Much like a race skipper tacking his yacht into changing wind, a business ​ set off in a whole new direction in response to changing market conditions. However both are far more likely to reach their destinations ahead of competitors by redeploying current crew, knowledge and ‘kit’.

Our client​, Radstock-based CFH ​started out 35 years ago as a specialist stationery provider. My supply chain consultancy had started working with CFH in 2007 to help improve performance in the midst of dramatically changing market conditions.

As part of this, Dave Broadway, Managing Director of CFH, challenged us to help ​CFH devise a ‘Mafia Offer’ - a new business proposition that customers couldn’t refuse.

By coincidence, one of our team who volunteers for The Scouts was bemoaning in a meeting how time-consuming and expensive it had become to print and post correspondence to members. ​This seed idea grew into a concept to tack CFH ​in a new direction.

We realised together that it had all the assets to offer anyone a secure, easy way to ​print and post letters that was cheaper than ​sending them  using second-class stamps. We conceived this new online mailing service proposition as ‘Docmail’.

Today CFH Docmail, as the business is now known, is an award-winning company offering a simple, low-cost and secure online printing and posting service​ for ​consumers and businesses. ​

It serves anyone from Grandma posting one letter to the gas board, to ​the Scout volunteer ​posting a handful of member letters up to NHS Trusts sending ​many thousands of secure ​​letters to patients​ that need to be tracked and traced. ​It also provides ‘Velopost’ - the UK’s only ‘fossil fuel free’ postal delivery service.

Waypoints on the journey

CFH changed tacks several times, taking much of its ‘crew’ with it on the journey. CFH Docmail’s Managing Director, Dave Broadway plots the waypoints on this journey along with his advice for navigating through the change:

·         1977-1994 Company started as Continuforms Ltd, providing “continuous computer stationery”. As most computers printed on special tractor-fed, fan-folded paper, an industry emerged to service this specialised need.

As its product range grew, Continuforms Ltd added more companies, each dedicated to specialised printing needs like security printing (cheques) and listing paper (music ruled reporting paper). The companies were owned by Continuforms Holdings PLC –shortened to CFH.

·         Early 90s - industry conditions changed! Computer magazines only advertised sheet-fed laser printers and ink jet printers, none of which used specialised paper.

When the magazine industry changed, its suppliers had to as well

Always keep an eye on technology that might even be slightly related to your industry. You need to see problems coming early.

We changed tacks, adopting a three-pronged strategy:

1. Concentrate on areas not affected by the change such as labels, transactional print and mail (where we provided the whole service)
2. Either be the largest and last man standing in listing paper (the product likely to decline fastest) or sell it
3. Reduce and consolidate products in slower decline and adapt to suit A4

Always have a strategy. Adapt and change it when necessary – but don’t bumble along without direction.

Transactional print and mail became a growing part of our security business where we provided early outsourcing services for customers’ print and post rooms.

·         1998 - sold the listing business to largest competitor reducing the business from £45m sales to £22m.

Consolidated into one main site with one secondary site and concentrated on growing the transactional print and mail business while the litho print (continuous stationery business forms) continued its slow decline.

·         2002 - sold the remaining businesses not part of the new core strategy of growing transactional mail to their management. The core business was now £16m.

Size isn’t important – don’t be afraid to downsize and remove non-strategic parts of the business.

·         2007 – grew back to some £26m sales but transactional print was sluggish. We had won some major contracts – but the contractual nature, ‘stickiness’, and cost and risk to customers of moving, slowed growth. We recognised that postage was a key, high potential service, but it was expensive. No matter what we did to improve efficiency or cut cost, the postage costs far outweighed the other savings.

Small print in legislation from 2005 proved an opportunity for the business

We discovered regulation imposed in 2005 that required Royal Mail to open up its network to ‘downstream access,’ so that users of its service could deliver to inbound mail centres for ‘final mile’ at a discount. CFH took advantage of this and also installed its own sortation equipment to maximise the amount of post that could go through this route.

Keep looking at every aspect of your business.

Recognise when you can change for the better. Watch out for outside changes in regulation that provide new opportunities.

With CFH now transforming into a ‘postal services business’ offering low cost post and mail sortation, the pieces were in place to conceive of Docmail, inspired by the discussion of the Scouts.

Whatever the conversation, whatever you’re reading, whatever the news, look for the inspiration that might be your next business direction.

·         Today - CFH’s post services continued to expand now delivering in Bristol, Bath and Edinburgh through its Velopost division, which provides the UK’s only ‘fossil fuel free’ postal delivery service using bicycles and electric vehicles charged only by renewables. It collects and delivers local post as well as delivering CFH-manufactured post.

CFH has grown to some £46m sales, and Docmail continues to enjoy 50 percent year on year growth. Many staff are now entering their 35th year with the company!

Keep your staff involved and they can come with you on almost any journey.

CFH’s latest product – Dotpost – allows senders to deliver their documents to an online account that provides secure document storage.

The business strategy now concentrates on cultivating the high-growth lines, Velopost, Docmail and Dotpost, while the more established business lines fund that growth.

Always attack your own market and products – if you don’t someone else will.