Knowledge is Profit – MIS Special Case Study

Nigel Southey is clear about the key benefit of the Optimus Dash MIS that Colyer London has  implemented at its Vine Hill premises. “It’s going to make us more profitable because we will know the real costs of what we produce and the real prices of materials. We are going to save a fortune on materials,” says the managing director.

Colyer London operates in three distinct areas: Computing, which supplies Apple computers, Xerox printers and Adobe applications; Stationery which provides creative stationery products and Printing, which is an all digital operation based around cut sheet and large format inkjet.

While the first two divisions are straightforward to manage in terms of costs and margins because they are based on products with known costs and prices, the same does not apply to print where every job is different. “Print has been very difficult to quote for. It can cover brochures to pop up stands and banners,  reports to canvas prints. The biggest issue we had was that we really didn’t have much clue what the cost was because there are so many different elements involved. We worked on assumed margins, but we didn’t really understand how profitable each customer or each job was,” Southey says. And nobody, himself included, liked producing quotes.

This could not go on and about 18 months ago Southey started to look for an MIS to bring this under control. The problem he quickly found was that MIS for print was designed for sheetfed litho, not for digital where the materials could be film or canvas rolls as easily as they could be cut sheet papers.  “Until we saw that Optimus was developing Dash for the digital environment there was nothing that came close to what we were looking for. Dash was the first that ticked all the boxes I wanted.

“We needed something that was server based, that could be accessed from anywhere because we have people that work from home, and that would hold all production and job data in one place so that everyone was looking at the same information.”

Implementation of Dash began in June with the steady building of job templates over the summer.  Templates are crucial to Dash. There is a template for each type of job that the company can  produce on its range of equipment. In Colyer London’s case this includes a flatbed Océ Arizona inkjet press, Esko cutting table and the latest Xerox 8080 cutsheet colour machine. The parameters for each machine are included to prevent jobs being offered that is the wrong format or unsuitable materials.

There is a big investment in time in creating these templates, but once completed the quoting  process is simplicity itself. It is a matter of pulling the customer details from the system, adding a job reference and then filling in the required fields for that job. Dash works out the best way to produce it on the given equipment and comes back with a true price, taking account of allocated time,  depreciation, labour and material costs. It is simple enough that anyone can generate a quote in minute.

For the first time Colyer London can see clearly what each job is costing. There’s a suggested price   and break down of all the cost elements so that any negotiations take place with real understanding of their impact on the business. “We had one regular job which we had priced on the assumption that we would print it two-up, but when checking through Dash we discovered that we could only get one set out of a sheet, so were using twice the machine time and twice the paper we expected. We discovered instead of a good margin we were losing money on the job,” he explains. While it could be argued that this sort of issue ought to be sorted earlier, Southey points out that with the sheer number of jobs passing through and the short run nature of each, this simply is not possible in a small business.

Previously with instruction sheets for each job it was difficult to know how many jobs were in the  building. Dash has solved this, each job is tracked and its progress shown on screen using colour to highlight any issues.

Dash has also delivered on the first aim of providing a real view into the cost side of the business and in generating quotes rapidly and easily. The speed of delivering a quote can make the difference  between winning and missing a job Southey says, especially when his customer base is creative agencies and companies used to expecting everything “yesterday”. It has also taken control of material usage and costs. “We didn’t know what we were using on any one job so needed something that would give us an understanding of wastage levels and what was in stock at any one time. The materials used on the wide format printer can be very expensive and even on the Xerox some papers are more expensive per sheet than the click charge,” he says.

Dash has delivered here. Once a quote becomes a job, material is allocated or if not in stock, will be ordered from the supplier. For example Colyer now knows how much wrapping material is used per job and can include this in its price. “We use a fantastic amount of bubble wrap,” Southey continues.

The stock system is now live and the links to the Sage accounts has gone live with the new financial year. The future could include web to print portals, CRM for the sales team and even more  sophisticated tracking. For now Southey is delighted that Dash has put him in control of the business.

“We are going to make more profit,” he says.

