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Challenges and opportunities: Navigating a successful path

Political Landscape: Volatility and Trade Barriers

2024 was a landmark year politically, with over 70 countries holding elections. In more than 80% of democratic nations, incumbent governments were voted out, creating regional uncertainty and intensifying the divide between left- and right-leaning agendas.

The return of the Trump administration in the US has ushered in tariffs, shifting global trade dynamics. Meanwhile, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the crisis in Gaza continue to cast long shadows over global stability, prompting sanctions, boycotts, and geopolitical realignments.

For businesses, this means heightened unpredictability in trade relations, particularly for those exporting to or importing from the US or conflict-affected regions. Supply chains remain vulnerable, and long-term strategic planning must factor in fluctuating political risks.

Fiscal Pressure: Reshoring and Localisation

Political upheaval is influencing fiscal policy across the globe, with particular implications for interest rates and trade incentives. The Trump administration’s economic stance has prompted renewed focus on reshoring with production being brough back to domestic markets.

This presents a key opportunity for businesses to pivot toward local production. For the print industry, this may drive demand for faster turnaround, localized support, and on-demand production technologies.

Market Conditions: Shifting Demand and Operational Change

The link between GDP growth and print demand remains strong. With global trade facing headwinds, business volume is tightening. Trade barriers with the US, in particular, are limiting export opportunities.

However, opportunity exists in higher-value segments. Luxury, high-quality printed products such as coffee table books and premium publications continue to attract demand. This encourages businesses to move away from commodity offerings and focus on specialised, high-margin services.

Operationally, companies face stricter regulations regarding data hosting, employment law, and health and safety standards. At the same time, there's a clear shift from labour-intensive models to capital-intensive ones, fuelled by automation and smart technologies. With an ageing workforce and changing employment expectations, businesses must evolve or risk falling behind.

Environmental Legislation: The Sustainability Imperative

Global commitments like the Paris Climate Agreement and COP29 are driving a stronger focus on environmental accountability. The 2024 EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) now requires businesses earning more than €40M (or non-EU businesses with €150M+ in EU revenue) to measure and disclose their environmental impact.

Plastic bans and a growing preference for eco-friendly solutions are reshaping the materials landscape, opening the door for paper-based innovations. Digital technologies that support just-in-time printing are reducing waste, while programs like Konica Minolta’s Clean Planet initiative and return and recycling program are helping companies close the loop on recycling and waste recovery.

Sustainability is no longer a marketing strategy - it’s a business requirement. Companies that fail to measure and improve their environmental footprint risk losing both customers and partners.

Demographic and Societal Shifts: Adapting to a New Workforce

The ageing population poses a long-term challenge to labour supply, especially in manufacturing and print production. In response, companies are increasing automation investments to maintain output with a smaller, more skilled workforce.

Workforce expectations are also evolving. Younger generations favour flexible employment models and are drawn to companies with strong values, purpose, and a modern workplace culture. At the same time, consumers are placing higher value on sustainability, transparency, and ethical production practices.

These demographic changes are a long-term trend that demand thoughtful investments. As such automation, workflow re-engineering, and a people-first workplace culture will be critical to remaining competitive.

Exploring Opportunities

With these challenges come opportunities. Operations can:

  1. Choose to work with partners that value their employees and prioritise their well-being, growth, and fulfilment. One that is dedicated to retaining top talent and addresses this challenge by reimagining workflows, automating repetitive tasks, and creating an environment that nurtures creativity and collaboration. By embracing AI, AR, Smart factory, and robotics, printers can not only drive efficiency but also redefine the role of employees, empowering them to take on more strategic and fulfilling responsibilities.
  2. Align with partners that are committed to environmental responsibility. Konica Minolta actively pursues positive change and creates a brighter future for generations to come. Its "Net Positive," approach aims to transform into drivers of positive impact rather than merely mitigating negative effects. It is helping shape a circular economy with focused efforts on reducing, reusing and recycling. As a result over 90% of recycled materials being converted into secondary raw materials. Additionally, the high de-inkability of toner, certified by INGEDE, ensures optimal recyclability, further closing the recycling loop and reducing environmental footprint. Digital technology also enables printing only what is necessary, where it is needed, reducing waste.
  3. Leverage cloud resources, print providers can reduce startup costs and right-size their IT infrastructure to meet evolving business needs. Furthermore, the ability to scale resources on demand enables printers to adapt quickly to changing market dynamics and seize new opportunities for growth. It helps unlock new levels of connectivity, agility, and efficiency.
  4. Evolve their system integration solutions and partner with trusted vendors, to unlock new levels of efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness in today's dynamic and interconnected world. They can improve operational efficiency through streamlined processes and automated workflows. They can enhance data accessibility and accuracy, leading to better decision-making and insights. They can increase agility and adaptability to meet evolving business needs and market demands. Seamless collaboration and communication across departments and functions, fosters innovation and creativity.
  5. Work more creatively with Augmented Reality (AR) to bridge the gap between the virtual and real worlds, for a more dynamic way to quickly address issues. For example, Virtual Service Visit (VSV) allows instant, cost-effective, and efficient assistance by enabling technicians to troubleshoot and resolve challenges without needing to be physically present. It reduces downtime, increases productivity, enhances customer satisfaction, and improves ROI through faster response times and issue resolution.

The businesses that will thrive are those that treat today’s challenges as a springboard for innovation - who see environmental legislation, workforce shifts, and trade headwinds not as burdens, but as signals to adapt and evolve.

Those who embrace sustainable operations, advanced technologies, and meaningful partnerships will be better positioned to not only withstand the today’s turbulence but shape tomorrow’s future. Konica Minolta can help.

Get in touch to find out how
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