The benefits an MIS offers to your web-to-print businessHow can a Management InformationSystem make your print shop moreefficient and profitable?

MIS WHITE PAPER

MIS WHITE PAPER

Innovative technology for business growth

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Have you ever had a print job that’s cost you money due to long-winded manual processes? Or have you missed the deadline all because a post-it note went missing or because someone misread the handwriting instructions on the jobs whiteboard?

Or maybe the print supervisor’s computer, where the only copy of the spreadsheet holding everything together, died.

Keeping track of a multitude of large printing jobs can be tricky to manage - especially when you’ve got the sales team emailing or calling you every five minutes to find out when the job’s going to be shipped.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. An effective MIS system can ensure that your production processes are streamlined to maximise productivity and efficiency, massively reducing costs, eliminating the potential for expensive mistakes and ultimately boosting profitability for your printing operation.

In this whitepaper, we will discuss: · What a Management Information System (MIS) is

· Exactly how an MIS can automate and streamline your printing operations

· The pros and cons of cloud-based MIS software versus server-based software

· How you can quickly recoup the initial outlay and massively increase your profitability

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ContentsThe case for MIS

A change in customers’ expectations

What exactly is a print MIS?

An MIS breakdown

Web-to-print storefront

Estimating

Data collection and scheduling

Integration with a customer relationship management (CRM)

Costing and accounts

Common objections to MIS

“Our printing shop’s too small to need an MIS”

“We invested in an MIS and the staff didn’t use it”

“We don’t think it’s worth the investment”

What’s best for my business – a cloud or server-based MIS?

How Infigo’s web-to-print software can integrate with the top MIS providers in the market

Infigo Connect

Our integrations

Conclusion

References

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The case for MIS

A change in customers’ expectations

If your business is well established and has been running for several generations, you will probably have several different systems, and methods, in place for storing data.

This can range from excel spreadsheets, customer relationship management (CRM) software, to more physical (and dare we say it rather antiquated) methods of storing and sharing information – such as post it notes, notebooks and whiteboards.

Yes, these methods may have got your business to where it is now. And yes, these methods may be what your staff is used to. But…

• Is it the most efficient method of running your business?

• Can other departments in your organisation easily access the information when they need it?

• Do these processes enable customers to get real time updates on the progress of their job?

• Are these processes costing you money?

• Are they costing you business, as your customers go to competitors who offer a more streamlined user-friendly ordering, printing and shipping process?

The fact is customers are now used to a very different buying experience. Whether you operate in the business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) sector, your customers are now used to a buying experience similar to that offered by the likes of Amazon and Uber.

They’re used to ordering a product or service at the touch of a button, receiving automated updates advising them on the progress of their order, right up until the point their item or service has been received. They also expect it all to be instantaneous – and for that, minimal, if not any, human interaction can really take place.

According to a study by customer experience consultancy Walker, customer experience is expected to overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator by the end of 20201 .

Which is why printing operations, of all sizes, are increasingly adopting Management Information Systems (MIS). It does not only enable them to provide a superior customer experience but also heavily reduce costs and improve productivity.

MIS WHITE PAPER

This efficient and streamlined process is something that we are seeking out more and more. In fact, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience.

86%

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What exactly is a print MIS?A print MIS is an integrated software solution that enables print businesses to plan, organise and coordinate individual jobs or implement standardised processes that can be replicated for specific types of jobs or customers.

In essence, large parts, if not your entire workflow can be automated - receiving orders and generating print estimates for clients, pre-flighting and proofing the job, tracking and sending the confirmed orders for printing and scheduling the deliveries – all without any human input.

For example, a job can be received and on the presses within a few minutes. Using configured settings, the MIS can select the most appropriate machinery to use, depending on the type of job and the volume that is required - whether that is one off print on a personalised suitcase or 20,000 corporate brochures.

This means that your customer receives the most appropriate solution at the most competitive price while also ensuring that it’s cost effective for your business.

An effective MIS also reduces the potential for any costly mistakes due to miscommunication or rekeying errors, as data is automatically updated across integrated systems.

