Feeding the beasts: Quote & Print can help you to feed those fast presses.

Terry Gallagher knows what it takes to keep jobs up to the new generation of ‘hungry,’ ultra-fast, production printing presses. It’s more than simply fine-tuning the mechanics. A sophisticated workflow is essential.

The newer, faster printing equipment, which is now commonplace in our industry, requires a substantial investment. With this investment in more efficient manufacturing, your company also has to make a continuing management effort to 'feed the beasts'.

This means focusing on how to build and keep the flow of work required to satisfy the hungry printing line and the ravenous finance people.

As a business manager you can take several strategic steps to grow your level of business.

For example, you can lead a renewed focus on sales efforts. Quote & Print’s integrated Sales Module can help you to better manage your list of existing and prospective customers and analyse your performance in selling effectively to them.

You can also look at providing faster and more consistent turnaround for your customers’ jobs. You can give your customers more accurate information about when their work really is likely to be ready. Here Quote & Print’s Scheduling, Shop Floor Management and Employee Times modules can give you a very accurate picture of how the work is flowing through your production plant.

Whether you are upstairs in an office or hundreds of kilometres away visiting a customer,
you will be able to see what is happening on the factory floor and just where those critical jobs are ‘at.’

Another strategic path you can take is to build a tighter, stronger relationship with key customers. One part of this may be to provide them with additional value-added services.

By taking on a finished goods distribution role you can position yourself as a valued partner rather than a price-taker for each job. Quote & Print’s powerful range of Finished Goods Management and Logistics modules can provide the software tools to assist you to change how customers perceive your services.

This year we have seen an increasing number of printing businesses investing in an internet business-to-business strategy. With the proven and fully integrated Quote & Print’s Internet B2B module you have the system tools to achieve a stronger tie-in with your corporate customers.

The integration of the Internet B2B with production, finished goods and logistics enables corporate customers to be confident in the ability of your business to meet their needs now and in the future.

Quote & Print’s Internet B2B includes a powerful template-based system for personalised stationery, customised brochures and overprints, or other commercial work limited only by your imagination.

Other functions in the proven B2B module include the ability to offer flexible on-demand printing facilities to your customers, as well as requests for quotes and the secured option to allow your customers to view the status of their quotes and jobs when required.

An integrated management information system such as Quote & Print has the tools to assist you in the on-going challenge to continue to refine and grow your business and ‘feed the beast.’

Terry Gallagher is Managing Director of Quote & Print Solutions, the distributor of Quote & Print for NSW, ACT and SA.