How one firm got the message
When a communications firm continually found itself with either too few or too many quarterly financial reports for high-value accounts, they faced two unappealing choices: either reprint via offset to make up the shortfall, or throw away the extra copies. The firm’s printer, LaVigne Inc., of Worcester, Mass., analyzed the financial impact for its client and helped them institute a collateral-on-demand solution.
"One period they printed 3000 and needed 4500. Another time, they printed 4000 and needed only 2500 - both situations being expensive and wasteful," according to Chris Wells, president of LaVigne. "Now, we print it on-demand. They simply upload a new file each quarter into the catalogue and there’s no backorder, no delays, no waste, and perhaps most importantly, no back to press."
LaVigne operates an HP Indigo press 3050 and 5000, and offers the web-to-print solution from Printable Technologies that has been optimized to work with HP Production Flow. "We ask customers, ‘What’s your inventory cost, obsolescence, storage costs?‘" Wells says. "You have to work with CFOs, high-level marketing people with P&L responsibility. With this solution, the customer orders, say, 25 prints of a particular item, through the online system. It’s on the press in two minutes, and the run is done in 90 seconds. The unit cost for the customer is about the same as if they ran 2000 - and we make the same margin. "The benefit is, not only are we going to save them money by using on-demand, it’s more profitable for us."
Maintain centrally, access universally
Produced on a "just-in-time" basis, collateral-on-demand materials meet the customers’ major requirements: efficient, short run quantities, custom messaging and tight schedule demands.
Users maintain centralized control over the creation of all collateral-specific assets. Those approved elements may include images, message blocks, literature templates, logos and other brand elements. A single template can be used multiple times and easily updated without substantially increasing creative costs. You and your clients are connected by a web-to-print application which accesses the collateral assets. Authorized users have 24/7 access to the web-to-print interface, where they can select, customize, order, and send collateral - when it’s needed and in the appropriate quantity. Requests go directly to your facility where it is digitally printed, finished and shipped.
As a result, your customers’ sales representatives or marketers can avoid going through central departments to order collateral. Similarly, brand or marketing communications managers are assured that literature created in the field complies with corporate and brand specifications. Your customers’ print buyers get an immediate quote for their orders, saving the manual work of answering price proposals.
