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When the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) takes steps to ban products from a large manufacturer in your industry from entering the US market, you are compelled to sit up and take note. When said department guides the accused that in order to lift the ban they should “prove, by clear and convincing evidence, the goods were not produced with forced labor,” you appreciate the gravity of the situation is on a scale not normally associated with imaging products.
This industry is well served by a cohort of professionals who take a journalistic approach to ensuring that all channels of communication are well served. They deliver punctual and informed content, presented in their own style, which you can choose to take or leave. Just search “Ninestar Ban” and you will find esteemed colleagues sharing the top hits with Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, and NASDAQ.
There is little we at Keypoint Intelligence can add to all that has already been said in the public domain on the subject. Our role is different: We listen, understand, analyze, and form an opinion.
It’s Not Just What You Say, It’s How You Say It
Language used around this situation is becoming carefully constructed—you can almost hear the attorneys circling. We observed that conversations at a concurrently running conference quickly moved on from being protectionist, wildly speculative, and sometimes euphoric to ones that are far more considered and discussed.
In Europe, Too
As with other government-led activities on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, parts of the industry are learning to be careful what they wish for as the long arm of the law (and regulation) applies to and impacts all. Nobody is above it—consequences may not be as expected.
And there will be consequences. Some are unfolding right now, others will take a little longer to emerge. Some will become public knowledge, others not. Our intelligence detects a change of mood at some manufacturers. A desire to change direction. Is it possible that some executives in the industry’s C-suites are realizing their legal liabilities?
The action by the US Department of Homeland Security takes the corporate social responsibility spotlight on our industry in a serious, unexpected, and unpalatable direction. That may focus the minds of those who have yet to come to terms with their responsibilities.
Keypoint Intelligence Opinion
This is a difficult time in the history of the print industry. Overcapacity is rife, page volumes are in decline, digital transformation is accelerating the journey to persistent printing. But today is not about these issues.
I hope that if there are any benefactors from these revelations, they are those who suffer(ed) from the industry’s misguided activities. I fear, however, that repentance in office printing industry may take rather longer to manifest itself. Time is not on our side.
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