Management Systems Can Save Your Shop

RECENT RESEARCH suggests that just over 40 percent of in-plants use some form of print shop management software or management information system (MIS). If you’re one of the other 60 percent, perhaps it’s time for you to consider joining them.

Obviously, this depends on the work you do, your customer mix and the level of management and planning/analysis capabilities you need. Let’s look at the pros and cons of these systems.

The Pros

1. Print shop MIS systems can significantly automate, speed up and organize almost every business and production management role in your shop, whether it’s large or small, litho or copier-based. Depending on the product you buy and the options chosen, they can handle:

• Business management: RFQs, estimates and quotes, customer orders, real-time job costing and tracking with shop-floor data collection, purchasing, raw material and finished goods inventory, invoicing, departmental chargeback, connections to popular accounting packages and shipping.

• Production management: easy client file submission and conversion to PDF, direct interface to specialized workflow systems for digital copiers/duplicators, job planning and equipment scheduling, PDF and JDF/CIM workflow management and dynamic data and forms capabilities, remote proofing/collaboration, change orders and approvals.

2. Most suppliers make a point of carefully integrating the various modules of their systems so jobs flow smoothly between them, from estimate to delivered product and invoice. This speeds everything up and virtually eliminates data re-entry.

3. Many of these systems offer Web or intranet-based connections for many of their functions, so clients or staff anywhere can connect and work with you in a secure browser connection. These functions include RFQs, job ordering/re-ordering, file-submission, flight-checking and conversion to PDF, variable-data template jobs (like stationery, forms, etc.), change orders, job tracking, remote proofing and collaboration/approval, account inquiries and more.

4. Finally, most of these systems offer extensive management reporting to help you see exactly where you’re losing time, efficiency or money. Most offer at least a dozen report types, and the large systems offer literally hundreds of reports. Data also may be exported in common file formats (CSV or tab text, XML, Excel, Word, PDF, etc.) for further analysis or packaging.

In short, these systems can make you a lot more productive and efficient.

The Cons

1. Obviously, the purchase and startup costs involved. This sort of system can cost as little as $2,000 for basic software up to hundreds of thousands for a large enterprise system with specialized job data entry equipment and software.

And don’t forget the extra computers you may need, including a main server, plus printers and network cabling. Also you’ll need to plan for training time and costs and the lost productivity associated with this.

Real-world total startup costs for most of these systems are often in the $50,000 to $150,000 range.

2. You’ll need a little time, practice and discipline to properly integrate a system like this into your operation and see the benefits, especially in the larger and more complex systems. Frequently, this involves tightening up the way you operate—no more seat-of-the-pants estimates or job jackets stashed in your desk drawer.

Most of these systems will pay for themselves completely in two years or so, as most current owners will tell you—if the systems are chosen, installed and used properly. In other words, it’s at least as good a business proposition as many presses or other large capital purchases.

Choosing the Right System

Here are some suggestions to help you choose a system:

• Look carefully at the way you work now. Examine the tasks that you feel are most difficult and inefficient. Analyze each vendor’s literature, Web site and product demos. Which ones offer modules that handle your difficult tasks well? Are they in your budget range? Do they allow you to work the way you do now, without upsetting your shop’s processes?

Typical starter systems include estimating/quoting, job dockets, job progress, cost tracking, basic management reporting and integration with existing accounting systems. Remember, many of these systems are easily expandable, so you can add capabilities as you need them.

• Make sure you involve everyone who will be using the system in your considerations: sales, customer service representatives, estimators, managers, accounting people and production staff. You will need their perspective on the requirements and the problems they face every day, as well as their consensus and buy-in to the whole process. If people don’t like a system or if they feel their needs were not considered, they will be less likely to want to learn and use it.

• Summarize the benefits you want to get from system. Make a point of covering all of them in your discussions with the various vendors. Also ask them about their user support.

• Once you’ve narrowed it down to two or three possible suppliers, get references and talk to one or two current users of each system whose shops resemble yours. Get their assessment of the products, the installation process and the company’s level of support.

In-plant MIS Options

Here is a quick overview of some of the key MIS vendors with products of interest to in-plants.

Avanti

www.avantisystems.com

One of the larger and best-known players in the MIS business, particularly among in-plants, the Toronto-based company has about 22 years in the business. It offers a range of fully integrated business and process-management modules: estimating/quoting, order entry, job jackets/costing/tracking, shop-floor data collection, invoicing, purchasing, inventory and shipping. Production/workflow features include JDF support, direct interface to digital duplicators (including Xerox’s FreeFlow), MS Word or PDF export and connections to over 20 popular accounting packages.

Real-time chargeback integration allocates costs to the appropriate department as they are delivered. The eAccess option allows some functions—RFQ requests, order placement, file uploading, change requests, job status, online proofing, shipment tracking and account inquiries—to be done by the client across a secure intranet/Web connection.

