Easystock is a vendor-managed inventory (VMI) system, which automates the management of frequently used items, usually products a print company or industrial packager use at least twice a month. Minimum and maximum thresholds are set for each item to keep consistent levels.
Paper merchant Antalis has developed Easystock over the past three years, with initial trials in France before moving to the UK.
“The print industry has successfully made many productivity gains in the processes associated with pre-press, production and workflow management,” said digital sales manager Jim Whittington. “We think the next steps would be in streamlining purchasing and storage activities, which are also very repetitive and can burn a lot of cash and space.
“Easystock targets fast moving and frequently reordered media, enabling printers to successfully streamline stock footprints. It is very appealing and has caught a lot of immediate and positive interest. However, this service is also a change and a cut in traditional practises. It requires a simple but sound level of discipline.
“Most businesses need some time to understand the benefits of Easystock and assess if they have in place the right organisation and people to support the change.”
Whittington recommended the system for companies whose demand levels fluctuate extensively, such as web-to-print operations, as well as busy digital printers.
It operates within thresholds set by the user, with inventories updated in real time so that when a given item drops below the minimum threshold its stock is replenished back to the maximum level automatically by Easystock.
Clients are only billed when the inventory is used and Easystock carries out its function without intervention from employees to reduce risk of error or delay. A subscription option will be rolled out next year.
With 12 customers currently live in the UK, Antalis will be continually developing the software as more sign up to the service.
Easystock is currently live at firms in France, the UK and Switzerland, with the Benelux countries, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain and Portugal set to follow in Q4 2018 and Q1 2019.