MIS WHITE PAPER

So, what does this mean for printers? For a start, a well-integrated and implemented MIS can reduce touchpoints across the workflow by at least 25%. This means production costs on some jobs can be reduced by as much as 50%2 - which isn’t surprising considering the estimated cost of each human is in excess of £25.

An MIS enables printers to:

• Automate daily tasks

• Manage inventory and consumables

• Automate prepress, post-press, graphics, and pricing

• Integrate with CRM and scheduling, reporting, ordering and payment functions

• Keep stakeholders updated on the progress of a print job

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MIS WHITE PAPER

An MIS breakdown

Estimating

Not every MIS system is identical - depending on the provider, it will have different functionality and capabilities. However, most systems follow a basic framework, enabling printers to automate various aspects of the workflow:

Quoting for individual jobs is not only time consuming but can result in a lack of standardised pricing. This can lead to print runs that at best aren’t cost-effective or at worst lose you money. It’s not uncommon for a colleague to agree with a particular type of finishing, at a later date, that doesn’t get added to the estimate.

However, an MIS ensures that the exact specifications of a job are entered and confirmed with the client. An electronic job ticket is created, defining the methods and materials required.

This includes whether the customer has paid for a fast turnaround or additional extras, such as embossing, and the availability of production equipment in the forward schedule.

Right from the start, the client knows exactly what they’re ordering, what they’re paying for it and when they’re likely to receive it. You know what the job is going to entail and what resources are required.

Web-to-print storefrontAlthough some MIS providers offer their own web-to-print software, often they will partner with a specialist web-to-print software provider. A web-to-print storefront has a number of benefits, which enables printers to grow their business more efficiently and sustainably. For a start, it gives you a global online presence, massively expanding the reach of your organisation.

This means that not only can you accept orders from anywhere in the world, they can be placed any time of day – whether you are fast asleep in the middle of the night or having your first coffee during the morning catch up meeting.

It also allows your staff to focus on more profitable aspects of the sales process (rather than getting into numerous, lengthy phone calls or email conversations) and spend more time on

other tasks that make better use of their skills and provide more value to the overall running of your business.

This is because the most sophisticated web-to-print storefronts enable customers to specify and preview their own jobs, in 3D if required, and get automated quotations.

Your print shop can therefore accept orders and, with configured workflows, automatically preflights job files and places them in a job queue for pre-press or digital printing without any human interaction.

Storefronts can also be personalised, whether that’s a branded website for specific products or services or a specific portal for a corporate client, which ensures brand consistency.

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Data collection and schedulingAn MIS can automate production control, so you know what jobs are booked in and when and which machines are needed to complete them.

An MIS will collect shop floor data to monitor and record actual production for costing. This information can be fed back to the scheduling module, to allow live status monitoring. Jobs can then be rerouted if production machinery unexpectedly becomes available or if (god forbid!) a job falls behind deadline.

For example, the MIS can pass information to the pre-press computers via JDF/JMF data so they can re-impose multi-page jobs for different press formats, if required.

This data is also sent to other systems, such as the CRM module or web-to-print storefront, so both the client and other members of staff know what the status of the job is in real-time.

Integration with a customer relationship management (CRM)76% of businesses believe inaccurate data is undermining their ability to provide an excellent customer experience3. A CRM module not only enables you to keep up to date information on your customers but also enables any relevant staff to access that information.

When you integrate your MIS with a CRM system, information becomes easily accessible to the staff, from customers’ current and past jobs to details about progress, despatch and costs.

Because the systems are integrated, there is no need to rekey information, reducing the risk of mistakes and the impact on the customer experience.

Another positive is that notifications can be automated, so customers are sent emails informing them that their job has been received, when it’s likely to be actioned and when it’s shipped.

Costing And AccountsCosting is essentially the mirror image of the estimating process, taking actual timings and material consumption, adding the fixed costs and calculating the real cost of production to the printer.

Results can be passed straight to the accounts system for billing, or it may require some human adjustment where the margins passed onto the customer are increased or reduced.

Real costs can also be used for the analysis of individual jobs or patterns of jobs over time. This, in turn, can be fed back to produce more accurate estimates, and also used in forward business planning.

