Reducing Inventory With POD

Unisys

Plymouth, Mich.

It seems only fitting that a pioneering software company like Unisys has one of the country's most cutting-edge in-plants.

Having incorporated online book ordering, color management and print-on-demand (POD), Unisys' in-plant has firmly established itself as one of the leading in-plants. It's also one of the largest, with 91 employees and $16.5 million in annual sales. But again, this is only fitting for a company as vast as Unisys.

"Unisys is a big company," declares Gregg Gabbana, manager of print-on-demand operations. "It has 37,000 employees and operations in 100 countries. As the company's in-plant, we do the worldwide printing and distribution. That's what makes our in-plant operation so large. What makes us successful is POD."

Printing software technical documents, CD-ROM inserts and sales/marketing materials, Unisys' in-plant specializes in turning work around quickly. As a one-stop shop—offering design, prepress, offset and digital printing, bindery, mailing, fulfillment and Internet services—the in-plant turns most jobs around in less than 24 hours.

"We have such short lead time, usually a day at the most," Gabbana says. "And because we have that short lead time, we can't afford to keep inventory on the shelf and in stock. Our technology [Unisys software] changes so quickly, we don't want to keep inventory on the shelf. The technical manuals and material will become outdated and have to be thrown away. So, we've implemented a print-on-demand system.

"Through our electronic bookstore, people place orders, and the server downloads them to our DocuTechs," he continues. "From the Web, someone can order a document; we have about 16,000 external titles and 40,000 internal. Most are stored on a large server, and when an order comes down, it will flow, with requirements, and will go directly to the printers."

Unisys' auto-scheduling capabilities, which earned it a CAP Ventures Technology Innovators Award in 1995, are the in-plant's "claim to fame," states Gabbana. "We used to have $33 million in inventory. Now we have $300,000 in inventory. The reason is, we only build inventory when we get an order. If there's something on the shelf, that's because we've printed it, and it's going to be shipped in the next 24 hours."

As a POD shop, Unisys never gets orders for quantities of 100, or even 25. Rather, Gabbana says about one-third (34 percent) of the in-plant's work is "quantity of 1," with the remaining two-thirds split between five or less and 15 or less.

While Gabbana credits much of the in-plant's success to its POD and e-bookstore capabilities, he points out that the importance of color management shouldn't be overlooked.

"We've evolved from being a black-and-white print shop into a full-service digital/offset printer. Color management has allowed us to do that," he explains. "We put in a full color management system that allows us to calibrate colors and accurately match colors. What you see on your monitor is what you'll get as a proof copy, and what you get on proof is what you'll get as a digital [or offset] print. The calibration has been synchronized throughout the process, so we can match the proof in all phases of production."

As part of its color management implementation, Unisys brought in an Epson 5000 digital proofer. It also added a new Xerox DocuColor 2060.

Its digital printing capabilities have enabled the in-plant to

insource about $1.7 million in annual sales through a "for-profit" operation called Printing Plus! Producing non-bookstore items, such as product sheets or customized client presentations, Printing Plus! commands its own sales force (albeit, a small one) and exhibits at trade shows and conventions to solicit new business.

Sometimes obtaining new business externally is easier than promoting business internally—especially when the parent organization is as large as Unisys, Gabbana notes.

"One of the biggest issues we have to overcome is making everyone aware of our services," he explains. "How do you let 37,000 employees worldwide know what in-plant services are available? How can we inform them about all of our products and materials, and assist them in ordering those products online? Thousands of people are hired at corporate level each year, and they don't always get informed of the company's in-plant services. When you're as big as we are [at Unisys], it's hard to make sure everyone knows about you."

And when the in-plant's capabilities keep growing, there's even more for Unisys employees to know. Having merged its fulfillment, mailing, printing and prepress operations over the past five years, Unisys will be purchasing a new five-color press next year. The in-plant has also budgeted computer-to-plate (CTP) implementation into its 2002 budget.

"Some groups [within Unisys] are taking their work to commercial printers that offer CTP. We want that work to come to us," Gabbana says. "If we can print it computer-to-plate, and be the printer of choice for all Unisys groups, it will save corporate headquarters in inventory. We won't be outsourcing and throwing money away."

by Cheryl A. Adams