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We speak to Harrison Bailey, founder of AI consultancy Smart Elephant, about how the newest generation of AI technology can help to secure print’s future.

One of the key underlying messages running through a number of presentations at this year’s FESPA conference – aside from new technology and its associated opportunities – is that there is a generational change in the wider world, which the print industry simply cannot hide from.

“The consumer demographic is changing. There’s a statistic I like to mention, which says that by 2030 – not that far away – nearly 50% of consumers will be millennials or Gen Z,” Harrison Bailey, founder of AI consultancy Smart Elephant explains.

“And with this change, there are new expectations which you must adapt to. These customers expect things like production on demand and really fast turnaround times. Personalisation is a must, as is a seamless experience for customers, and they value concepts like sustainability.

“The businesses that embrace AI and automation are the ones that are capable of delivering those expectations at scale. And if you don’t adapt then your competitors will – they’ll become faster, and easier to buy from, and cheaper, and more visible online as well.”

A new era

Despite a prodigious approach to his own areas of expertise – Harrison only graduated from university last year, but he had already worked as a freelance data analyst and founded Smart Elephant before graduation. Although he specialises in tech but he is also realistic when it comes to print. Harrison’s dad, Jon, is the CEO of Precision Proco, a technology-enabled print and packaging group, and print is very much in the family’s DNA. But, he says, even traditional printers have to acknowledge that we are entering a new age.

“AI is business critical and it’s more visible than ever now. Everyone’s talking about it, but not everybody knows where to start or the benefits they can unlock. That’s why I started Smart Elephant, to help people take that next step and integrate AI into their system,” Harrison says.

“We help people to look at the technology they already have and the systems they already use and integrate AI into that to make sure it works for them. AI can be massively helpful, but if you plug it into the wrong application, you can be spending money for no appreciable benefit. It’s also easy to feel like…

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