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Common objections to MIS

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So, if MIS is the answer to all printers’ problems, why isn’t every shop using one? Well, understandably there are many reasons why a printing company might be reluctant to invest in an MIS.

It’s not just large organisations that can hugely benefit from an MIS. Because a considerable part of the workflow can be automated, staff can focus on integral production tasks rather than spending their time on admin tasks, such as preparing and delivering estimates (which can be done via an MIS).

An MIS can accept and return many of the routine customer requests for quotations (RFQs), order submissions, job file uploads and job progress reports without your staff having to take be involved at all.

There’s no denying that a top of the range MIS is a significant outlay. One that doesn’t perhaps catch the imagination like a brand-new printing press.

Therefore, it’s not always a top priority for organisations. However, it’s an investment that quickly generates a return. It is estimated that a print shop could make its money back between 10 and 14 months5.

For example, a client with Tharstern (an MIS solution that Infigo integrates with) was able to grow their business by 40% within 18 months of investing in the software - this was without having to take on any extra staff6.

Unfortunately, we are creatures of habit. When your staff are used to working in a particular way, it can be difficult for them to adopt new processes.

But as Paul Gibbons, the author of The Science of Successful Organizational Change: How Leaders Set Strategy, Change Behavior, and Create an Agile Culture says: “People who appear to be resisting change may simply be the victim of bad habits. Habit, like gravity, never takes a day off.”4

So, it’s important that you invest in an MIS that provides ongoing support and training, to ensure your staff quickly get into the habit of using the MIS and commit to getting the best out of it. It’s also recommended that you choose an MIS that fully integrates with or includes modules to replace your existing systems.

It’s also integral, during the due diligence process, to select an MIS that can grow with you as a business and adapt to future software and hardware upgrades.

Our printing shop’s too small to need an MIS”

We don’t think it’s worth the investment”

We invested in an MIS and the staff didn’t use it”

What’s best for my business – a cloud or server-based MIS?

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MIS WHITE PAPER

Regardless of the size of your business, an MIS could make a substantial impact on your efficiency, productivity and profitability. However, you need to select an MIS that is most appropriate for your business.

One of the first things to consider is whether a cloud-based or server-based MIS will best meet your requirements.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages:

Server-based MIS

Cloud-based MIS

Pros:

• You have control over your physical back up.

• Critical data is kept in-house which means a third party doesn’t have access to your information.

• You are not reliant on the Internet to access data.

• It can be a more cost-effective solution for small to mid-sized companies.

Pros:

• There are reduced hardware or capital expenses. Well-suited to smaller companies that are growing and may quickly need additional integrations.

• Upgrades and new integrations can be added as needed. Solutions are often on-demand, so you only pay for what you need.

• You can backup or restore from anywhere, using any device.

• Data can be backed up in the cloud several times an hour if required, reducing the risk of data loss in disaster situations.

Cons:

• It requires a capital investment in hardware and infrastructure.

• It requires dedicated IT support as well as the physical space to house the server.

• It can be more vulnerable during disaster situations due to its in-house location – needs regularly backing up to an offsite server.

• No uptime or recovery time guarantees.

Cons:

• The costs of the data recovery could outweigh the benefits for printing operations that are not as dependent on uptime and instant recovery.

• There may be a limit to MIS data that can be stored in the cloud due to storage availability and cost.

• If the Internet goes down on your side or on your cloud provider’s side, you won’t have access to your MIS.

• Full data recovery could prove very time-consuming and impactful on systems.

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MIS WHITE PAPER

How Infigo’s web-to-print software can integrate with the top MIS providers in the market

Our integrations

Web-to-print and MIS solutions can enable your printing shop to fully automate jobs, diversify into new markets and build entirely new revenue streams.

To capitalise on these new opportunities, it’s important to use an MIS that fully integrates with your web-to-print software without any issues.

Infigo’s solution is fully compatible with the most well-respected players in the MIS market. We not only have established partnerships with printIQ, Tharstern, DocketManager but our Infigo Connect plugins ensures a smooth synthesis with most systems.

The Tharstern MIS is for print professionals who want to make their company run faster, better and smarter. It’s for those who want to speed up print jobs so they flow swiftly through each department with little intervention, and free up their team so they can provide the exceptional customer experience and fast delivery times that the modern print buyer demands.