22-26 Vine Hill
London
EC1R 5LJ

t: 020 7833 0888

For more information about Colyer visit the website at www.colyer.co.uk

Article cortesy of Print Business Magazine 20th January 2012

Optimus release 19.103.000 is now available

Optimus has just released version 19.103.000 To view what  new features and enhancements are included in this release please login to the secure customer area of our website www.optimus2020.com with your registered customer login details of username and password.

Select Customer Login

Enter your details

Select view latest release notes and/or previous release notes if you wish

If you have forgotten your login details please contact our support team on +441483 732600 or email helpdesk@optimus2020.com who will be happy to provide assistance.

To proceed with an upgrade to this release, which of course is free of charge for  all customers paying annual maintenance, please contact our support team who will be happy to arrange this for you or alternatively contact your  local Business Manager for further discussion about the recent changes or if you require additional training or  to discuss procedural changes.

Dublin based Finishing House selects Optimus dash as their new MIS

Dublin based Finishing House PMG Laminating selects Optimus dash as their new MIS solution – press release November 2011

Optimus have been providing MIS software solutions for the Irish & UK Printing communities for nearly 30 years now.  Since the launch of Optimus dash at IPEX 2010, the worldwide install base has grown significantly; as customers have been provided with much greater flexibility to accommodate the needs of print businesses across all sectors, and this now includes Print Finishing Houses.

PMG Laminating were looking for a system to automate many of the manual administrative processes in the generation of quotes, booking in of jobs, printing job bags, raising purchase orders and generating invoices.  This was not only to increase efficiency and accuracy of the data, but also to provide the essential management information that is imperative to the success of any company, large or small.

Patrick McGann, PMG Laminating Managing Director states: “We looked at the MIS vendors and having shortlisted two we decided to choose Optimus for two key reasons. Firstly the Optimus dash product was demonstrated to us using our business logic and way of working that made good sense to us; there was no compromise or workaround for us to have to navigate, which we had found with other MIS systems! So we could see very early in the sales process, that Optimus dash could accommodate our very specific business needs and at a very competitive price. Secondly we felt that the personable approach of the experienced sales team and the sales process was indicative of the long term partnership attitude Optimus has to its customers.”

PMG Laminating has been trading since 2006 and started in a 1200sq ft unit with just one laminating machine. They are now sharing premises in Kylemore Park South, Ballyfermot, Dublin with P2 Finishing who provide Die Cutting and gluing services. PMG provide an extensive range of services for large and small companies based in Dublin and throughout the whole of Ireland including:

• Water based film lamination
• Spot UV Varnishing – with full stencil making facilities in house
• Foil Blocking
• Die Cutting and B1 Hand Platen
• Gluing for presentation folders, CD Wallets, Key Card Holders and various styles of cartons

Optimus Business Manager, Sharon Mordey states: “It was a pleasure to help find the right solution for PMG Laminating as the whole team will benefit enormously on a day to day basis using the Optimus MIS. Optimus dash was a clear product choice due to the flexibility of the Optimus Calc engine and the highly configurable nature of the Optimus dash enquiry system to accommodate only the specific business needs of PMG as a finishing house only. I am very excited to be working with the team at PMG during this implementation project and ongoing long into the future.”

PMG Laminating

Unit 4F Kylemore Park South

Ballyfermot

Dublin 10

Tel:  01 623 6489

Website: www.pmglaminating.ie

Email: pj@pmglaminating.ie

Sign and Digital UK launches 2012 website

The organiser of next year’s Sign & Digital UK exhibition at the NEC has launched a new website at www.signanddigitaluk.com.

The show will be held from 27 – 29 March at the NEC, Birmingham, in Halls 3 & 3A. In previous years the show has been held in April, in halls in the Atrium area of the NEC. The move to Halls 3 & 3A places the event closer to the train and airport links, said the organiser, Faversham House.

Exhibitors already signed up for 2012 include Hewlett-Packard, William Smith, Drytac, InkTec, Digital Print Innovations (DPI), Clarity Software, PrintMax, Doro Tape, HPC Laser, Signwaves, Lion Picture Framing Supplies, Applelec Sign Components, Graphtec and A/G CAD.

