The wonders of workflow

Today’s sophisticated business workflow software performs many functions you may currently be doing manually or not doing at all. This software will save money, employee hours, resources and other expenses. One recent U.S. study estimated that employees not using this software can waste up to 25% of their time with tasks not involved in their area of expertise. Modern workflow systems are complete end-to-end systems that enable you to manage all aspects of your business in one solution. Most can be customized, come with ongoing tech support and you don’t need to invest in costly servers.
Of course there are challenges. Staff may resist change, especially if it involves new technology, and so you must ensure 100% compliance. Next, make sure you implement a program that can be adapted quickly as your business evolves, including integration with your equipment’s current workflow. Finally, software is only as good as the information you input – be meticulous about accuracy.
There are numerous workflow management companies out there, but for this article I’m going to focus on a three exceptional Canadian companies that have made their mark in this sector.

Avanti

(www.avantisystems.com)
In business for over 28 years, Avanti provides print MIS and web-to-print solutions that help automate virtually all facets of a printer’s business, so that you can manage your entire operation from one core system. It has over 400 customers including many medium to large-scale commercial printers and in-plant customers such as the World Bank, and US Senate.
One of its recent added modules which is gaining a lot of traction is Advanced Fulfillment. This lets you manage customer contracts and track customers’ finished goods while simplifying what can often be very complex billing. Traditionally, prints shops have operated with two separate systems, one for printing and one for fulfillment. For many shops, this has resulted in manual fulfillment processes involving separate systems and databases that do not communicate. Today, as printers diversify themselves and add new lines of business, the ability to streamline, simplify and automate fulfillment is essential, says Avanti.
An example of one of Avanti’s recent Canadian partnerships is with the University of Waterloo, whose 10-year-old print management system at its several on-campus retail stores needed an overhaul. Basically, its older software modules were difficult to support and maintain and, most importantly, it was difficult to determine job cost and ROI. Avanti deployed its print shop Management Information System (MIS) to allow the university to track all jobs in real time, providing all necessary details to have an intimate understanding of job costs. From purchase of raw materials, to order processing, inventory control and final shipping, the technology showed specifically in which areas the business was growing or not growing.
Avanti’s Job Manager module handles job tracking, profitability, invoicing, scheduling, shipping and change order information. Order Entry/Job Costing calculates cost and price as the job is entered and saves templates for future jobs. Shop Floor Data Collection allowed data input by shop staff to track labour, productivity, equipment utilization, spoiled items, production rates and so on.
One future strategy that impressed university officials was Avanti’s eAccess Web-to-Print capabilities, where authorized users have a link to the system via the Internet. This provides easy, inexpensive and secure anytime/anywhere access for submission of jobs, as well as a valuable job history review through the eAccess interface. The university intends to add this system later this year. Avanti continues to work with the University as a software provider and workflow consultant and has become an important part of Waterloo’s retail store success.

Bard Business Solutions

(www.bardsolutions.com)
Bard Business Solutions Inc. is another exceptional Canadian company that has been helping the printing industry for more than 18 years. Two benefits caught my eye right away. The first is that you can have a live demonstration of its sophisticated print management software in the comfort of your own office through its Online Meeting Room. The second was the sheer range of its product portfolio.
One of the features that makes Bard unique is that its product portfolio is tailored to specific industry segments. Graphics Manager is for trade, commercial, offset, and web printing; Enterprise Manager is for large-format, specialty printing, agencies and design companies; Digital Print Manager is aimed at digital printers, quick printers and binderies; Graphics Express is solely for print brokers; Magazine Manager is for magazine and newspaper publishers; Freelance Manager is used by freelance designers, contract people and consultants; and its latest product, Publishing Manager, was specially created for book publishers.
All are fully integrated, multi-user database management systems. The majority cover functions such as contact management, rates and products, equipment, employees, estimates, dockets, production scheduling, costing, time sheets, shipping, purchase orders and invoices. Other modules contain additional segment-specific software. Bard’s website has a quick-reference product comparison checklist worth checking out.
Industry veteran and President Stephen Bard discovered a long time ago that off-the-shelf software does not always match the information that most businesses use – and that was partly his inspiration for starting the company. The main philosophy is “enter data once and use it many times.” Time-consuming, error-prone paper processes are virtually eliminated by using its software.
“I had worked with many different types of software applications and programming languages since 1979, and when I was planning our first product, Graphics Manager, I knew that we needed a solution that would work on both platforms (Windows and Mac) and that the software would have to be inexpensive when it came to customized changes. The perfect fit was to use FileMaker Pro (www.filemaker.com).” Today, all of the company’s products come bundled with FileMaker Pro 12 software and they operate on Mac OS X, Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and iPad OS.
Bard’s goal of one program managing your entire shop, and entering data once and using it many times, resonates well with his long-time customers. One of them, DT Print Solutions Inc., recently moved into a new and larger facility at 380 Adelaide St. W. in downtown Toronto. This client had installed Bard’s Graphics Manager in January of 2009. “Graphics Manager has contributed greatly to the success and growth of our company. It saves us literally hours each week and has had a huge impact on our profitability,” said owner Dan Thompson.

Docket Manager

(www.docketmanager.ca)
The survival and growth of printing businesses depends on four key elements, according to Docket Manager President Mark Darling, a veteran of 18-plus years in the industry. Element one requires that your shop be run efficiently – and shop efficiency is maximized by reducing the hours required to complete jobs while decreasing waste and/or errors. Next, a healthy shop will be adept at retaining existing clients or reducing turnover. Third is the ability to increase the amount of revenue generated per client, and finally, expansion of the number of clients on an ongoing basis.
Docket Manager is a new program that can address all four of these issues for shops of any size. Its web-to-print and MIS are seamlessly integrated into one program. The software allows a print shop to have its entire client database in one comprehensive system. It then allows you to create quotes, place orders, track sales and so on. It is also set up so that your client does most of the work.
Clients can see, access and order through their own private, customized web page. The system even allows customers to change information themselves. As an example, take your standard business card order. From the customer calling you, retrieving existing information, e-mailing proofs and so on, you could spend 20 to 30 minutes from initial contact to final printing. With Docket Manager the timeline is reduced to minutes as the client sends the completed information through the system. So if only ten orders were processed each day, a shop could free up 16 to 25 hours internally on a weekly basis while also eliminating errors.
The company has three basic configurations: W2P (a web-to-print online ordering system), MIS (a Management Information System) and DLX (where the two systems work together seamlessly). With web-to-print, each of your clients will have his or her own individual ordering site where they can easily place and/or update items they have previously ordered. Both company and client are notified via e-mail with every online order placed. With the DLX Edition, a work order is automatically created and scheduled into the workflow.
Docket Manager’s MIS creates quotes and orders, shows past order and quote history, creates online templates and keeps track of all marketing campaigns and company information. Your clients can even initiate e-mail campaigns for their own customers. The software also keeps track of sales calls and all communication, as well as your customers’ balances. If those balances go past your preset number of days, the technology automatically sends e-mail reminders. Also, each login is fully customizable so that you can dictate what each employee is able to see and access on the system. Another benefit is that Docket Manager is 100% web-based, allowing you to have full access to the system on any device, anywhere you have an internet connection.