What were the key trends and industry developments in 2022?

The developments of 2022 will pave the way for commercial print trends in 2023 – so what were they? We have seen a real shift towards automation. Print businesses now place even more value on increasing uptime across the entire print lifecycle. This covers everything from pre-press to finishing, including logistics and fulfilment. Automation has helped businesses better serve their customers. It’s also enabled staff to spend more time bringing strategic value.

Sustainability is another key development. Customers now hold suppliers accountable as they assess their supply chains and find more sustainable print options and solutions. This has sharpened market competition and positively impacted the industry as a whole, an impact we support wholeheartedly at Ricoh. 

What are the biggest opportunities and commercial print trends in 2023?

In 2023, we believe Ink Jet will become more prominent. With Ink Jet, you can obtain faster run speeds, increase job volumes, produce smaller print runs and enables full-colour printing on all jobs, extending the historic break even between Digital and Offset. We are particularly proud to be innovating and leading the way in this technology. 

This year, there will also be a continued need for greater efficiencies in production through automation, but through focusing on integrated workflows and robotics and AI. We have written about the benefits of AI for print service providers here.

Data will also become ever more important as the industry looks to create efficiencies in production, particularly around big data that identify cost and efficiency savings for brands and marketing agencies. 

Another trend is partnership and collaboration. To ensure a strong relationship with a client, you must treat it as a partnership and collaborate. Operating in sync enables you to support all aspects of the business and helps nurture opportunities to spark new business. You can read about one of our partnerships here with Aura Print. 

How have economic, political, and supply chain challenges prepared you for 2023?

There has been a growing need for adaptable and flexible businesses over the past few years. One of the ways we have developed our business model was by moving away from the traditional supplier-customer relationship. We have made it clear that our clients can come to us as a trusted advisor to provide the necessary support in times of uncertainty. Ensuring we always stay true to this mantra will set us up for a strong future. 

Fostering these stronger customer relationships has also allowed us to identify synergies that generate shared business outcomes. 

One of the synergies we have identified with clients is finding greater efficiencies in our processes by streamlining our vendors’ network. These trusted relationships and efficiency levels will only develop in the years ahead. We’ve honoured the importance of our customer relationships in our new Champions of Print video. 

How can suppliers better help printers navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities in 2023?

It is crucial to be an advisor who does not solely focus on the production and output of the business but can support clients on broader challenges. 

We have adopted a delivery service that focuses on our customers’ growth by creating extra capacities which move away from the traditional relationship. Throughout the organisation, we have seen the benefit of providing post-sales business support and EDGE Business Development, helping clients diversify and grow.

How can suppliers do more to promote the effectiveness of print to the broader business community in 2023?

For organisations to promote print effectiveness, there is a need to become more active across the complete supply chain. To demonstrate how effective print can be compared to Digital Campaigns and to be part of the design process, not just a fulfilment of work.  

Working with industry bodies such as the BPIF and IPIA, as well as collaborating with other printers and marketing agencies, will enable originations to demonstrate the benefits of print.

Explore our Anything in Print hub if you are interested in understanding more about Ricoh’s commercial print offering. 

This article was originally published in PrintWeek 

Related articles: 

https://insights.ricoh.co.uk/digital-printing/customer-value-in-print 

https://insights.ricoh.co.uk/digital-printing/power-of-print

https://insights.ricoh.co.uk/digital-printing/celebrating-our-champions-of-print 

The post Commercial print trends in 2023: reflections and predictions appeared first on Insights - Empowering Digital Workplaces.

Organisations that understand hybrid working and hybrid office design, understand that it’s not just about giving people the freedom to work from home. 

Hybrid, by its very nature, supports multiple working environments. To succeed, you need to create a seamless experience between remote locations and offices so your employees feel supported to be flexible and empowered to collaborate with colleagues from anywhere.

There are also two very timely external reasons to consider hybrid office design:

1. The talent market is more competitive than ever. For the first time since records began, there are more job vacancies in the UK than candidates. To attract high-quality, diverse individuals and retain your best talent, you need an exceptional hybrid working experience. 

