Given the 2009 roller coaster ride of spotwork, and the “more for less” reality of budgets, I thought it pertinent to gather as many Global Production Network (GPN) companies as possible in a central location/country, to sit down and have a roundtable discussion on what is being experienced within the network globally when bidding services work for production companies from the U.S., and elsewhere.
During the weekend of October 2, 3 and 4, a total of 23 company/country delegates convened in Florence, Italy. Realizing full well the gathering would not be a “silver bullet” for the many issues facing production service companies globally, the first GPN Summit was more of a sounding board, a pulse taking, and less a need to find firm “solutions” to issues.
The main issue addressed was how to be “leaner and meaner” when bidding, but yet not to lose quality along the way… After all, “more for less” is the ISSUE of the day. If lean and mean is not low enough, there was also discussion as to when to walk away. Producing work at reduced mark-ups leads only to a financial “snowball” and does not serve the long term.
Further discussions included adopting the AICP bid form when working with U.S. and Canadian production companies in an effort to “speak the same language” and thus ease the burden of the production house when transferring line item numbers from foreign budgets; implementing new technologies, especially in emerging markets, to gain a greater comfort level with clients–the idea being that first impressions are key, and if a service company is “higher tech” than their competitor, an impression is made; communication–emphasis for quick and fluid interaction with clients–from research to wrap, speaks volumes and is an essential aspect of gaining a leg up; and a greater cross-pollination of work within the GPN network. On the latter score, the 70-plus service companies currently in GPN all have clientele outside of GPN, so a greater awareness/referral system was implemented in order to “feed one another” work more effectively.
This first annual GPN summit was organized largely in August and September, representing a fairly quick turnaround for an October event given summer holidays, work schedules and geography. Nonetheless, we are able to pull together nearly one-third of GPN’s companies.
I plan to hold GPN Summits annually. Kenya, Iceland, Hungary and Norway have already shown an interest in hosting the 2010 event next October.
None of what took place in Florence is rocket science. However, with the gathering of almost one-third of the GPN network, it was wonderful to simply VENT… The discussion was lively, to say the least. Getting a better sense of what was going on in different countries from the experts within those countries was invaluable, providing a better handle on local and global production trends. Hanging in Florence wasn’t all that hard to take either.
Harry Tracosas is founder of the Los Angeles-headquartered Global Production Network (GPN), which represents a network of top-tier production service companies from all around the world. For further information, including a rundown of shops, log onto www.globalproductionnetwork.com.
