What’s having the greatest impact on your business at the moment?
The changing tiers/last minute lockdown. It is really affecting the day-to-day workload, so one day we’re flooded with orders and other days there’s only a few orders dropping in. It can make planning quite challenging but it is entirely out of our control!
Where do you see the greatest wide-format opportunities?
We’re just scratching the surface of wallcoverings and interior graphics. Having seen how quickly we can transform spaces in our office, I think that wallpaper is definitely a strong route for us in the coming months.
What would make your day-to-day operations easier?
More automation. We put a lot of effort into automating artwork and other parts of business in the last year (and it has massively paid off!) but there are always areas at different stages in our workflow to improve.
Your favourite bit of kit is..?
Our HP Latex 3600. It has the easy operability of the smaller latex machines with a few clever features to help with nesting/double side printing, and it is a true workhorse. The speed and quality we get out of it is unparalleled with anything we’ve worked with before.
What’s the best bit of business advice you’ve been given?
Every decision doesn’t need to be made immediately. A deep breath and a cup of tea can provide a moment of clarity and stop you regretting a snap decision.
What are you most proud of achieving?
Keeping our production going during the first lockdown. It wasn’t easy but I’m proud of how well everyone in the company pulled together to support each other, our customers and suppliers during this time. Our production team did an amazing job of making the production space safe and secure for everyone, and our rapid move to remote working has gone so much smoother than I could have expected!
What lesson does the wide-format sector need to learn?
Flexibility. It’s a fast paced industry in many regards, but there can still be an attitude of sticking to what you know. The pandemic has pushed all of us out of our comfort zones and made us more innovative/creative, and that needs to continue.
Jack Murphy, marketing director, The Big Display Company
www.thebigdisplaycompany.co.uk