2. The RICS Commercial Property Market Survey recorded an increase in the demand for office space in the UK, up 30% in 2022 Q1. Regardless of what the press says, organisations are returning to and investing in office spaces. To stay competitive, you need to keep up with this movement. 

So, let’s unpack the five steps you need to take to redesign your office for hybrid working and some examples of organisations leading the way. 

Speak to your people

To ensure any change in your workplace will succeed, you first need to understand your people, the way they work and what is important to them. You can do this through surveys, interviews and observations.

The average workplace is only utilised to 35-50% of its potential. Without an understanding of your office, and how it is currently utilised, it is impossible to know if you are making the right decisions and receiving the expected ROI.

Then you need to get buy-in. Studies show that 40% of office workers waste up to 30 minutes a day searching for space to collaborate, so you’d hope they’d be keen for change. 

Calculate the value of your space

Desk space is expensive. The average desk space in London costs £593 per month. Meeting space is even more expensive. Even more so as utilisation rates are low. 

To effectively plan and work out the most successful hybrid workplace, you need to know what value your space has and the potential costs. This way you can reinforce your plans with a robust business case and highlight key recommendations for the future.

Understand how your spaces are used

Knowing whether a space is occupied or not is essential, but it’s not the complete picture of hybrid office design. To create a workplace that empowers your people and hybrid working, you also need to understand:

• Space utilisation rates – knowing when spaces are used, and the availability of that space assists you in making decisions about the type, number and size of facilities needed.
• Resource usage – looking at the resources your people are using and the tasks they help to achieve lets you plan which investments to make.
• How your people work together – understanding the way your people communicate allows you to identify the location, number, size and style of spaces needed.
• When workspaces are not used – tracking indicates whether you need to look at different options such as the introduction of collaboration zones or the development of new processes like ad hoc booking systems.

As well as the qualitative data such as the relationship between teams e.g. should HR, facilities and IT be close together when they’re in the office? Do teams need a dedicated collaboration zone or a hot desk? Are your meeting rooms used for quick conversations, board meetings or phone calls?

Make a plan and execute

Once the research is done and you understand your people, process, technology and workplace, it’s time to make a plan.

First, take the data from your occupancy study and answer each of the following questions:

• How many meeting rooms do we need?
• What types of meeting rooms should we have?
• What booking system should we install?
• What other resources and technology requirements are there?
• How will we measure and report on utilisation?
• How can we communicate through our office space using digital signage?

Once you’ve mapped out your functional requirements, move on to the aesthetics. Create design mood boards for each room, including furniture styles and colours. Your people will spend a lot of time in these rooms, so it’s important to create welcoming spaces that people want to use and get value out of.

Finally, it’s important to keep staff involved as you go. Asking them for feedback and inviting them to get involved will help them feel like they’re part of the process. It will also help you get more insights into what they want and design something that will be truly useful.

Review your approach

Once you’ve rolled out your changes, you should introduce regular opportunities to review your workplace and look for improvements. These reviews should consider key metrics like employee engagement, retention, cost savings and occupancy.

Creating the future of the office with EasyJet 

We implemented RICOH Spaces for EasyJet to support flexible hybrid working, enable a safe return to work after the pandemic, facilitate greater employee collaboration and enable cost-effective use of space at its HQ.

Currently, employees are recommended to come to the Luton HQ campus up to three days a week based on a role-driven approach. To book a workspace, easyJet employees now simply use the RICOH Spaces mobile app or web browser and scan a QR code on the reserved desk to log their arrival. 

Processes are also in place to safeguard workspaces for people that are critical to the operation on-site, as well as to ensure everyone feels safe at work. The Property Team at easyJet actively uses the reporting tools within RICOH Spaces to explore current and historic workspace usage and assist with future changes. Find out more in our case study here.

If you would like to chat about Hybrid Office Design and how RICOH spaces could help you, contact me today. By working with Ricoh, you can purchase single or multiple components of our spaces package. Remove the hassle of dealing with multiple vendors and pursue a global approach.

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We all know the digital world is crowded. There’s a multitude of channels, content and ads flying here, there and everywhere. At Healeys, our goal is to help our clients cut through the noise. We create smart, creative, and memorable print communications that capture attention and drive action with the power of print.

