Solving Print Labor Shortages: 2 Real-World Case Studies in Full Automation from Order to Delivery

Labor shortages and fragmented custom orders are eating away at the razor-thin margins of traditional print shops

That has been my clearest takeaway from visiting shop floors and talking with clients lately

At the recent Obility Insight event, Frank Siegel from Obility's leadership team pointed out a clear pain point: everyone is buying faster machines, but job tickets and files are still stuck in manual prepress and customer service checks

To me, the fix is straightforward: systematize your workflows

Let's define it here. Print Workflow Automation means using software to connect quoting, preflight, production scheduling, and shipping. It removes manual bottlenecks and lets data flow automatically to cut turnaround times

In practice, this transformation happens in a few stages:

・Integrate quoting and inventory to eliminate duplicate data entry

・Build dedicated customer portals to standardize order intake

・Connect digital dashboards so systems direct the production floor instead of relying on a veteran foreman's memory

German print shop Schwall took a step-by-step approach: consolidate first, then expand. They unified three disconnected legacy quoting systems onto a single platform

A family business originally focused on traditional printing, they began wrapping vehicles and EV charging stations back in 2016

They realized that getting out of the red ocean meant taking on the messy jobs clients hated doing

They launched Schwall Service Solution, which now employs 80 people dedicated to cleaning and maintaining thousands of EV chargers across Germany

To support this cross-industry operation, project lead John Haag spent a year and a half rolling out a new system

They brought together quoting, inventory, and a private customer portal, with a digital scheduling board coming next

Looking at this phased consolidation strategy, here are the key takeaways:

Pros:

・Reduces reliance on individual skilled operators

・Expands service offerings and locks in major end clients

Cons:

・Long transition pains as staff take time to adapt

・High upfront capital and management costs for cross-industry expansion

To win a major contract for personalized packaging from Storck (merci chocolate), Germany's Traffic Media Group built out a complete food-grade cold chain logistics and tracking system for the client

The company started in document management and direct marketing, but they saw brand demand for small-batch, high-variety runs that go straight to consumers

To handle custom merci packaging and web store orders, they did not stop at printing boxes. They handled food-grade temperature-controlled logistics and production tracking too

This aligns closely with the market trends we have been seeing lately

Brand clients now want full end-to-end traceability all the way into the consumer's hands

If Taiwanese small and mid-sized shops cannot take on heavy capital investments right now, outsourcing mid-to-high-end jobs to a partner like MINDS, with its full customization and supply chain integration capabilities, is a far more practical route

Brands should add data integration capabilities to their print vendor scorecards. Print shops, meanwhile, need to audit how many manual bottlenecks are still choking their floor

If you are a brand buyer, check whether your suppliers can provide API integrations or automated status updates

If you run a print shop, labor shortages will only get worse. Automation is the only way to fill the capacity gap

If you are not sure where to start, reach out to the Mai Strategy Knowledge Academy consulting team

We will help you pinpoint where manual steps create the biggest logjams before deciding whether to bring in new systems or rethink your business model

Don't rush

Getting your internal information flow sorted out is what really matters

・With labor in short supply, a print shop's edge is no longer machine speed, but how smoothly data flows from quote to delivery

・Step beyond contract printing. Taking on logistics and end maintenance like German peers is how you raise margins

・Do not rush system rollouts. Taking a year and a half to consolidate existing quoting and inventory is the solid play

・Brands should re-evaluate their vendors, making digital integration capability a decisive factor in awarding print jobs

Automation and new business models have never been reserved for big players

Smaller print shops actually carry less baggage. They can move quickly to tailor custom services, from print to logistics, for specific key accounts

Software and systems are just tools. The real value lies in your willingness to take on the headaches your clients want off their plates

SaaS providers should notice this gap too. Instead of pushing bloated systems, offer lightweight, easy-to-integrate modules that solve one specific pain point

・Automation and New Business Models at Obility Insight