Taking charge
Control is everything to modern sign-making and wide-format printing businesses that are seeking high levels of efficiency within their production setup and ensuring they are hitting their key targets.
Management information system (MIS) products are an effective way of ensuring control over the wider production process and that your business is operating in the most effective manner possible.
Here, SignLink looks at some of the latest developments with MIS products and analyses how these updates can help sign-making and wide-format printing businesses achieve new levels of efficiency.
Continuous improvement
First up, Tharstern is a specialist in MIS solutions for the printing market. Lee Ward, chief revenue officer at Tharstern, says businesses should be looking to constantly improve and update their MIS in order to ensure they are benefitting from the latest developments.
“Continuous improvement is a gradual and never-ending process which seeks to increase efficiency and effectiveness and if used to its full potential an MIS can be at the heart of these improvements throughout every department in your business,” Ward says.
If used to its full potential an MIS can be at the heart of these improvements throughout every department in your business”
“Doing general housekeeping of your MIS has huge benefits – review it regularly to make sure all your MIS users are inputting the correct information in the correct places, for example, are jobs being marked as complete when all sales and marketing activities are finished? Are invoices being closed? These are particularly important when using your MIS to monitor business performance, and to have accurate data at the end of each month.”
As to what companies should be looking for in an MIS, Ward recommends they “drill down” their top five business challenges and approach MIS providers with them to ask if they can help solve them.
“We get a lot of companies contact an extensive list of requirements and ask us to state whether we can provide them or not, but this doesn’t help us or them,” Ward explains, adding: “We can’t fully understand the issues the system needs to help solve if given a list of features, we may be able to solve them in a different way.”
Looking at Tharstern’s latest updates to its MIS, Ward highlights Sheet Optimisation, a tool with Insoft IMP that was launched a few years ago, but Ward says remains one of the most beneficial features for sign-makers and wide-format printers. The tool allows estimators to create efficient layouts of the most complex shapes and calculates the solution to save both time and reducing material waste.
Tharstern has announced a number of new updates to its MIS solution
Other new developments include the Distribution Uploader, which allows users to manage the distribution of complex multi-location print campaigns by importing customer-provided CSV files into the MIS.
There is also Smart Shipping and Auto-Packing, which Ward says helps with multi-location campaigns. When processing complex campaigns, Smart Shipping will automatically calculate the transit time for each location and identify the required ‘Ship by’ date to meet the customer’s due date. Auto-packing creates packing groups per location and works out how many of each product are needed in each group.
Also new from Tharstern, the Carbon Quota. Is a footprinting tool that gives users the knowledge they need to be able to provide their customers an instant and accurate carbon footprint on every quote and invoice.
Smooth and successful
Next and Clarity Software also has a range of options on offer in the MIS arena. Raj Mann, digital marketing at Clarity, says the role of the MIS should never be underestimated.
“The impact it has on the smooth running of a company is huge,” Mann comments, adding: Therefore, every successful company makes use of these systems in one way or another.
“So, what should you look for? Firstly, a company that is credible with many users relying on their software every day. A support network readily available by all communication channels – including the telephone for complete peace of mind. A system that offers a high level of transparency through a single database that will significantly improve the quality of the decision making and will support the embedding of best working practices and workflows.
“A good quality MIS should also promote collaboration in the workplace, provide complete profit assurance and support the vision of your business. A well-maintained MIS will give everyone in the business who needs access to data regardless of their role the right information at the right time to allow for accurate decision making.”
Casting an eye of Clarity’s solutions, Mann explains MIS systems should make more money than they cost, saying Clarity consistently delivers this in a one-stop MIS solution that is fully rounded in breadth and depth to entirely run all aspects of our customers business.
Mann says Clarity is continually adding to its suite of features, with the aim of making seamless links between modules, continually making information visible, easy to follow and reducing think and click time.
Clarity is continually adding to its suite of features, which includes contacts and activities
“We appreciate our users are busy running their business, creating, making and delivering product, we aim to make the techy part a simple natural workflow and as think-free as possible,” Mann says, adding: “Clarity remains the most fully featured product in the sign and digital marketplace.”