Often our customers think print is more straightforward than digital mediums, but in reality, there are far more considerations and possibilities when it comes to print. Our job is to create considered and beautifully designed print campaigns that stand the test of time. 

So how can you help your clients differentiate themselves with print? 

Get the experts in the room 

Our print experts are passionate about showing clients the infinite possibilities available to them. The team listens to the requirements and expectations and presents solutions that will generate the desired customer response. This process helps clients improve their understanding of processes and how they can be applied to deliver the right message in the most impactful way.

Educating agencies is important for us too. We have been explaining how they can improve their return on marketing investment and generate higher response rates. The toners can produce some wonderful effects that prompt action. This means designers can produce something incredibly creative, in budget, and on-demand.

Find new ways to innovative 

We always bring new innovations to meetings with clients. Recently, we have been having more conversations around the gold, silver, neon and white toners for our Ricoh Pro C7200x digital colour sheetfed press. I have been particularly impressed with the results by laying down white first and neon, gold or silver on top. We have been producing our own mailers to showcase the results.

Further differentiation is being explored with the use of some very interesting substrates. They deliver greater tactility that engages the senses and reinforces quality, and they help get the piece of print noticed for our customers. 

Print industry outlook 

Following the pandemic, people are being cautious, and some have not printed since restrictions eased. But thankfully, we are seeing more work returning as the power of print is becoming increasingly recognised. The year is going well so far, and the forecast looks great. Next year, I think we will be able to add up to 10% to 12% on our turnover.

Some of that growth may come from short-run packaging, a new service we are considering adding. As part of that, we are investigating how our Pro C7200X, and its toners, can help us enhance those jobs.

The future for Healeys

Alongside our growth plans and commitment to innovation in print, we are also focused on improving our sustainable operation. We are working towards a 42% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 as part of the Science Based Target Initiative. Hopefully, we can achieve this by investing in electric cars and switching to renewable energy.

We will then examine our suppliers and their approach to reducing carbon emissions. Ideally, they need to be working to reduce their emissions. We will also continue to offset our carbon use with the World Land Trust, something I also do personally, which costs as little as £1.50 per week.

Ultimately, we are looking at ways to help our clients see all the possibilities that print offers while operating in the most sustainable and responsible way. The support of like-minded partners and suppliers like Ricoh is essential.

Healeys Print enrolled in the Ricoh EDGE business development programme back in 2021 and has since reported continued success in creating new market opportunities.

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We live and work in a digital world. Everything is online – shopping, streaming, media and advertising. Every channel is now saturated by digital communications. As a result, it’s no wonder leading brands are looking for new, fresh ways to reach their customers. And that’s why the latest digital print enhancements are proving so effective.

In this article, we’ll cover just some of the ways premium digital print can cut through the noise of online marketing and make a real impact.

What are digital print enhancements?

Digital print enhancements are techniques that elevate standard print products into premium print products. In short, they play a key role in persuading your customers to spend a little more through creative and impactful print and can add incredible power and value to your marketing.

Therefore, if you are looking to use print to communicate with your customers, it is critical that you grasp the opportunity to incorporate digital print enhancements.

Why do digital print enhancements present such an exciting opportunity?

Print buyers across multiple sectors are showing an increased appetite for physical media within their marketing. Of course, creative concepts of digital print enhancements have to be sold in the right way. Therefore you need to understand your customer’s needs to deliver the right samples or examples that will fire up their imaginations and get them excited by your products.

By combining print embellishments with data, strategy and results, you can pinpoint exactly where your customers should be directing their efforts. As a result, this will help them yield positive results from physical marketing.

Which digital print enhancements should commercial print businesses be considering?

Move beyond CMYK to enhance printing with gold and silver metallic, white inks and toners. Clear varnishes that add texture, and an ever-increasing range of expanding colours. Giving your printers the ability to really enhance what they produce. 

Very often, these “5th colours” and effects can be printed inline with CMYK, such as with the Ricoh Pro C7200X series digital printers. In addition, special effects such as foiling can be applied later to add further value.

How do digital print enhancements add value?

