One of my recurring observations about the printing industry is how often companies present themselves through physical scale.

The aerial view of a large warehouse with access to critical transportation and postal infrastructure. The production floor. The equipment. The size of the operation, or the number of locations spread across the country, becomes the proof point.

There is nothing wrong with that. In print, operational strength and redundancy matter. But if a company is trying to tell a different story about its future, why are the plant and physical operation still the centerpiece of the narrative?

A Different Setting

I didn’t sit down with Sami Antaoui, CEO of MBA Group, beside a press or on a production floor. Instead, we met at Hend House, MBA Group’s central London offices, in a space featuring large atrium windows, a spiral staircase, open seating, and not a print plant in sight.

The offices were once home to Walt Disney Studios, which felt strangely appropriate. Like Disney, MBA Group is in the business of imagination, design, experience, and execution.

We recorded our conversation in the screening room, where executives once reviewed pre-release versions of Disney films. It felt like a fitting setting because, in many ways, Sami and his team are “imagineering” what a communications service provider can become.

Beyond the Familiar Narrative

I am often asked by print service bureau operators: what does a shift to digital-first thinking actually look like? What is the message? The business case? How do they tell a new story?

MBA Group has been in business for more than four decades, with deep roots in print and physical communications. Physical communications remain an important part of the business. But our conversation was not really about print. It was about what happens when a service provider expands the definition of the work it does.

With customers such as American Express and Deutsche Bank, MBA has to take innovation seriously. Over time, it has become a core part of the company’s success strategy.

MBA has continually looked up upstream into data, closed-loop outcomes, software platforms, digital engagement, customer journeys, personalized video, BPO-style services, and managed communications. Its marketing and outward messaging rarely lead with print or even cover it. Instead, MBA leads with ideas, customer experience, transformation, and the changing role of communications.

And, as an extra bonus, the print volume that remains becomes a nice value-add.

Why This Shift Matters

For many transactional and regulated communications providers, print volumes are under structural pressure. Customers are digitizing. Enterprises are trying to reduce costs. Consumers expect faster, more contextual, more convenient interactions. At the same time, trust, compliance, and accountability still matter deeply.

The future may not belong only to those with the largest production platforms or the lowest unit cost. It may belong to those that can help clients understand customers, coordinate channels, manage context, and improve the experience around essential communications.

From Output to Orchestration

In our conversation, Sami described MBA Group as a communications group rather than simply a print provider or digital provider.

The question is not whether a communication is printed, emailed, sent by SMS, delivered through RCS, or managed through another channel. The question is what the customer needs, what the business is trying to accomplish, and how the communication fits into the broader relationship.

A provider that once produced output can become a partner in journey design. A company that once managed print files can help manage data, timing, channel selection, customer response, and engagement history. A business built around production can grow into software, orchestration, digital engagement, advisory services, and closed-loop communications.

MBA Group’s Pulse shows how service providers are moving beyond output and into orchestration, connecting data, channels, timing, and customer context.

The conversation also touched on RCS, WhatsApp, AI, private ownership, and the role of trust in digital communication. But the larger theme was clear.

The customer communications market is not simply moving from print to digital. It is moving from output to orchestration. From production to context. From channel delivery to customer experience.

The Question Ahead

That raises an important question for every service provider in this market:

What are you really becoming?

Episode 29 of Above the Treeline features Sami Antaoui, CEO of MBA Group, in a conversation about transformation, growth, and the expanding role of communications service providers.

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I work with companies and industry leaders through executive interviews, sponsored podcasts, event coverage, and market commentary to explain not only what an organization is doing, but why it matters.

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