Targeting solutions

Customers are more demanding than ever in the modern world, expecting quality work to be delivered in a speedy manner. Whether it is the simple  production of a banner or a much more complex job, more often than not customers will require the work to be completed as soon as possible.

And with competition as fierce as ever in the industry, it is vital to ensure your company stands out amongst others—one way to do this is with excellent customer service. This is where solutions such as management information systems (MIS) can help sign-makers.

Offering firms extra help in the management of their production process, MIS solutions allow them to more effectively manage their work so they know exactly where they are with certain projects.

Customer service

One company that has taken advantage of such technology is Swindon-based print firm Multisets Print Solutions, which opted to install the latest MIS software from Shuttleworth Business Systems.

The solution includes a new job tracking function called ‘Milestones’ that Shuttleworth says automatically integrates and updates all job information, therefore making it quick and easy to view the status of a job as it passes through the business.

The new solution also includes an iPhone and iPad customer relations management (CRM) app, which Shutt-leworth says has been designed to help sales teams. They can use the app to access contact and enquiry details, as well as send job-related information back to colleagues at the company via a link to the Shuttleworth CRM module.

Iain Cox, managing director at Multisets, says the addition of Shutt-leworth’s MIS has helped the firm in a number of ways: “Shuttleworth’s latest MIS developments have given complete transparency to the business, without having to search for information. The real time data is a click of a button away, whether it is a customer event, productive information, or CRM. The format is presented in a completely user-friendly way, so we can access and look at information instantly and with great ease.”

Dawn Stafford, marketing executive at Shuttleworth Business Systems, echoes these words and goes on to say how an effective MIS can boost a company’s customer service.

She explains: “Every business needs to look at ways it can make efficiencies and reduce costs whilst still providing an outstanding service. Critical to the success of any business is to be seen to add value to the supply chain. A key element to this is the provision of world-class customer service. Shutt-leworth’s MIS specialisation helps us to understand these demands and provide the tools to make a real critical difference to these businesses.”

Looking ahead to the rest of 2014, Stafford says Shuttleworth is set to launch not just a new product, but also technological services for its customers to offer to clients of their own.

She explains: “This year, we will be launching a mobile stock app that enables users of the Shuttleworth System to use mobile technology to better control their stock. We will also be showing how they can offer services to support their business development activity, with customer bespoke mobile applications, QR codes, and augmented reality. Shuttleworth can show users how social media data can be delivered back to the brand owner.”

Importance of integration

Fellow MIS provider Accura MIS also claims to have installed systems in more than 600 companies around the world. Trevor Cocks, managing director of the firm, says its Accura MIS solution is targeted at small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME) wide-format printers.



He continues: “The Accura MIS is a print management system that offers a suite of integrated modules covering every aspect of running a print business. Modules include cost-rate-calculator, CRM, estimating, production, proofing, dispatch, invoicing, purchasing, stock control, job costing, remote-data-capture, scheduling, and e-commerce or web-to-print.

“A good MIS brings integration—and the importance of this cannot be overstated. Instead of running several different systems that won’t talk to each other, an MIS system brings this all under one umbrella. This information does not have to be re-keyed, and this offers savings in time, efficiency, reduction of errors, reductions in manpower, and ultimately saving money.”

With this in mind, Cocks cites some of the companies that have benefited from using Accura MIS. Glasgow-based PR Print was able to expand its business on the back of installing AccuraOnline and claims it won contracts totaling £96,000 per annum for the next two years as a result.

Keen to improve solutions further, Cocks highlights a number of developments that have been made to the MIS. These include a Visual Scheduler, a new interactive drag and drop interface that is updated in real-time from factory data.

Elsewhere, eDocBuilder is an artwork editing, variable data, web-to-print plug-in for the AccuraOnline web portal. In addition, Time and Attendance is an add-on to the remote-data-capture module that Cocks claims can replace a traditional clocking-in system.

A clearer picture

Fellow MIS provider Clarity Software is another company to have reported increased interest in its products from companies throughout the sign industry. Having been installed by a number of major players, the company has reportedly received plenty of positive feedback about what its solutions can do.

O Factoid:  Henry Ford invented the first automotive production line for the Model-T. This stimulated the invention of one of the first information feedback systems, so management could monitor the company’s workflow. O

Emerson Welch, marketing manager at Clarity, backs up these findings: “An integrated MIS ensures jobs are right first time every time, using customised works orders or job cards that are generated with one click.

“Errors, wastage and stock holding are reduced through clever stock management, yielding huge cash benefits.

Precision in printing

While an MIS may seem impressive in its own, integrating other products into an existing MIS system may also be another way forward. While in the commercial sector, Precision Printing did just this earlier this year after integrating its Coreprint web-to-print solution from Vpress into OneFlow and Tharstern Primo MIS—a move Steve Roucaute, technical director, claims enabled complete automation of the ordering process.

Roucaute explains: “We needed a robust and comprehensive web-to-print platform with a lot of functionalities, covering a wide range of our clients’ requirements in terms of users and spend management, artwork and stock management, all of which Vpress offer.

“Warehouse management and invoicing are fully managed by Tharstern at Precision, whilst the production is fully automated via One-Flow, so linking the three systems together was a no brainer for us and now gives a full end to end automated solution.”

Under the new system, clients can order print items without human intervention, which helps save time and costs at the company. Files are received, booked in, imposed, sent to press automatically, scheduled via OneFlow up to the point of shipping, where the order is then scanned. A carrier label is then printed, the order invoiced in Tharstern and tracking number sent back to Coreprint so that the end-user can track its progress.



Roucaute concludes: “We can definitely say that we have closed the loop and achieved a significant overhead cost reduction.”

It seems that there are plenty of positive messages coming from both supplier and customers of MIS. And while those sign-makers investing in such systems for the first time may see it as intimidating step and which will cut into their valuable production time, it seems that there is both enough help and efficiencies to be had to counter both these issues.

In an age where almost everything is going digital, maybe it is time to start managing your information.

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