By incorporating digital print enhancements into your direct marketing, you can surprise and delight your clients. Consequently building a reputation for innovation and ultimately, increase your profitability. In addition, InfoTrends research indicates margins can be anything from 50% to 400% depending on the enhancements used.

“Why should people pay more money for the same information?” – it is often claimed that print buyers are reluctant to spend more money for print embellishments. However, research suggests this is a myth, with data showing that buyers are willing to pay a premium of almost 90% for digital print enhancements.

Work with a people-first partner to ensure best practices and results

One of the best ways to take advantage of this new opportunity in digital print is to work directly with a collaborative, people-first manufacturing partner like Ricoh.

Ricoh has years of experience at the cutting edge of print devices and techniques. Specialising in working alongside your business to develop the right strategy for you, your people and your customers. Integrating effective digital print solutions and print enhancements for your organisation.

Click to read Anything in Print

Article originally published in Printweek July 19th 2021.

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What sets leading commercial printers above the rest? Is it an ability to capture new business: customers looking for higher value, more premium products? Is it unflinching quality control: blending technology with expertise for a consistently excellent finish? Or is it the constant self-evaluation of practice and process: ensuring their organisation is running as efficiently and effectively as possible?

It is, of course, all those things. Therefore, a big step towards achieving these ambitions in today’s market starts by moving beyond CMYK and embracing CMYK+. Including the use of metallic printing for Gold and Silver as part of a fleet of essential print enhancements.

What is CMYK+?

CMYK+ takes the traditional combination of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black and introduces a white base layer. Therefore this allows for the colours your printer produces to become more vivid and able to hit a wider colour gamut. It also enables digital print devices to offer other fifth colour options typically for valuable enhancement effects like clear or security coatings.

Newer print devices now use digital print techniques to add these fifth colour options, along with other toner-based spot colours and dimensional effects. As a result this enables metallic colour enhancements to be applied in line with standard CMYK.

Why is CMYK+ metallic printing important for your business?

CMYK+ and the use of Gold and Silver toner will continue to be growing trends in 2021 and beyond, as the demand for print enhancements continues to rise. By incorporating them into your business, you’ll see a range of benefits for both you and your customers, including:

• Improved customer satisfaction as you provide an enhanced-quality finish
• Higher margins as you produce higher value, premium products
• Consistent colour control for quality assurance
• Improved brand reputation – getting the colour right every time and hitting a wider gamut of colours
• Greater opportunity for more efficient and effective practices
• Responsive and rapid production of value-added print

So, what can we learn from leading commercial printers who have already begun to adopt CMYK+ and metallic printing?

How are leading commercial printers using CMYK+?

Research by Keypoint Intelligence explored what the most desired print enhancements are when purchasing devices with CMYK+ capabilities. Two questions highlighted particularly interesting insights for the future of print:

1. ‘Which of the following colours or enhancements would you want to use in-line when producing digital print jobs?’

There were two clear winners: the most popular choice, highlighted by 72% of entrants, was Metallic Silver, closely followed by Metallic Gold at 66%.

2. ‘Which digital applications are sold to customers that include some form of print enhancement or speciality colour?’

As part of the same survey, responders who were already using CMYK+ enabled devices revealed that business cards (70%), invitations (65%) and brochures (59%) are the top three most requested applications featuring metallic printing enhancements.

Gold and Silver metallic printing is popular

Gold and Silver have had a long association with jewellery. However their value is no longer confined to the actual metals they represent as these colours now feature across everything from premium clothing to desirable smartphones.

Therefore, metallic printing in gold and silver toner adds an elegant touch to digitally printed documents. Offering customers a beautiful product – think silver scripts on invitations or golden logos on letterheads – which attracts a premium price.

Introducing the Ricoh Pro C7200X Graphic Arts Range

Ricoh’s Ricoh Pro C7200X range has been specifically designed to print CMYK+ products through its 5th Colour Station. The new luxurious Gold and Silver toners can significantly expand their capability and function by being retrofitted to an existing Ricoh Pro C7200X device. Allowing commercial printers to produce unique metallic printing solutions that are consistent, compelling and which command premium prices.

Find out more.

