Management consultant AT Kearney is targeting global Fortune 500 companies with a new print procurement system that uses a network of printers it has selected.


It claims the system - which covers commercial printing, direct mail, stationery and business forms - saved five firms that trialled it 20-40%.


"Print Supply Market Solutions will deliver value for both buyers and suppliers by creating more efficient supply chains with economic and service advantages," said AT Kearney vice president Andy Eversbusch.


It claims print is one of the largest areas of indirect spending among Global 1,000 firms, worth 163bn ($240bn) a year.


The print system is the first of a number of procurement solutions planned by the firm.


PrintCafe's print management software is being used as the e-commerce procurement system.


"We selected PrintCafe based on a rigorous evaluation of e-procurement systems for the print ing industry," said Everbusch.


"We're glad to be working with AT Kearney," said PrintCafe chief executive Marc Olin. "It understands that printing is an extre-mely complex, detail-driven process that doesn't conform to catalogue-based solutions."


"It introduces us significantly into the buy side,"
a PrintCafe spokeswoman added.


Story by Barney Cox