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IN-PLANT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY & APPLICATIONS

Tim HendrixState Printer Oregon Publishing & Distribution

– FULL PRESENTATION –

INTRODUCTION

In the In-Plant printing industry for over 16 years

All with the State of Oregon

5 years as IT Manager

4 years as State Printer

INTRODUCTION

Oregon State printing was established in 1847• 168 years in existence

Thoughtful change and technical advancement is crucial

2006 – All digital no offset presses

INTRODUCTION

Had some great technology successes

Some, not so much

Learn from the mistakes and move on

As with many Government In-Plants:

• Tight budget

• Narrow margins

• History of lagging in technology

INTRODUCTION

Types of Technology

Considerations- upgrade for new services

Technology Centric In-Plant

Finding the right fit

• Software

• Security

• ROI

TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY

“Out of the box” software, AKA Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software

Software as a Service (SaaS)

OUT OF THE BOX SOFTWARE Higher upfront cost Hardware• Upgrades

Operating systems (OS) Onsite or contracted IT staff Maintenance contract with vendor

SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE (SAAS) Lower upfront costs Typically higher ongoing monthly costs No investment in • Hardware • Operating System• IT staff

CONSIDERATIONS

Configurable: Using built in tools, that can create functionality by the user. Any configuration is forward compatible with future releases.

Customizable Still using built in tools, but the customization may not be compatible with future releases and is harder to maintain.

COMPONENTS OF A TECHNOLOGY-CENTRIC IN-PLANT

Change control

Onsite technology specialist

Development of vendor partnership

Staff involvement with the entire project from concept

to implementation

Stakeholder involvement and buy in

Lifecycle mentality – think of your In-Plant holistically

What will the new technology give you?

Better efficiencies

Better product

New product or service

• Make sure there is a market for this


Map out the systems


Have an implementationplan


FINDING THE RIGHT FIT

Upgrading or replacing a current system Compatibility with your current processes

• Look at your process with a critical eye

(Process Improvement)

Retention of historical data

• What do you need to keep?

• Will it still be accessible?

Hardware considerations

FINDING THE RIGHT FIT

Adding a new software system Do your homework

Talk to peers in the industry

• IPMA exchange is a great resource

Develop an ROI on the acquisition

• Look at efficiencies gained

• New product or service

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Back-up and redundancy Think in terms of downtime

1,6,12,24 hour

Days? Disaster Recovery

Mission Critical Software

• Failover to a mirrored system

• Up to the minute (or day) full backup

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Back up critical production PC’s Once the standard build is installed and… Your specific customization is applied Back it up

Advantages Clean rebuild if there is a critical error or virus Decreased workstation down time

Do not allow automatic updates on servers or PC’s Test it first

WEB TO PRINT

Much has changed in the past 10 yearsMany offerings

WEB TO PRINT

Easily Configurable

• Your own custom “skin”

• Specific skins for specific customer groups

Highly Customizable

• Pricing

• Workflow

• Logic

WEB TO PRINT

Auto preflight Auto PDF creation Custom print drivers Single sign on authentication Customizable security Pick-and-Pack ordering of standard print Variable data components Many more enhancements

WEB TO PRINT

Publishing & Distribution Home built solution since 2004

• Perl programming language

• On-site programmer

• Costly to enhance/modify

Currently implementing WebCRD™

• Highly customizable

• Built with In-plants in mind

WEB TO PRINT

Publishing & Distribution In-house server based Direct connection to MIS system Direct connect to production systems Bidirectional communication Installable print driver for our customers SurePDF™ Unlimited Licenses Workflows

WEB TO PRINT

Publishing & Distribution Customers can access previous orders and files Document Preview including finishing

WEB TO PRINT

Publishing & Distribution Real-time pricing information for the customer

Publishing & Distribution Intuitive dashboard

WEB TO PRINT

WEB TO PRINT

Publishing & Distribution Pre-Production

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (MIS) The Heart of an In-plant Job Tracking Inventory Management Purchasing Billing Customer management Metrics Historical trends

MANAGEMENTINFORMATION SYSTEM (MIS)

Currently using EFI LOGIC

Requirements stage for the replacement

Down to two possible solutions EFI PACE Avanti Slingshot


MANAGEMENTINFORMATION SYSTEM (MIS) Estimating Scheduling Purchasing Inventory Planning Shop floor data collection

Job costing Receivables Payables Accounting Reporting Analysis JDF Integration


Job Definition Format (JDF) standard Job ticket numbers Job descriptions Size Colors Media information Quantities Content files

PRODUCTION CONTROL

Separate from your Web-to-Print or MIS system Strictly file management Multiple inputs Conversion Load Balancing SLA Management Workflows Reporting Archiving

PUBLISHING & DISTRIBUTION’S SYSTEM


Robust Report generator Canned reports Customizable reports Viewed on screen PDF form Download to data


Report Sample

VARIABLE DATA WORKFLOWS

Come a long way since the days of mail merge

VARIABLE DATA WORKFLOWS

VARIABLE DATA

Dynamic background changes “Onserts” instead of inserts Variable images Call out external tasks Dynamic multiple output paths• Print• PDF• Email

VARIABLE DATA

Constant Evolution

METRICS AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Many tools available Survey Monkey Zoho Novisurvey Maritz CX


Pick one that fits your needs Instant response Timed

METRICS AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Gaining more attention is the Net Promoter Score or NPS Calculate the NPS• Subtract the percentage total of Detractors from the percentage total of

Promoter


For internal metrics gathering, there are a variety of tools

DELIVERY AND SHUTTLE SERVICE Secure package tracking GPS location data Dash Cam’s

DELIVERY AND SHUTTLE SERVICESecure package tracking

DELIVERY AND SHUTTLE SERVICE

DELIVERY AND SHUTTLE SERVICEGPS Location and vehicle information

DELIVERY AND SHUTTLE SERVICE Dash Cam’s Just beginning the research Currently looking at Lytx DriveCam

• Event recording• Automatic or manual activation• Analytics to help you determine which drivers and

behaviors are putting you most at risk

CONCLUSIONS

Chose the type of technology Look at all the considerations Map it out Look to process improvement Components of a technology centric In-Plant Finding the right fit

IN-PLANT SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY & APPLICATIONS

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