Top Software Solutions for In-plants

As the economy swings back into a healthy pace, it can be tempting for in-plants to consider investing in new equipment. While a new machine may improve color capabilities or produce jobs faster, many in-plants face greater roadblocks during job submission or prepress processing.

We often hear about solutions that automate workflows, but which steps in the workflow create the most challenges and should thus be automated? Some in-plants have already addressed their workflows with automation tools. Others need to invest instead in broadening their customer reach and expanding awareness of their services.

To identify the current state of in-plant operations and which workflow investments they have planned for 2014, InfoTrends has surveyed the readers of In-plant Graphics. The survey is part of an ongoing partnership between InfoTrends and the North American Publishing Company (IPG's parent) to monitor emerging market trends.

The latest survey, conducted in January, focused on finding out which types of workflow automation software are currently being used and acquired. Out of the 128 participants, 56 were in-plant managers. The results point to where in-plants are putting their money, and can serve as a guide for operations undecided on which types of workflow automation software would be best for them.

Previous Emerging Trends studies and research conducted by InfoTrends have shown an evolution in what in-plants have focused on when it comes to investing in their workflows. More in-plants are evaluating how investing in software can add value to the existing services they offer, broaden their customer reach within the parent organization and improve awareness of gaps within the production environment. The most recent Emerging Trends survey continues to monitor this evolution of software-minded thinking by showing that there are three key areas of workflow software that in-plants are looking to invest in for 2014 (see chart). We will explore each of them.

Web-to-print

The top solution in-plants are planning to invest in this year is Web-to-print. Despite the challenges USPS faces due to declining mail volume, parcel and package delivery is at an all time high. Most organizations are jumping on the online ordering wave to purchase anything from office supplies to business cards. It has become a necessity for in-plants to provide this capability to their customers.

Not only does Web-to-print provide a solution for in-plants to become more efficient, it also offers a platform for introducing new products or services. Of those surveyed, 44.7 percent were already using some sort of Web-to-print-based system; however, nearly half that number (27 percent) were still considering purchasing such a software solution. Web-to-print solutions offer additional advantages to in-plants, such as a storefront for customers to view and order services, manage branding, collaborate on documents in process and quickly reorder.

Cross-media

As many in-plants are pressured to prove their value within their organization, the need to explore value-added services is imperative. An assessment of which products or services are being produced in-house versus outsourced can provide a starting place for defining the media needs of the organization overall. This may mean interacting with new departments that do not typically work with the in-plant, such as marketing, brand managers or recruiting departments. These departments often outsource variable print applications or jobs that require the creation of electronic media in addition to the print—making cross-media a greatly overlooked opportunity for many in-plants.

Of the in-plants surveyed, only 16 percent are considering a cross-media solution while 5 percent are currently using cross-media software. This software provides the opportunity for in-plants to play a bigger role in serving the communication needs of the parent organization, while keeping more jobs in-house.

Previous Emerging Trends studies have shown that in-plants that have implemented cross-media services have seen positive results—particularly an increase in print volume. Creating demand for cross-media software and services can be challenging at first, especially considering the learning curve. But by being creative you may find opportunities to keep more of the organization's print needs in-house. This could mean working with departments and their outsourced providers to enable the in-plant to produce the print components while outsourcing only the electronic ones. Nevertheless, offering services such as variable data or personalized direct mail are always good places to start, since they have their roots in print production.

Print MIS

A third software solution in-plants are considering adding in 2014 is Print MIS. Investing in integrated print management systems allows in-plants to better understand the print environment and the jobs that are running through it. These tools allow for centralized tracking of information from each step of the production workflow, including tracking employee and equipment time. Print MIS provides tools like scheduling, estimating, billing, order management, shop floor data collection, inventory management and more. This enables users to identify gaps and bottlenecks within their workflow.

Many in-plants have already invested in these systems; our research shows that 48 percent are already using some kind of Print MIS, whether home-grown or purchased from a commercial vendor. Commercial solutions are the most common, but about 5 percent of in-plants have chosen to develop a system of their own. Those that are considering or have not yet invested are missing out on the ability to better understand their operation.

An in-plant's Print MIS should be connected to other software investments, such as a Web-to-print solution to enable the automatic collection of information from these systems, maximizing the software investment. Interestingly, some Web-to-print software solutions targeted at in-plants have added some high-level print MIS functionality, while most print MIS vendors have some sort of Web-to-print module as part of their solution. For in-plants considering both of these tools, it may be ideal to find a two-in-one solution.

Investing in software allows for improved workflows, lower cost production and improved customer experience. As in-plants look into investing in new software solutions, it is important to think about how you can provide new value to your parent organization by focusing on media and applications beyond just print and reducing costs through better information understanding. Investments in Web-to-print, cross-media and print MIS are all great ways to continue extend your operation's reach to all areas of a parent organization.