Rudi Blackett, the show director, said: ‘We’re very pleased with the results from the 2011 show. We knew it was busy and the buzz surrounding the show and during the actual event was palpable. It’s up to us as organisers to work with the leading industry suppliers and educators to build on this success and deliver a show in 2012 that’s fit for an Olympic year – and so far, with the exhibitors that have booked and that are in the process of booking we are getting close to that. We are also in discussions with exhibitors to offer more training and workshop oriented events on their stands and in our seminars so watch this space.’

The Optimus Solution for Anglo Printers Ireland

This year software solutions provider Optimus is celebrating a 20-year MIS partnership with printers in the Irish market. One of their customers, Drogheda-based Anglo Printers, is a good example of the partnership approach to business that has been the cornerstone of Optimus’ success in Ireland.

 

Anglo Printers first invested in MIS software from Optimus in 1991. ‘We looked at all MIS companies offerings in the market and Optimus were one of the brand leaders in the UK so we visited their HQ in Woking,’ says Anglo Printers Managing Director Padraic Kierans. ‘When we saw the software in operation we decided that it was the one for us. It was a leap of faith because it was the first MIS software that we had ever used.’

As Optimus upgraded its MIS offering over the years, Anglo Printers ensured that it embraced each software development as soon as it became available. ‘Their service offering was constantly evolving and we always tried to move with the times and embrace each new product,’ says Padraic. ‘We have upgraded our Optimus MIS software on average every three to four years since we first installed it in 1991, either by adding modules or upgrading the estimating system to a more automated product.

Dash is their most recent product and we are in the process of moving to it. We are looking to have transferred completely to Dash by October or November.’ Anglo Printers recently secured a major contract with a semi-state body and the installation of the Optimus sales order processing module, which was completed recently, was one of the criteria for the award of contract. Anglo Printers are currently uploading stock for this client and are in talks with a second new client to avail of this service.

‘Anglo Printers were our first customer in the country 20 years ago and the Optimus brand has grown steadily in Ireland since that first installation,’ says Group Managing Director Nicola Bisset. ‘Padraic Kierans has always treated Optimus as a partner, not a supplier, and has worked with our team to get the best out of the system. Most importantly, he has embraced all of the changes we have made to our MIS software down through the years and those changes have reflected the changing needs of his business. He has invested the time and money required to keep his system up-to-date and his business has reaped the benefit of that investment.

With the launch of Optimus Dash at Ipex last year it is clear that Optimus now has a solution for all sectors of the print industry, including specialist printing and wide format, as well as our traditional litho market. We have seen a strong response to this from all of our markets, including Ireland, and we will be focusing on delivering solutions to satisfy the diverse needs of the Irish market.’

Anglo Printers partnership with Optimus was developed further in 1998 when Padraic became the Irish representative on the Optimus user group committee. ‘We made recommendations to Optimus as to how the software might be further developed so it was always a two-way partnership with Optimus,’ says Padraic. ‘The most important part of any partnership with a software provider is the level of technical support that is available and theirs has always been first class. An Optimus consultant will sit down and map out what they can do to help you achieve what you need to achieve for your customers.’

Business Benefits

According to Padraic, one of the key benefits that Optimus software has brought to their business is organisation. ‘It brings a whole structure of organisation to any print business and facilitates quick and easy access to all the information that is required to run a business, including customer data such as job tickets, the value of orders, and the date of last orders received. The information is available at the touch of a button.

The MIS is the engine room of the business. The management team have access to the real time information that they require without having to refer to each other. The main objective of any MIS is to show the printer the type of work that is yielding revenue and the jobs that are not profitable for the business. At the end of each week or month we can focus on the production of jobs that haven’t worked out as planned and try and structure our sales team to focus on the jobs and customers that can deliver a profit. For Anglo Printers, the Optimus MIS software has allowed us to make informed management decisions about the type of work that we wish to pursue.’

