Quote & Print brings in the New Year with new opportunities

After enjoying the Christmas break and taking the chance to engage in a well-needed break from the office, the New Year brings the perfect opportunity to change the way a business operates – for the better.

First and foremost, it is a time for business operators to review their expenses to see if there are any that can be reduced, whether there are any costs that can be recovered.

To take a slightly more radical approach, some businesses see fit to completely alter the way in which they perform their operations. To highlight one of the strongest examples, users of the Quote & Print software in the past have concluded that it no longer makes economic sense for them to be in the business of putting ink to paper, instead deciding to enter the domain of print management.

Facing a competitive environment and tough working conditions, they decided it was the most effective way of leveraging their many years of print experience to generate a reasonable income.

For another example of a Quote & Print user shifting in a different direction, another printer used the skills available in his pre press department to create a web design company. The necessary design software and the knowledgeable creative staff were already available to get the job done - all that was needed was a new name for the hi-tech enterprise before another income stream could be generated.

To begin the New Year with a bang, business owners and operators need to ask themselves what it is that their company does best, and how they can differentiate themselves from their competitors. Further still, what are the value-add activities or products that could be produced, or the strategic alliances that could be considered.

Does the company see itself as a printer, or as a print provider?

As the process of globalization rolls on, print providers are under pressure to source some of their product from China. Printers need to address what they would do if their most important customers asked them to demonstrate how the cost of print purchasing could be reduced by 20 per cent over the next 12 months. Facing such obstacles head on could mean the difference between having an answer ready and leaving the office in a state of shock.

The designers of the Quote & Print software have themselves spent a few days over the Christmas break working out a road map for the year ahead. The emphasis in 2006 will be spent on enhancing the functionality of the existing modules based on feedback from the customer base.

The first cab of the rank for Quote & print will be QPONLINE. This is an enhanced version of the standard internet module QPV6 that is already being put to good use by customers.

Congratulations goes out to Avenue Press from Victoria for being the first new user to join to Quote & Print stable this year.

Dave Bell.