By Melissa Donovan
Automation frees staff from repetitive workflow tasks, allowing employee’s valuable talents to be used elsewhere. Data entry—on both the front and back end of the workflow—is an ideal candidate for automation. An intuitive Web to print (W2P) storefront eliminates the time it takes to manually record information into a system.
W2P allows customers to take control of orders, whether uploading images or working in a basic layout interface, all the way to choosing the quantity of the product and finishing components. When all of the options are clearly laid out, a job can quickly go through the production workflow—all with minimal opportunity for error.
Print providers of all sizes recognize the benefits of a W2P storefront. Quick Reliable Printing (QRP) of Midland, MI, is one such organization. Founded in 1979, the family-owned company evolved from a two-person shop to a print communications powerhouse. Today the company claims it is one of the largest, independent print manufacturing companies in the mid-MI area, with 50 employees and two facilities. It credits part of its success to the use of a W2P storefront.
Storefront Communication
QRP specializes in specialty printed products and valued-added services including digital color, traditional sheet fed, advanced variable data applications, and automated mail processing solutions. Its digital jobs run on a number of Ricoh Americas presses, including the Pro C751, several Pro C901s Graphic Arts+ digital printing systems, and a Pro 5110. According to Hal Grunwell, technology solutions specialist, QRP, the printers offer unparalleled quality, quick job turnaround, and stunning results.
To complement the hardware component of its business, QRP partnered with PageDNA in 2007. “It was abundantly clear that our customers needed another avenue to submit jobs and communicate with us,” explains Grunwell. Initially, the printer reviewed several dozen vendors, but ultimately chose PageDNA because of its ease of use and advanced typography engine.
The W2P vendor partners with Enterprise Print Management Solutions (EPMS), a print management information systems (MIS) provider. When the two programs are integrated, a storefront pushes order data to the print MIS platform. The process removes manual data entry from the equation, which in turn minimizes human error.
“The integration PageDNA offers with EPMS is absolutely paramount in allowing us to effectively process orders with very little manual intervention,” he says.
The implementation process had a minimal learning curve. It took 45 days for the QRP team to become proficient in building storefronts and processing orders. PageDNA provided all of the training and “was very hands-on and responsive to our needs,” shares Grunwell.
The PageDNA program is multi-faceted and offers many features, some of which QRP currently uses and others it plans to incorporate in the future. For example, the variable item configuration allows customers to customize and preview products prior to ordering. The second most used feature is inventory, followed by instant pricing and kitting. The accounting package integration hasn’t been used yet, due to lack of customer demand, but Grunwell says the staff at QRP is always on the lookout for useful applications for the technology.
Today 30 percent of the orders that enter QRP’s facility are created over a PageDNA storefront. The software allows for multiple W2P storefronts and currently the printer is managing more than 30 online stores that regularly receive orders.
Grunwell credits the solution with aiding in the company’s advancement. “With PageDNA’s instant pricing features and ability to handle both uploaded files and predefined variable documents, we are poised to continue our growth and thrive in a rather complicated and fragmented digital market,” he adds.
QRP has found a partner in PageDNA. With a direct link to its support and development team, the printer works closely with the vendor to share its needs and wants. Many times, these suggestions come to fruition when the PageDNA team quickly implements new features.
Focused on the Customer
Automating order entry with the use of a W2P storefront allows QRP to grow in ways it never imagined when it started out over 30 years ago with just two people running the shop. It now efficiently manages customer requests thanks to PageDNA and its storefront solution. dps