 

Maximising Machine Output

Anglo Printers operates eight presses, both litho and digital, along with an array of finishing equipment. These include three B1 presses – a Komori LS540 and L440 and a Miller TP104 perfector, a Heidelberg Speedmaster 52 two-colour and Heidelberg TGO 52 single colour press, as well as four digital presses from Xerox – a Docucolor AP 5000, Docucolor 5252, Xerox 6180 with inline Bourg finishing, and a Xerox 4127 with inline finishing. On the finishing front, the company has two B1 MBO folders – a T700 and a Super KTL Combo – as well as some smaller Morgana folding, creasing, numbering, perforating and finishing equipment. They also operate a D&K Jupiter laminator, a B2 Heidelberg SB die cutter and a KAS Mailmaster 465 mailing machine with eight in-feeds for envelope insertion. On the stitching and trimming end, they have a Muller Martini 335 with four stations plus cover feeder, featuring a Cucciola stacker. ‘The MIS isn’t linked to any of our presses or finishing equipment but we have remote data collection terminals in all departments,’ says Padraic. ‘The operators feed in the activities and productivity on all of the equipment to these terminals which are linked back to the Optimus MIS.’

Future Partnerships

Anglo Printers are currently working with Optimus UK on the installation of their W2P Business to Business module which they hope to have installed by the end of this year. ‘This is for a client who wants to access a portal online whereby they can visualise jobs we have in production for them and check on individual product stock levels,’ says Padraic. ‘Our MIS would open up to them on the web in a personalised web portal. That is a growing request that we are receiving from clients. We have another client who is likely to proceed with this service in the New Year. As a print business you have to offer a W2P service to stay in the game and Optimus are partnering with us to ensure that we can offer this service to our customers.’

Anglo Printers Limited, Mell Industrial Estate, Upper Mell, Drogheda, Co. Louth

Tel:00 353 41 9835000 – Fax:00 353 41 9835541

www.angloprinters.ie

Article Courtesy of Irish Printer magazine www.irishprinter.ie

Optimus Latinoamérica participa como expositor en Colombia Gráfica

Esta feria, organizada por Andigraf, reunió el 8 y 9 de septiembre en Cartagena a los principales representantes de la industria gráfica

Cartagena, 12 de septiembre de 2011 – Optimus, líder en sistemas de gestión ERP para la industria de la comunicación gráfica, participó en la reciente edición de Colombia Gráfica, el simposio que anualmente organiza Andigraf (Asociación Colombiana de la Industria de la Comunicación Gráfica) y en el que se dieron cita empresarios gráficos y demás actores de la cadena para conocer de primera mano la situación del sector, las novedades en gestión y analizar el entorno económico.

 

Bajo el lema de “Colombia, ejemplo de transformación”, el encuentro desarrolló este tema siguiendo con el Programa de Transformación Productiva iniciado por Andigraf para que la industria gráfica colombiana sea una industria de talla mundial.

 

Con este objetivo de transformación, Optimus Latinoamérica presentó a los profesionales de la industria gráfica colombiana su sistema de gestión Optimus 2020, un ERP especializado que les ayudará a mantener la imagen de excelencia de sus empresas y mejorar su ventaja competitiva  para adaptarse a los nuevos tiempos y competir como auténticas compañías de talla mundial.

Optimus 2020 integra todos los aspectos del negocio en una única herramienta, fácil de manejar, que ayuda a mejorar y optimizar todos los procesos administrativos y de producción, reduciendo  los costos y logrando una mayor rentabilidad, una gestión más eficaz y un mejor servicio al cliente.

 

Rolando Aibar, director de Optimus Latinoamérica señala: “La difícil situación económica actual requiere que las empresas desarrollen una capacidad de gestión de la información que las posicione para tener ventaja competitiva en el futuro. La política de mejora continua, de innovación y de anticipación es la que debe primar en las industrias gráficas para alcanzar el éxito”.

“Para tener éxito en estos desafíos es imprescindible que las compañías establezcan procesos de transformación que les permitan posicionarse favorablemente en este nuevo escenario. Trabajar más no es suficiente, las empresas deben trabajar de manera más inteligente; y, para ello, deben utilizar la información para competir. Por eso, es fundamental contar con una herramienta que proporcione esta información en todo momento y que, además, ayude a gestionar eficientemente todos los procesos del negocio. Y esta herramienta no es otra sino un Sistema de Gestión, como  Optimus”, concluye Rolando Aibar.

