E-commerce - Take The Plunge

"We allow printers to actually enhance relationships," says Mary Murrin Smith, director of industry relations. "In fact, in many cases it is used as a very valuable sales tool." Some customers, she says, are actually seeking vendors with these types of systems in place.

The goal of e-commerce in the print industry is to make the process more efficient, not to replace relationships with vendors. Instead of filling out paperwork and making phone calls to find out where a job is in the production line, users can simply log on to a Web site to find out. Instead of calling vendor after vendor to get the best deal on paper, you simply put your specs up on a Web site and let vendors bid. While relationships with vendors are maintained, administrative tasks are made easier.