We can do this because we’ve spent the last 36 years perfecting our MIS solution, continually adding new functionality that will allow you to drive change and make improvements BUT without sacrificing the things that makes your company so great.

We can offer you advice and guidance on all aspects of automation and integration, and help you push your company forward to the next stage in its technological evolution.

Lee Ward - Chief Business Development Officer, Tharstern

Infigo ConnectOur team understands the importance of integrating an MIS system to your web-to-print storefront and therefore have developed a suite of plugins.

This means you can link your Infigo platform to virtually any MIS available on the market. This gives you the flexibility to research and select the one that best fits your current requirements.

Regardless of which MIS you use, our plugin reduces the need for manual input such as rekeying information, enabling you to deliver 24/7, on-demand services (without increasing your staff

head count) - all with an easy-to-use online user interface.We collate all the order information, including customer data, files and artwork placed on your web-to-print storefront, package it into the appropriate file type (based on your configuration) and share it with your MIS provider.

Setting up and configuring is a quick and easy process, which can be completed within hours, with full technical support available from our experts, if required.

Integrating your systems and creating a seamless workflow process couldn’t be easier.

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MIS WHITE PAPER

printIQ is a web-based application that gives customers a seamless, end-to-end estimating, ordering, and production workflow that takes the best elements from the traditional ERP and MIS solutions - and adds the automation to make it hum. Production-staff manage the factory while customers quote, order and track, all from within the same application.

By utilising a Cloud-based solution (with no software installation required), printIQ offers shorter implementation times, lower up-front costs, and subscription-based payments. Combine this with shorter, less costly development cycles and simplified functionality updates, and it’s not surprising that printIQ is growing a loyal fan-base the world over.

In a time when printers need to quickly adapt to the ever-changing market, very few providers have an active R&D program in place. In contrast, printIQ is focused on the future of print, backed-up by a development team that constantly delivers enhanced functionality to the core product, to provide exceptional results.

Mick Rowan - Product Director, printIQ

When selecting an MIS, it’s crucial to consider how the platform will fit into your business operations. With many options available, each MIS offers unique features and attributes. Although it may not be an easy task to find a solution that suits your needs precisely, one aspect that must not be overlooked is how the MIS solution will benefit you not only today, but more importantly, how it can stay relevant as your business grows in the future.

Therefore, your MIS provider should be constantly developing and improving their offering. At DocketManager, our focus has always been to deliver a product with a wide variety of functionality which prevents pigeon-holding our users into a single methodology. We are also committed to keeping our platform simple and easy-to-use.

Brent Darling - Managing Director, DocketManager Inc.

We have seen many of our clients hugely increase the profitability of their printing operations by implementing web-to-print and MIS software.

At a time when your business needs to find ways to reduce costs, increase revenue streams and improve efficiency, the right software really can make a significant difference.

We always have experts on hand to talk you through how increased digitisation and synchronicity could make a huge

difference to your business and provide online demonstrations. We are passionate about helping the printing industry take advantage of the many opportunities web-to-print and MIS software provides, so provide ongoing after-sales training and support, ensuring your business gets the maximum return on its investment.

So please get in touch to find out how Infigo can help take your print operation to the next level in efficiency and profitability.

www.infigo.net | +44 (0)330 460 0071 | sales@infigo.netUnit 10, Enterprise Park, Lewes Road, Lindfield, West Sussex, RH16 2LH, UK

References 1. Accelerating the CX Advantage https://go.walkerinfo.com/AcceleratingTheCXAdvantage

2. Chaos to Calm: The Power of Print MIS https://www.piworld.com/post/chaos-calm-power-print-mis/

3. Seven views on the future of marketing https://www.experian.co.uk/assets/marketing-services/whitepapers/wp-7for17.pdf

4. The Science of Successful Organizational Change: How Leaders Set Strategy, Change Behavior, andCreate an Agile Culture https://www.amazon.co.uk/Science-Successful-Organizational-ChangeStrategy/dp/0134000331

5. Print MIS Savings http://www.dpsmagazine.com/print-mis-savings/

6. Integration https://www.tharstern.com/elle-media