Me and My… Optimus dash

Finding an MIS suited to its modern wide-format operation was something of a challenge for Hertfordshire-based KGK Print, but Optimus provided the solution…. Optimus dash!

Read the reported benefits from the KGK team following their installation of Optimus dash including:

• No duplication or manual handwritten data on job bags, invoices etc
• Time saving calculated to be round 10 hours a week
• Daily invoice run improving cash flow
• Freeing up of valuable time now focused on generating more business
• Data analysis improving planning decisions
• More control over workflow

Click here to read the full article from Printweek by Jon Severs published Friday 2nd September

Click here to read the article ” Optimus targets wide-format printers with dash MIS”  from Printweek by Simon Nias published Thursday 1st September

Optimus to showcase Award Winning Optimus dash at Africa Print Expo

The Management Information System for wide format, digital, signs, screen and mixed houses will be showcased at the Africa Print expo, taking place from 24-26 August at the Sandton Convention Centre.

The system offers faster quotes, complete job tracking, visibility of job costs, inventory control and dispatch through to invoicing. Users can improve cash flow by ensuring invoices are produced fast and accurately. Complete Management Information and Analysis ensures informed decisions are made, for example: which jobs make the most profit, which products make the most profit, even which sector your customers reside in, makes the most profit. If your customers use you as a quotation comparison with very few orders, thereby tying up valuable staff on time consuming and wasteful activities – Optimus dash will highlight these customers.

Optimus has embraced the lean philosophy ensuring measuring and monitoring is top of the list together with reduction in waste, be that wasting resources, wasteful processes or material waste. The company ensures that its MIS systems provide accurate, real time data whether within Optimus 2020 – the traditional Management Information System – which handles estimating and invoicing for the litho and packaging sectors or Optimus dash. Optimus 2020 boasts 30 years of supplying dynamic, feature rich Management Information to a wide variety of print sectors worldwide.

Pre-register online at www.AfricaPrintExpo.com. Entrance is free

Contact details:

Tel: (+27 11) 315 9130

email: optimus@optimus2020.com

website: www.optimus2020.com

Ipex 2014 in historic move to London

The Informa Print Group, is delighted to confirm that Ipex 2014 will return to London with the relocation of the exhibition to London’s ExCeL international exhibition and conference centre.  The exhibition will take place in the heartland of London’s redeveloped Royal Docklands from 26^th March to 2^nd April 2014.

 “We have undertaken detailed consultation with exhibitor and visitor groups prior to making this decision, and we are extremely excited about the move to ExCeL London (take the virtual tour) for the considerable new opportunities it offers for the expansion and development of Ipex going forward,” says Trevor Crawford, Director of the Informa Print Group.   “While our UK audience will always remain critically important to the show, Ipex is a truly global event, and the attraction of London as a venue, and the remaining legacy of the 2012 Olympic investment into the area, will certainly add to the attraction for our international visitors.”

ExCeL London, which will play host to seven Olympic and Para Olympic events in 2012 (the most that any venue has been given), is an award winning international exhibition and convention centre within a 100 acre campus offering 100,000 sq metres of flexible exhibition space, five on-site hotels, numerous bar and restaurants for after hours networking and excellent transport links to central London.  This includes easy access to London City Airport and the London Underground, three dedicated onsite DLR (Docklands Light Railway) stations, as well as providing parking for nearly 4,000 cars.  The onsite facilities at ExCeL are second to none with more than 40 cafés, bars and restaurants serving cuisine from around the world.

 “This is a significant decision in the history of Ipex that sees the exhibition return to London,” continues Trevor Crawford.  “Ipex has been located at the NEC since 1980, some 30 years of its successful history, and until now the NEC venue was the only one in the UK that could handle the sheer size of the event.  Since the expansion of its event halls in May 2010, ExCeL London has now become the perfect venue for Ipex to begin the next chapter in its development.”

Commenting on behalf of ExCeL London, Kevin Murphy, CEO says “We’re delighted to welcome an event such as Ipex to ExCeL with our unrivalled facilities and proven track record for hosting large scale International and UK events.  We believe that the combination of the Informa and ExCeL organising teams will deliver a memorable event in 2014 and beyond”.

