* Automation of internal administrative processes and generation of quotations - essential to provide customers with the response time they require. The print company that cannot respond with a quotation quickly will not even get considered for the job. Automation is also essential to reduce the administrative overhead on jobs which is necessary as average order size continues to fall in value.

Many companies view MIS as the automation of administrative processes and a communication tool. It is both of these but much more.

A recent Pira study revealed that print companies who make a good use of their MIS regard it as 'mission critical' and a strategic necessity, that is, an essential element of their business that gives them a strategic advantage in the marketplace.

The aspects of an MIS which contribute to this are:

* CRM (customer relationship management) - now regarded as an essential component of the customer interface. CRM is about providing systematic support to the sales function by forming stronger relationships, not only with a customer as a company, but with the individuals within that company - a much stronger relationship.

* E-commerce systems - essential to make it easy for customers to place orders (and generally do business) with the print company, and which provide administrative cost savings for both print company and customer.

* Automation of internal administrative processes and generation of quotations - essential to provide customers with the response time they require. The print company that cannot respond with a quotation quickly will not even get considered for the job. Automation is also essential to reduce the administrative overhead on jobs which is necessary as average order size continues to fall in value.

* Production management, which includes estimating (which generates a production plan with targets and predicts a cost of production), production scheduling (which implements the production plan), costing (which measures the actual cost of production, and degree of success in meeting the targets of the production plan). These all contribute to optimising production efficiency, and reducing unit costs to a viable minimum.

* Analysis of the marketplace - identifying which customer or product sectors provide the best added value and profitability, hence identifying where sales efforts should be directed

* Analysis of pricing - pricing should not be based on estimated cost + x%, but market focused and based on a systematic sensitivity analysis of lost and won orders by product type, customer type etc. Pricing is a balance between maximising the price of the job and the probability of winning the order. This relationship varies from one customer to another, one product to another, which is why it needs careful analysis to optimise pricing.

* Analysis of products - to identify which generate the most added value and profits, which are losers. The focus has to be on added value and profit generation, not on turnover.

John Birkenshaw, Pira International

Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.