According to Optimus, traditional management information systems haven't kept up with the advances in printers' businesses, which have diversified and broadened to offer more than just printing, adding aspects like consultation and design services as well.
Print now has faster turnarounds and estimating may struggle to turn around lots of quotes quickly. There are also the specific challenges of digital print, such as the click charge, square metre pricing for large-format and a streamlined and automated way of pricing any outworked elements. In addition, the whole system may struggle to account for processes unrelated to production, such as design and consulting hours.
Step in Optimus, which claims that Dash, its new MIS product, can solve these problems.
"Dash is the MIS for digital and creative media companies," says managing director Nicola Bisset. "We've done an awful lot of research over the past couple of years on the digital sector. Printers offering digital print are also offering a lot of other services, they tend to be very brand savvy and, in some cases, the print is almost incidental.
"When we started to develop Dash, we wanted to make sure it covered both litho and digital printing. But we found we also had to cater to all these [non-production] services. We've even got a client who doesn't even do any print."
New look
To cater for the changes in who orders and how they order print, Dash has got a completely new front-end.
"Our customers don't talk about estimates and estimators any more, they talk about enquiries and jobs," says Bisset.
One response to those changes is a new module, which the firm calls the sales enquiry and quotation manager. Another, and perhaps the biggest, change is the way the system has been opened up to integrate with third-party web-to-print (W2P) systems.
"We've made it easy to work with W2P," says director of research and development Nigel Tyler. "At Ipex, we'll show Dash linked to RedTie's RTT W2P system in a way that is completely seamless."
He adds that dealing with other W2P packages should also be simple, with the option of using web services (as it does with RedTie), cXML or APIs.
Its own estimating tool has also been revamped.
"It takes a slightly different approach in that it's now product-based and can handle lots of different product options," says Tyler. "The idea is to enable much faster processing of jobs; it's now possible to create an order in less than 12 seconds."
This need for speed is echoed by Bisset: "Digital printers using traditional MIS could find that by the time they'd entered a job into the system it was already out of the door."
Enhanced tools
Underlying the product-based approach is a new take on estimating which breaks everything down into tasks.
"We put a lot of work into making it formula-based, so you can use it to estimate anything," says Bisset.
The company claims this new approach makes it easier to work on a campaign basis, with the multiple different tasks and components that involves, rather than a job basis.
Design elements are easy to incorporate, as are other non-print services and any outwork that has to be purchased. To give an example of the system's flexibility, Bisset adds that the firm uses the system to manage its own development projects.
A new outwork manager module makes dealing with third-party suppliers quicker and easier, with the ability to set up preferred supplier lists.
Other tools also simplify estimating, including templates for different types of work, so you don't have to start from scratch when creating every estimate, and the inclusion of a ‘helper' button to guide you when something needs additional explanation.
Optimus has been a vociferous supporter of Vision in Print's (ViP) MIS Best Practice project and, in particular, the use of data collection and business intelligence to monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) through its Optimus Vision product. Essential to that is the amount of underlying data that the system collects and that remains in Dash. Basic KPI indicators are included, while for a more advanced system, as before, users can buy Optimus Vision.
Optimus has rewritten the Vision KPIs to reflect the latest recommendations published by ViP back in January. To reduce the chance of any convention confusion between products and functions, for example, where the KPIs used to be displayed on dashboards, they are now ‘speed dials'.
Elements of customer relationship management (CRM) are included as part of the sales enquiry system and Dash can also integrate with Outlook, Goldmine and other third-party CRM packages. It's a change from the approach in the old system, which the firm claimed put CRM at its heart.
"Some customers use CRM well, others struggle to get on with it, so we developed interfaces to third-parties and then
it's down to customers' internal operations how they use it," says Tyler.
Striking a balance
Bisset believes that it's a challenge to strike a balance in an MIS between offering automation and efficiency and being fast and fluid, while still retaining the consistency and accuracy that is essential to ensure profitability.
"I'd love to be able to say Dash will save you X-thousands of pounds, but it's difficult to give an accurate figure as it depends so much on the state of a printer's processes and systems before they install the system," she says.
"But we have got customers already committed to it ahead of Ipex because they see it offers such a leap in productivity."
Optimus claims to have a leap on the competition with Dash. However, it's not alone in refreshing its product for Ipex.
Shuttleworth has made some advancements, notably in simplifying estimating with an estimating wizard and an outwork management module, while Tharstern is launching a new system called Primo, which is a significant advance on the previous T4 platform. In addition to new products from the UK's indigenous MIS vendors, Optimus also faces a renewed challenge from global giant EFI which, following its recent acquisition of Radius, promises to redouble its efforts in the UK and European markets.
All of this renewed competition bodes well for printers looking to drive their businesses forward with improvements to their administration processes and MIS.
SPECIFICATIONS
Description MIS for digital print processes, as well as litho and other related non-print services
Modules Optimus Calc, Sales Enquiry and Quote Manager, Outwork Manager and Ecommerce
Platform Windows and Linux
Business Model Owned
Price from £4,000 for a four-user system
Contact
Optimus 01483 740233 www.optimus2020.com
THE ALTERNATIVES
EFI Pace
Pace is a browser-based MIS and can be configured to support multiple print processes. A natural move by EFI, which sells the Vutek and Rastek lines of wide-format digital printers, was to tailor its MIS products for the sectors that other divisions of the firm sell into, hence a wide-format flavour is also available for Pace.
Price £12,000
Contact EFI +31 20 658 8000 www.efi.com
Shuttleworth
For Shuttleworth, being able to handle digital work, whether it's cutsheet, continuous feed or wide-format including per square metre or click charge, is ‘no news'. Making it easier for anyone to estimate is a new Estimating Wizard. Also new for Ipex is the Supply Chain Manager module for working with third parties. It's centrally hosted and is the first Shuttleworth product to be offered on the Software as a Service (SaaS) model.
Price from £2,000 per seat
Contact Shuttleworth 01536 316316 www.shuttleworth-uk.co.uk
Tharstern Primo and SmallPrint
New for Ipex, Primo is Tharstern's next generation MIS. An extensive redesign includes a new interface making it much simpler to navigate and to focus on the job in hand. Estimating is beefed up with route-based estimating tools making it easier for anyone in the business to get quotes out. Both Primo and SmallPrint, which as the name suggests is aimed at smaller firms, offer outwork tools and support for digital print and services.
Price SmallPrint £4,995 for three-user package including training, installation and support
Contact Tharstern 01282 860 660 www.tharstern.com
TimeHarvest DigiQuote
Aimed at all types of digital printers, regardless of their kit, with half of the installations being at wide-format firms. The software has been used to price everything from business cards to building wraps. DigiQuote works on a project basis, within which can be lots of different elements. DigiQuote stands out in being offered as a service on a monthly payment plan, as well as to be bought outright. It's also available for both PC and Mac platforms.
Price £2,995 (software) £145/month (as a service)
Contact TimeHarvest 01865-989111 www.timeharvest.com