Equally bullish about the move is David Preskett, President of Ipex 2014, Chairman of the IAC (Ipex Advisory Committee) and European Professional Print Director, Canon Europe.  “Relocating to London will give Ipex the backdrop and foundation to further expand its International appeal.  Ipex is a forward-thinking event that is determined to raise the bar to reflect our changing industry and communications media landscape.”

Expressing their endorsement of the move, Picon, the UK’s leading industry trade association representing manufacturers and suppliers to the Printing, Papermaking and Paper Converting sectors, is delighted with the announcement. “We have been in constant dialogue with the Ipex team during the consultation process and there is enormous enthusiasm from our Members for the decision to return to London. They are very keen to exploit all the new avenues that ExCeL and the City of London can bring to the Ipex experience.” confirms Tim Webb, Executive Director of Picon.

“Naturally we are disappointed that we will not be hosting Ipex in 2014,” comments Kathryn James, MD of The NEC, “The show has been a great success at The NEC and we hand over to ExCeL following the event’s successful show in 2010 where many exhibitors reported record levels of business.  We are proud of our longstanding association with Ipex and the role we’ve played in its development over the past three decades.”

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London has welcomed the return of Ipex to London.  “It’s tremendous news for London, and certainly befitting to our Olympic legacy and standing on the international events stage that the ‘Olympics of the global Printing Industry’ returns home to our City.”

 “London offers enormous opportunities for Ipex,” says Nick Craig Waller, Marketing Director of Ipex 2014.  “In the coming months, we’ll be engaging with organisations such as Transport for London, as well as our marketing partners to put the fundamentals in place and commence a worldwide marketing campaign to deliver an Ipex in 2014 that is second to none.”

About Ipex

Ipex http://www.ipex.org is the largest English-speaking global technology event for print, publishing and media. Acquired by IIR Exhibitions (Now Informa Exhibitions) in 2006 from its previous owner, industry association Picon, The Informa Print Group also owns Total Print! Expo, incorporating Digital Print World, Northprint and Ipex South Asia.

Ipex 2010 took place from Tuesday 18th May to Tuesday 25th May 2010 at The NEC, Birmingham, UK. The new footprint for the show provides a logical layout for visitors by mirroring the whole print production workflow.

Optimus dash awarded EDP Best Special Application 2011

Optimus Group Managing Director, Nicola Bisset comments:

‘We are absolutely delighted to win this prestigious award’ presented by The European Digital Press Association at FESPA Hamburg 2011 Award Ceremony.’

The European Digital Press Association Awards are held annually to reward ‘the best innovative technology within the digital market’ and EDP states ‘The award is given for being a very comprehensive system that simplifies the management of your entire processes. For this reason the technical committee agreed it was worthy of an award’.

Optimus dash was first launched at Ipex 2010 after Optimus spent a number of years researching the market to find what MIS functionality was needed by mixed houses including digital, wide format, signs, specialist, textiles  and screen printing communities. Since then Optimus dash has been launched in countries around the world with the same incredibly positive response.

Nicola Bisset states ‘Optimus dash has been very successful since the launch in 2010. I believe the key factors to the success of dash are:  the extensive research to ensure we produced exactly what was needed; and previously the printing sectors mentioned have struggled to find a MIS system designed for them – most MIS systems were traditionally built for litho processes.

Optimus dash challenges this and has been written specifically for the digital sectors with speed, ease of use and flexibility at the heart of the system. Optimus dash is completely scalable from 1 user to 100+ and is easily deployed in a PC or MAC environment.  The Optimus lean ethos continues with Optimus dash, ensuring wasteful processes are eliminated whether a keystroke or an unnecessary process, Optimus aims to maximise the profitability of each print order or transaction.

‘If you can produce it, Optimus dash can manage it’ is something we proudly state.

I am so delighted we have been given this award as it confirms that the Optimus team’s goals in producing Optimus dash were met, equally it is recognition of the Optimus mission of continuing to be innovators in MIS.

Contact: optimus@optimus2020.com