed their expectations. Our VP of creative services, John Schreiber, likes to say that we ‘Sell sleep.” That comment means a lot to our group because we know the client is depending on us to deliver.”

With all the issues that retail merchandisers could lose sleep over, store fixtures and in-store communication are areas where IDL believes it can provide some stress relief.

According to Ball, the business is all about providing retail communication, display and environmental solutions to brands and retailers.

“We are a value added designer and producer of retail merchandising solutions,” says Ball. “Our products display and communicate the attributes of products and brands to the consumer to help them make an educated buying decision.”

IDL works with some of the most recognizable brands and retailers in the world such as BP, Microsoft, Nike, and Toys R Us, Ball says.

“We are like an advertising agency that derives its revenue through the production of retail-based advertising materials,” says Ball, “which is a very timing-critical business to be in.”

Lead time is perhaps the biggest challenge facing this Pittsburgh, Pa. based company, because speed to market is a main goal of its retail clients.

“After the order is received in the manufacturing group, we are able to get it to market generally in 14 to 21 days,” says Ball. “For some of our products — such as those that are graphics-based — that time to market can be reduced, while for others — such as permanent fixtures and displays — the time could be quite a bit longer.”

“It is really material and process driven. In any case, we are focused on increasing our efficiencies to meet the timing needs of our customers,” Ball says.

The need for quick turnaround times in the face of short lead times is also a byproduct of the fact that product launches are a specialty for IDL. When a client seeks the company’s services, IDL staff initially engage with the customer in the role of retail consultants, known as an agency group, says Ball.

“Our agency group focuses on providing value through thought leadership, innovation, design, and project management skills,” Ball says. “This group provides the roadmap for the execution team to follow and drive the results expected by out clients.”

Projects are often handed to the industrial and/or graphic design teams to develop the concepts that will be used to communicate the client’s message. This includes studying the retail environment, producing a prototype, and likely conducting test marketing.

Once the client decides on a strategy, the project is sent to the manufacturing floor, which will likely be done at the East Butler, Pa., facility. However, manufacturing could be outsourced to one of IDL’s international partners, such as FEC (First Enterprise Corporation), based in China.

According to Ball, a customer could be the driver behind moving a project to another facility. It could also be a tactical decision made by the company based on its view of providing the best retail solution to its client.

“The decision is made based on the overall scope of work and client need,” says Ball. “A decision to use an international partner could be due to the manufacturing process or the timing involved. Our business is about finding the right solution for each customer interaction we undertake.”

If the decision is made to do the work domestically, the company’s East Butler facility provides 510,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space and a diverse number of services.

For example, the company offers a product packaging and fulfillment model, which helps clients meet release schedules that can be critical to successful and efficient product launches.

“We can warehouse and then release our products on a synchronized schedule depending on the client’s needs,” says Ball.

The company also has a shipping and logistics department to ensure that products are delivered to meet the customer’s target for timing. Shipping of products could go either directly to the retail outlet or to a distribution point.

For this service, IDL will work with small-package carriers such as DHL, FedEx, and UPS, as well as larger carriers and specialized carriers that are able to provide a higher level of customized service to meet a particular client’s product needs.

IDL will also install its products for smaller scale projects, or through an outside contractor. For example, if a client wants to install products in 2,000 stores nationally within a certain time frame, the company will work with a partner that has the capacity to achieve the customer’s requirements, Ball explains.

As with manufacturing and shipping partners, installation partners must go through a rigorous review process to assess if the company has the capabilities to deliver on the size and scope of the project.

According to Ball, the company prefers to build long-term partnerships with reliable partners. He adds it is also important to match the personalities of a potential partner as well its capabilities. “We have to be able to work well with them; this is a team effort,” he says.

With a high percentage of the materials the company uses being printable surfaces; IDL maintains long-term relationships with a handful of key suppliers. Reliable suppliers, says Ball, are critical to the company’s ability to meet compressed deadlines.

With the volume the company requires, IDL has a certain amount of leverage to negotiate agreements with suppliers that guarantee reliable price and delivery of materials to meet critical dates.

Once a project is brought onto the shop floor, the company’s state-of-the-art printing equipment takes over. According to Ball, the company has invested $5 million in the past two years on printing equipment, which are primarily industrial screen printers.

For example, IDL recently bought two 2-stage Thieme-brand screen printing presses and a 4-stage Thieme screen printing press, which Ball says provide IDL tremendous printing capacity that is highly automated and quality controlled. Further, these presses are highly automated and allow for a large (86x102 inch maximum) format, which is key in the retail market.

But presses are only as good as the art that is placed on them. According to Ball, IDL has a sophisticated art processing system that relies on standard software formats. Using standard formats allows clients to send in the art they want in a format that IDL technicians can then take and program directly into the screen system.

Once programmed in, the image is projected onto the screen and coated with an emulsion, and then wax is floated onto the screen to form the stencil. The latest evolution of this process, says Ball, is laser etching into the screen, which IDL expects to have online by the end of summer. The company feels this system will put them on the leading edge for this application.

Other key initiatives in the manufacturing area include introducing lean practices throughout each discipline as well as commitment to research and implementation of green initiatives.

The company is experimenting with a number of different printing substrates that are more biodegradable and IDL is also working with ink distributors to find inks that are more environmentally friendly.

“We have also developed our own green team internally in order to be more proactive in how we address this issue,” says Ball. “While it is important to our clients, it’s also important to us and something we believe in as a company.”