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Today, that means technology which meets modern challenges, and improves on the fundamental requirements every industry demands from their digital print devices: efficiency, accuracy, lower costs and higher quality – no matter the quantity.

And today, that means Auto Colour Diagnosis. In this article we’ll look at how this state-of-the-art technology will provide your people with the premium commercial printing service they need to do their job at their best, and what it means for your customers’ experience.

What is Auto Colour Diagnosis?

Auto Colour Diagnosis is an option on the latest digital printers. The major benefits are two-fold for your business. Let’s break them down.

Benefit 1 – Colour Stability

Anyone who has worked using digital print for enough time will know the pain of colour fluctuation between printed pages. Auto Colour Diagnosis removes that potential flaw by scanning each page via a unique sensor system.

This greatly improves the ability of the printer to handle media and control the performance and finish of each individual piece.

Benefit 2 – Image Quality Monitor

Digital printing can lead to irregularities in quality – a common occurrence often chalked up as a natural part of the process. But no more! Image Quality Monitor is a feature that detects streaks, spots and impurities, matching processed data against the printed image and highlighting issues to the operator.

This means you can decide what happens next; pause the print, rectify the issue or continue printing while removing the sheet from the set. This improved level of inspection reduces the need to manually check everything by providing an additional digital pair of eyes.

How does Auto Colour Diagnosis help your business?

Using a print solution that incorporates Auto Colour Diagnosis – on the Ricoh C9200 Pro Series – brings benefits throughout your business in terms of efficiency, productivity and reduced costs.

Quality assurance

A reduced risk of defective products flowing out to your clients will help enhance and maintain your reputation for producing quality work.

Greater freedom

You can greatly reduce the amount of time your staff are taking to check work before it goes out to your customers. Therefore freeing them up to work on more profitable tasks.

Improved efficiency

By gaining a greater understanding of what, why and how often your new print solution is detecting imperfections, you’ll be able to reduce the number of preliminary prints moving forwards.

How does Auto Colour Diagnosis help your customers?

Many of the benefits of Auto Colour Diagnosis for your business then transfer to a better customer experience. The added effectiveness and efficiency of these digital print solutions offer added bonuses which print service providers and their customers will appreciate, including:

–   Cheaper costs as your product will most likely be right first time

–   More efficient printing helps you consistently meet delivery times

–   Higher quality products increase your own reputation and put a smile on your customers’ faces

But don’t just take our word for it. Here are what some users of digital print solutions with Auto Colour Diagnosis had to say…

“The image quality monitor seems to catch very small defects really well. The Image Quality Monitor is very easy to use and the images that show the defect are easy to read. Overall, the detection is very impressive, and I am happy with it!” – Printivity

“We’ve managed to reduce the manual inspection of our workloads, making our offering to customers much quicker and easier. We save time, as we’re confident that the Auto Colour Diagnosis unit is doing its job well.” – Printvisie

Introducing Ricoh’s Pro C9200 Series

The new Ricoh Pro C9200 Series is a new, state-of-the-art commercial printer designed to maximise effectiveness, efficiency and performance. It features new Auto Colour Diagnosis to ensure all digital print jobs are carried out quickly and with a consistently high-quality finish.

For a full overview of how this printer can help your business, check out the product page on the Ricoh website, or get in touch for a complimentary conversation about how we can help you and your people get the most out of your print room.

Discover the Pro C9200 Series

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It doesn’t matter if you work in print, finance, or healthcare, one common theme runs across all successful businesses. The need for a multigenerational workforce. From ‘Baby Boomers’ to ‘Gen Z’, the workforce has a more diverse age range than ever before. With that can come complications, but also opportunities through innovation. For industries like commercial print that have been around for decades, they must learn how to harness the multigenerational workforce.

A team made up of individuals working in commercial print for 20-30 years will have a wealth of experience and knowledge at their disposal, used to working in a certain way. In comparison, a younger team may spot opportunities for innovation but lack the know-how to execute them. Our belief at Ricoh is that commercial print companies who bring together the combined power of a generationally mixed workforce will have the most robust foundation for a successful future. 