In May, Avanti acquired Denver-based Parsec, another print MIS provider, and is integrating Parsec’s Pinnacle line into Avanti’s products.

EDU Business Solutions

www.edubusinesssolutions.com

A recent California entry to the business, started in 2002. The Print Shop Pro Manager system offers estimation and quotes, inventory, job scheduling and status, forms management, invoicing, etc.

The add-on Print Shop Pro Webdesk option provides Web or intranet-based order entry and approval, job status, optional PDF conversion capability, with customizable Web site branding for clients.

EFI

www.efi.com/products/print-mis

California-based EFI, in business for 18 years, offers the largest collection of graphic arts and print management software. Their print shop MIS management products range from a few thousand dollars (PrintSmith, for small and medium-size shops) to large multi-site/enterprise systems (Hagen, PSI, Logic). EFI has over 8,500 print shop MIS customers worldwide.

PrintSmith, EFI’s entry-level scalable turnkey system, offers modules for estimating, copy shop management, invoicing, account management, job tickets, job monitoring, reports, inventory, credit card approval, etc. It also has connections to most accounting systems. The PrintSmith Site add-on allows for Internet/intranet-based storefronts, estimating, job submission, production management and invoicing.

Hagen, Logic and PSI cover every aspect of print management and production: estimating, job and docket management, shop-floor data collection, scheduling, purchasing, inventory, fulfillment, invoicing, accounting, full CIM and JDF capabilities, etc. The PrinterSite option for these systems allows Internet connections for most functions.

Enterprise Print Management Solutions

www.entpms.com

Based in Massachusetts, the company has 18 years in the business and over 3,000 print shop MIS clients. They range from mid-sized commercial printers and in-plants to large multi-plant organizations.

The Enterprise product is a full-range system for print shop management, with modules for invoicing, purchasing, financials, inventory control, job costing, scheduling, finished goods inventory, estimating and order entry. The system has extensive reporting and external integration capabilities.

The Enterprise.Net suite of modules provides online ordering capabilities for catalog items and finished goods items via the in-plants’ Web sites. Enterprise.Net is integrated with the standard system modules.

Franklin Estimating Systems

www.franklinestimating.com

This Utah company is the longest-established player in the business, with over 89 years of experience providing print shops with standard estimating tables and books, and about 20 years of print shop estimating software experience. As the name implies, Franklin specializes in estimation systems.

The Estimator product uses industry-standard Franklin Rates or your own custom rates, and offers very fast startup and usability. It provides estimates, job tickets and invoicing, all exportable to common office file formats or e-mail. Estimator also has connections to a range of accounting packages and extensive management reporting capabilities.

The Remote Estimator option allows you to connect to the main system from the road. The DataManager option for job data collection has fingerprint scanning to prevent user fraud, and collects all job costs and staff time with detailed report capabilities. A job scheduler module is in development.

Pace Systems Group

www.pace2020.com

Florida-based, with 29 years in the business, Pace offers modules for quick estimating (cost-based or price list-based), job planning and control, change orders, purchasing and inventory, shipments, shop-floor data collection, job costing, billing and payroll.

The Web-based ePace system includes: eService (client monitoring of job status, account status, PDF proofing/commenting/approval), eGoods (client management of finished goods inventory) and eProducts (client management of orders for standard products like stationery via dynamic PDF).

PagePath

www.pagepath.com

Illinois-based PagePath, with 23 years in the business, offers a set of services to print shops from their own servers. There is no hardware or software to buy; you and your clients access the services across the Web and you pay by usage.

This system allows you to easily offer Web-based print shop order desk, PDF conversion, file submission, data merging, variable data, inventory management and online proofing services. This approach offers low startup costs (from $549 upward) and low operating costs ($80 a month plus $5 to $13 per day used).

Printable

printable.com/ecomm

This California-based company started operations in 2000. As Web-to-print and variable data systems specialists, Printable offers Web order sites; a central dashboard to access files, requests for quotes and administration tasks; and a back-end administration tool to create, activate and maintain customer sites, perform bulk loading of catalog items and maintain item inventories.

Rochester Software Associates

www.rocsoft.com/solutions/WebCRD.php

These Internet/intranet-based order and fulfillment system specialists are based in Rochester, N.Y., and have 20 years in the business. The WebCRD system includes capabilities for print ordering (including template-based ordering for common repeat jobs), file submission and production management for litho or digital shops.

The SurePDF and Central PDF options automate PDF job submission and server-based PDF conversion. RSA’s system also includes direct document management system integration, with direct submission to machine job queues and accounting/enterprise system integration.

Cyrious Software

www.cyrious.com

Founded in 1996, with offices in Ocoee, Fla., and Baton Rouge, La., Cyrious provides estimating and business management software that can be easily tailored to different businesses. It offers automatic job costing, scheduling, price comparisons, job status, easy data export to major accounting packages and more.