Through continually updating and improving its MIS, Swindon commercial printer Multisets Print Solutions believes it has created major differentiation and added benefits of speed, accuracy, versatility, reliability and competitive pricing.
Multisets is a business with a customer-facing philosophy, allied to one of continual investment to put in the latest MIS technology at the centre of all its business activity. That philosophy saw it beta test Shuttleworth’s new Milestones job tracking function in March 2013, as well as trying out Shuttelworth’s latest iPhone and iPad mobile CRM app. In addition, it is benefiting from a live data link between the MIS and its Storefront web to print system (from ROI360), which provides customers with real-time stock data.
The Milestones job tracking feature, in conjunction with Multisets existing ‘Productive’ production planning board module, automatically integrates and updates all job information, making it quick and easy to view the status of any job as it progresses through the business.
Iain Cox, managing director at the £5.2 million turnover firm, explained: ‘It literally tells us where a job is in real time. We can see if a job is signed off, ready to plate, if material is ordered and delivered and if there are any outstanding issues with a job. Milestones shows us all the jobs ready to print so we can group jobs together to make the most of production efficiencies.’
A ‘traffic light’ system of green for a job on schedule and red if the job is running late gives clear and obvious indications of progress. Clicking onto a late job shows the exact stage it has reached and
the reason for the hold up, giving it greater control over production planning, and allowing it to inform customers as quickly as possible when issues such as late delivery of the required paper stock arise. Outwork can be more easily monitored, and the real time data produced facilitates more efficient invoicing.
Multisets is also taking advantage of Shuttleworth’s latest Dashboard technology, which is based on a Microsoft Outlook style, making it easier and more intuitive to use. The interface includes a drag and drop capability from Outlook allowing emails or documents to be dropped and copied instantly. Other benefits include Customer Specific KPIs, User Definable Reporting, Executive Analysis and Web Based Reporting.
Multisets commissioned the bespoke development team at Shuttleworth to design a ‘Late Delivery Dashboard’ in the exact format it required. Mr Cox said: ‘We wanted to monitor, and ultimately improve, our late deliveries. Shuttleworth came up with a unique way of drilling down into the figures using charts and graphs so we could see instantly the issues, and more importantly, how we could improve our service. Since the development we have, on average, improved our late deliveries by 75%.’
CRM events or enquiries can be viewed on the new dashboards, enabling Multisets to monitor when a customer has last placed an order or enquiry – information it uses for targeting individuals or groups of customers that have, for example, not placed an order for some time, or those that regularly request a quote but do not follow up with an order.
Using Shuttleworth’s latest iPhone and iPad mobile CRM App gives the sales team access to essential information while they are away from the office. Mr Cox describes the app as ‘a fantastic tool’, adding: ‘It is particularly useful for sending information back to colleagues in the office as it links directly into the Shuttleworth CRM module. For example, our sales team can record or request quotes or samples and even record the date of the next appointment. A useful feature is the address link which shows where customers are located; giving address, telephone information and a link to Google maps satellite navigation systems.’
Customers are also benefiting from real-time data thanks to the link with the Storefront web to print system. So far, Multisets has only used Storefront as a stock holding tool, though its ambitions for it are greater. But the client base, which includes blue chip companies in the retail, manufacturing and financial sectors, has reacted positively to being able to see their stock levels and knowing when to place a replenishment order straight into the system. The stock levels are held in the MIS and fed directly to the web to print software instantly.
Overall, the latest Shuttleworth MIS developments have given complete transparency to the business, according to Iain Cox: ‘The real time data is a click of a button away, whether it is a customer event, productive information or CRM.’