Innovation from both Baby Boomers to Gen Z

In most companies, the generations are made up of Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964), Generation X (born 1965-1980), Generation Y (born after 1980), also known as Millennials, and Generation Z (born after 1990).

The younger generation has grown up believing there are no limits and they could have pretty much whatever they desired. In comparison the older generation grew up through scarcity, and people were more appreciative of what they had. 

Yet it is the Millennials who are changing the face of business, and in many cases for the better. A 2015 study by Deloitte found that millennials will make up more than 50% of the workforce by 2025. They are the most educated, ambitious, and technologically savvy generation to date. The secret to success is when multiple generations work together and through combined innovation they are able to solve challenges.  

Uniting generational expertise in innovation

A  study of 300 global companies by Forbes Insights showed that a generationally diverse workforce helps drive innovation. Anecdotally, commercial print managers tend to be slightly older with a traditional printing background that includes detailed knowledge of machine capabilities, applications and colour. Those who are younger have grown up in a world where technology is seen as the answer to most challenges. Therefore, they are typically more digitally native. Bringing the experts in commercial print and digital natives together provides a fresh perspective, helping to identify and deliver new commercial print innovation and solutions to the market. 

Multigenerational skillsets working together is where the future of commercial print is heading. A cross-generational team, which promotes the seamless blending of traditional print mediums with modern processes and best practices for true innovation. 

Embracing innovation in commercial print

It is clear is how much opportunity still exists for innovation in commercial print. You only have to look at the rapid rise of 3D printing, which uses the same heads as inkjets only with a different medium. Chuck Hull, one of the inventors of 3D printing systems, took print technology and reimagined it to create a whole new sector.

In reality, creativity varies from individual to individual but there are plenty of things within the business that can be done. These include fostering innovation and creativity by providing diverse training opportunities. There is a higher chance of creating a range of ideas by offering different training options. Having a clear leadership strategy that reaches team members from different age groups will positively influence creativity and innovation. In addition, running competitions for innovation that sees teams from diverse age groups will also bring to life new ideas. 

The power of generational differences in commercial print

As creativity and idea generation revolves around solving novel problems, having employees with diverse backgrounds creates a broader pool of ideas. These in turn can open opportunities to new revenue streams, better commercial print processes and technological advances. 

Commercial print is one of the longest-serving industries globally and has seen many changes. Embracing generational differences is the next iteration of this evolution. It will enable the print industry to continue making strides in innovation and profitability.

Listen to our podcast series and discover more about the opportunities and business benefits of a multigenerational workforce.

Alternatively, feel free to contact me if you would like to learn more.

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In today’s competitive world, knowledge is power. Without insight, you are unarmed. Information and data allow you to maximise your potential, improve the productivity of your people. Plus, provide the experience your customers expect.

But how do you acquire that insight? And what are the ways and means of effectively using it to your advantage? In this article, we’ll discuss how rich insight gained using Print MIS leads to better decision making and efficiency for print businesses.

Print MIS for greater efficiency

Web-to-print solutions – when integrated with your Print MIS tech – provide both you and your teams with an accurate, real-time overview of what’s going on at your business. This clarity enables you to see the big picture. Therefore prioritise orders, prevent blockers on productivity, and optimise your people’s time.

One mistake many print businesses make is to invest in print MIS automation and then fit highly manual practices around it. For example, automatically taking orders online but then manually keying them into the production process. By sticking to standards-based software across your print shop, you can avoid this problem and free up hours for your people.

Print MIS for better customer experience

Online shopping comes with set customer expectations. Thanks to the massive success of brands like Amazon. When someone visits your online store, they expect you to be able to deliver your product with speed, service, and availability. In other words, every business is now judged in the same way.

So, for your e-commerce, you need to ensure you have systems in place to streamline the print order to the production workflow process. Third-Party Web-to-Print Software Integration (API) minimises potential complications. Therefore, allowing customers to submit orders on their own time and their terms, which automates the connection from ordering to production without manual rekeying of information.

Print MIS and e-commerce also provides additional ways to give your customers a better service experience. For instance, when ordering the system can show which products are actually in stock when they order. Giving them an option to influence how quickly their order is fulfilled. 