Cornerstone of business
Elsewhere and Iteba is also well placed to offer guidance and solutions for MIS, primarily through its SolPrint MIS system that has been developed and expanded since its launch more than 30 years ago.
SolPrint has versions covering all manufacturing types including digital, screen and wide-format print, while the solution is modular, covering areas such as customer-facing shopfront, web-to-print, sales CRM, estimating, order processing, scheduling, SFDC, JDF/JMF integration, stock, costing, invoicing, warehousing and full accounting.
SolPrint from Iteba has versions covering all manufacturing types including digital, screen and wide-format print
“Technology is moving forward at an incredible pace allowing ever greater automation and portability,” Iteba managing director Peter Griffin says, adding: “An MIS should form the cornerstone of any print business, bringing various stakeholders together and providing instant feedback on performance.
“A browser-based MIS that provides access from diverse systems over multiple platforms or devices will enable the business to grow efficiently and profitably. The system should allow staff, customers and suppliers to interact with the MIS either directly or via the API.
“As a result, is it essential to keep your systems up to date so your business benefits from the latest developments and ensures that the environment supports the current security requirements to reduce any possible cyber-attack.
“SolPrint clients receive updates as part of their support contract to make sure they can benefit from the latest features without large upgrade costs.”
Touching on some of the latest developments with SolPrint, the latest version of the MIS includes customer branded shopfronts to allow for targeted solutions with both B2C and B2B solutions.
O Factoid: SolPrint from Iteba is a modular MIS solution that has been available for more than 30 years O
Other features include integrated web-to-print, the ability to raise bespoke quotes with the SolPrint Quote Wizard, and the SolPrint Control Centre for monitoring both performance and progress.
Fully integrated
Elsewhere, Trevor Cocks, managing director of Accura, says companies should be using an MIS that will help them keep pace with technology and continue to meet the needs of a changing market. As such, Cocks says, ensuring your product is updated on a regular basis is key.
“Companies should look for a comprehensive and fully integrated solution that covers their needs now and into the future, from a company with a proven track record of longevity and innovative product development,” Cocks says.
“Don’t just buy the cheapest product if it only just about meets your needs now; you will outgrow it. Your needs will change as your company develops and uses more of the system – you need the system to have flexibility and scalability potential.
“Look for an ‘end-to-end’ solution that encompasses all your needs in-one: CRM, web-to-print and MIS, and the ability to push data downstream via XML to drive pre-flight, imposition, and workflow. Avoid solutions that require plug-ins or additional integration services to configure APIs. If you don’t have this expertise in-house it will take many months and increase costs massively.”
With this advice in mind, Cocks draws attention to some of the latest offerings from Accura, starting with AccuraSync. This new module can be integrated with Xero and QuickBooks, so that data added or changed in the MIS is updated immediately in the target accounting package.
“This negates the need for file import or export of data such as invoices from the MIS to and from the accounting system,” Cocks says, adding: “It also synchronises account ‘on-hold’ status, and balance owning, along with the payment status of any invoices – so the MIS user can see when a client has paid.”
Also new from Accura is AccuraPOD (Proof of Delivery), which can be integrated with Detrack to provide contactless proof of delivery via hand-held mobile or tablet devices across Android and iOS.
AccuraPOD from Accura allows users to track orders in a similar way they would an Uber car
Users can click a link to see the location and progress of their print delivery in a style that Cocks compared to tracking an Uber, and then acknowledge receipt using a SMS or scanned QR Code. Other features provide drive GPS tracking for the printer, and signature, if needed, is made using the handheld device and automatically scanned back into the Accura MIS and lodged in the database against the delivery note for proof, along with an optional ‘doorstep photo’
“This module improves customer service and feedback with customers and allow printers to distinguish themselves from their competitors by offering unparalleled technology-led service,” Cocks says.
The benefits of an MIS to a modern sign-making or wide-format printing business simply cannot be overstated. A quality MIS allows you to take full control of your company, effectively oversee production and make changes to processes to ensure you are hitting your core targets. Keeping your MIS up to date is equally important if you are to make use of the latest features and tools within your MIS solution.
Your text here...
