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 Company: InnerWorkings, Inc.
Company Description: InnerWorkings, Inc. (NASDAQ: INWK) is a leading provider of managed print and promotional solutions to corporate clients. We utilize proprietary technology, category expertise and buying power to save our clients money. In our six year history, we have grown at a rate of almost 100% per year—2007 revenues were $288 million—and have expanded our geographic footprint to include almost 20 locations.
Nomination Category: Company Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Most Innovative Company
Nomination Title: InnerWorkings, Inc.
- Tell the story about what this nominated company achieved since January 1 2007 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
InnerWorkings is a company making waves. Our business model is unique in the
slow-growing print industry and is gaining ground in the marketplace, as
reflected in our tremendous growth, expanding client roster and increased
geographic presence. We have nearly doubled our revenue every year since
inception. In 2007, we surpassed our goal and finished the year with $288
million in revenue, an 80 percent increase over the prior year. While our
solid business model serves as the foundation for our success—managing print
and promotional solutions for corporate clients—we spent 2007 focused on
investing in our technology, people and processes in order to
grow and further differentiate ourselves from the competition.
Our technology, PPM4, has served as a major point of differentiation and has
allowed us to deliver unprecedented value to our client base. This software
provides visibility into our clients’ print spend and sources jobs at suppliers
best suited to efficiently produce the work. In 2007, we applied for a patent
for the supplier-matching methodology and technology associated with PPM4 to
add to the patent we hold for our automated print procurement component. In
addition, we increased PPM4’s value by adding suppliers to the database,
creating new fields related to project specifications, providing new reporting
features and increasing the speed that jobs are entered. These efficiencies
enabled us to meet the needs of more clients and increase the number of jobs
that can be handled by individual production managers.
Beyond technology, we enhanced our sales and service teams. We added nearly 70
sales representatives and 140 production managers. Sales and service are at
the forefront of our business so we continually invest in experienced
professionals that have industry knowledge to share with InnerWorkings. With
this additional staff, we were able to nearly double the number of Fortune 500
companies we serve. Steven Zuccarini, InnerWorkings’ Chief Executive Officer,
made targeting Fortune 500 companies as clients a primary initiative after he
joined the company in November 2004. Since then, InnerWorkings has added 50
Fortune 500 clients to its roster.
We made five strategic acquisitions in 2007. These acquisitions established us
in six of the top 10 US print markets so we now have a meaningful presence in
Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Minneapolis
and Dallas. We completed each acquisition confident that we acquired the best
company in each market we entered—both by reputation and in terms of the
business’ ability to grow when combined with our technology and resources. Most
recently we established a presence in Europe with the acquisition of UK-based
etrinsic.
Lastly, in 2007 we celebrated our one-year anniversary as a public company at
the NASDAQ Market Site in New York City. We were one of only a few Chicago area
companies to go public in 2006 and are proud of our accomplishments and record-
breaking performance in 2007. And we look forward to continued significant
growth in 2008, as our goal is to generate revenue in excess of $450 million.
- List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/INWK/231075873x0x144911/eedbdb0f-d60c-
4f59-8f50-904fea07268c/144911.pdf
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/INWK/231075873x0x144912/6de9f591-4e73-
4f6c-80b2-0bc5a7279654/144912.pdf
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/INWK/231075873x0x144910/a23db58e-ed51-
4a08-b503-880d74a23978/144910.pdf
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/INWK/231075873x0x144909/1c4a9f93-59bd-
4b5c-8a93-f7d78492fe00/144909.pdf
- Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader of this nominated company:
Steven E. Zuccarini has served as our Chief Executive Officer since November
2004 and has served on our Board since May 2006. From September 2003 to
November 2004, he was the President of the Global Solutions business unit at
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, and from January 2000 to September 2003, he
served as President of the Catalog & Retail business unit. Steve joined R.R.
Donnelley in 1979. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Youth
Centers and the Direct Marketing Education Foundation. Steve holds a bachelor's
degree from Northwestern University. Recently, Steve received an Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 Award in the Midwest Regional Program.
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