Likewise, dashboards can allow them to see exactly where their order is in the process, and push notifications can enhance this further by sending text or email messages at key production or delivery stages.

Introducing Avanti Slingshot® Print MIS

Avanti Slingshot® Print MIS is an excellent solution to add to any print business, offering you complete insight over the goings-on in your shop. As a result, with this Print MIS insight, you can make orders more efficient, ensure you have the right stock, manage your staff’s time, and make better business decisions.

Here are just some of its key features:

Avanti Slingshot® Print MIS  Executive Dashboard

The Executive Dashboard provides analysis tools and real-time notification functionality to help you understand and manage your business better. Therefore, Print MIS solution such as Avanti gives you answers to the most pressing questions across departments, such as:

• Are we hitting our margins?
• Reaching our sales targets?
• Using our inventory?

It’s all about measuring your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The dashboard uses graphics to easily represent customer service, financials, sales, marketing, and more. Discover more.

Avanti Slingshot® Print MIS Customer Relationship Management (CRM) module

Avanti Slingshot® Print MIS CRM module keeps everything you know about your customers at you and your team’s fingertips.

Discover more about CRM module

Avanti Slingshot® Print MIS Reporting module

With numerous standard reports, the Avanti Slingshot® Print MIS reporting module can help you make sense of all your Print MIS data. From extensive costing, job tracking, and efficiency analytics, you can gain valuable insight into your business’ past, present, and near future. 

Learning how to save money and time just got easier. Find out more.

Customer Testimonial

“Previously, I wasn’t able to determine where we were making vs losing money, who our best clients were, and which clients had the largest growth potential. Answers to the most common business questions are now easily at my fingertips. This includes cost, inventory, and job tracking. As a result, We never risk losing money on a job, and I am no longer a bottleneck when it comes to estimating. I have experienced ‘freedom from my desk’. Creating an estimate right in a customer’s office or access my operation from any laptop or mobile device using just a browser.”

Cathy Skoglund Manager of Operations & Business Development

ASU Print & Imaging Lab

Want to find out more about Avanti Slingshot® Print MIS?

Visit our free online resource to discover more about Avanti Slingshot® Print MIS.

Our dedicated team of Print MIS experts are on hand to discuss how Ricoh can support your print business.

If you want to find out what we can do for you, please feel free to get in touch.

The post How real-time insight from your print MIS can increase efficiency in your print business appeared first on Insights - Empowering Digital Workplaces.

Letting you manage critical sales, marketing, and customer information essential for success and growth.

Let’s look at three huge advantages that a CRM system provides:

Ensures That Nothing Falls Through the Cracks

A CRM is a database of everyone who comes in contact with a business—prospects, customers, partners, vendors, suppliers, employees, and contractors—and activities associated with them. Knowing the history of your contacts creates informed communications and superior customer service. For example, track customers with existing jobs and make sure they are proceeding on track.

Also, you can see how problems are being resolved—with tickers, cases, and incidents created within the workflow to make sure issues are dealt with. You can monitor and schedule communications and customer outreach. This includes calls, lunches, newsletters, and other opt-in selections so that you stay top of mind when jobs come up.

Ensure Everyone Feels Special

The more information you or your staff can access about your customers, the more important they will feel when dealing with you. As a result, when a customer calls, you can see who spoke to last, what orders were placed, and issues that were solved. Plus, all emails, tasks, calendars, notes on the account, and other relevant data. Having real-time data will make conversations go smoothly and make customers feel like they are in the good hands of a supplier they can trust.

A Great CRM System Creates Value If you ever plan to sell your company

Information from the past helps plan for the future. Buyers don’t want to rely on an owner’s memory to assess the health of a business. They want a database with a company’s entire community, history, pending orders, backlog, communications, and profiles. They want data about the most profitable customers and the least profitable, the profitable products and the losers. Buyers will pay a premium for this information.

What makes a CRM great?

Importantly, whilst a CRM system is great for businesses. It is only as good as the information that goes into it. Therefore, to truly make it shine, it needs the following:

An administrator

Without a doubt, this is a person who likes to work with software. Assuming responsibility for the completeness and accuracy of the database. Specifically, an individual will become an expert in using the system and is invested in running it efficiently.

A committed senior executive

Importantly, someone in leadership has to be a committed advocate of a CRM system. He or she must use the system, insist on it being used across the company. Plus,  lead the staff in doing what’s necessary for the health of the company. CRM is a long-term investment that impacts the culture of the company. Leaders have to adapt and drive that culture.

Visibility

Your business operation should be transparent to you and your managers. Therefore, the best practice is to integrate a CRM into a Print MIS system. Establishing one interconnected database that spans your entire shop.  Meaning you will have real-time visibility into every aspect of your operation and the flexibility to adjust as you need to.

Do you have further questions? If so, we can provide answers

Learn how Print MIS provides an effective CRM system to help your print business; if you would like to speak with a specialist, please feel free to get in touch.

The post Effective CRM & Management is key to being customer-centric and preserving customer loyalty appeared first on Insights - Empowering Digital Workplaces.

Finding the most efficient way to run your print business isn’t easy. It’s a complex business made up of many variable parts and processes. Orders can come in all shapes and sizes, varying greatly in terms of size and intricacy. Making it difficult to charge jobs accurately and manages their estimating and scheduling into an effective print production process and deliver on time.

To transform estimating and scheduling into something beneficial. Therefore, you need an information-based digital software process. Once established, this digital information enables a more streamlined intake and management process for estimating and scheduling.

Ultimately, the end goal is automation software. A solution that optimises capacity, prioritises urgent tasks and maximises the jobs you get out on time. Subsequently giving you a clear view of what’s happening in your business at any time or stage in the production process.

The value of digital data

Data is a useful resource when evaluating any aspect of your commercial print business. But it’s especially critical in terms of productivity on your print line.

The challenge for many organisations is that their view is restricted to individual components of a disconnected, manual workflow that provides limited useful data. What you need is a clear end-to-end digital process. Providing a clear and deep data overview. One that helps you enhance your estimating and scheduling, but also visualises your entire business activity. Seeing every stage and process, enabling you to identify problems and implement quick solutions quickly.

The value of accurate data for estimating and scheduling

Once your commercial print organisation has obtained this information, you can easily see how long jobs are taking, where bottlenecks are occurring – perhaps urgent small jobs stuck behind a less-urgent large job. In turn, you can use this knowledge to improve production and gauge more accurately what you need to allow for estimating and scheduling.

This increased accuracy in estimating and scheduling is crucial to business success. Not only will you avoid underbidding and directly losing money, but you’ll also avoid overbidding and losing potential work to competitors.

It also means you can optimise your scheduling, getting the full value out of your capacity.

The value of automation

Following data, automation software is the next critical ambition for any successful commercial print business today. It takes time-intensive manual tasks, such as estimating and scheduling, out of your hands. Turning them into efficient processes that improve your business’ workflow. Therefore allowing your people to focus on more important and profitable jobs such as customer relations.

After all, you don’t want to spend longer manually estimating and scheduling smaller orders than it actually takes to run them. Or, worse still, longer than you can realistically charge for them.

The best solutions allow you to automate the workflow where possible. You can’t really automate everything Enabling a smarter business operation and the opportunity to continually hone and finesse your schedule to meet shifting deadlines and resources.

The value of Ricoh Print MIS

One of the best management information and automation solutions available today is Ricoh Print MIS. Our cloud-based solution boasts rich capabilities and has a strong reputation as a collaborative and personalised partner that works with you to meet your exact needs.

With a Ricoh MIS module, you can quickly create consistent quotes from established templates. The Estimating module includes:

• Prepress and finishing estimation capabilities
• Quotes for all types of printing including small format (offset, digital), direct mail, grand/large format, and fulfilment
• Support for customer-specific pricing
• Contract and price list pricing
• Fast access to standard products and product kits

If manual estimating and scheduling is a concern – we can help you.

Take the first step towards transforming your commercial print business into a streamlined, automated operation today. If you would like to speak with a specialist, please feel free to get in touch.

The post Intelligent estimating and scheduling – the key to greater productivity and profit in commercial print appeared first on Insights - Empowering Digital Workplaces.