For the experts at Tharstern SQL, Graph Expo’s continued findings in favour of MIS as critical technology is a welcome voice, added to the message MIS vendors have persisted in communicating to the market for so many years
Tresta Keegan, managing director of Tharstern SQL, believes the fundamental statement its customers can make about their business is simply to say, “We are a business”.She says “It is a loaded chicken and egg situation: you can’t be a printing company without a press; but you can be a printing company without an MIS. However, it is increasingly difficult to be a successful printer without a strong management plan in place, and that relies upon an MIS. Good information from an MIS will tell you what it means to have the right equipment, the right people and the right customer base. It sounds remedial, but each factor is loaded with details that make and break organisations.”
Keegan wants print service providers to address the basics of business and explains, “Irrespective of the fact that a printing press is central to the goods that leave the plant, exercising control over all business processes is the most primary requisite for continuation of the business. This is why MIS is king.”
While she contends that the risk of ignoring this concept and its application to individual businesses is seriously amplified in a recessive economy, she has noticed a movement toward MIS. She says, “We have noticed in the last 12 months that there is a natural and extreme shift in thinking by a handful of possibly more progressive organisations that came to these realisations when starting the process of self-evaluation. They needed to make decisions and found it was impossible to do so when the information they had to hand was only a veneer.”
Taking comfort in the status of the business as an overview through monthly P/L’s and a walk around the floor is naive, possibly bordering on reckless, according to Keegan. She advises that evaluation should be in real-time, in great detail and daily, or more frequent than that, and says, “This is a time for truth and straight-talking. Everyone in a print organisation is in this together. Vendor partners are also a valuable and accountable part of the process.”
Success and failure
KEEGAN advises that company owners need to make employees aware of the impact of each day, the success and failure to meet the targets (key performance indicators) of the day, week and month. She says, “Relevant information should be made accessible to those within the process who are accountable for the performance of their department, their machine, or even accountable for the value that they have added on their shift. Everyone needs to be involved in contributing to the solution in a very real and tangible manner.”
She sees JDF is an extension of this, explaining, “Practically speaking, the JDF/JMF process uses tools and automation that have been developed by partner vendors over many years, so each piece of equipment can be monitored for wastage, efficiency, utilisation etc. It enables true analysis of production efficiency and the ability to make some subtle changes that have significant downstream benefits. Obviously, this is the pinnacle of where MIS comes into its own.
“There are the other touch-points such as online e-procurement: the ability to automate jobs straight from the customer into the production workflow; and seamless integration of the MIS throughout the plant, making all information accessible through the system and via the internet. Online tools provide time efficiencies, information transparency and automation that are for many, the expected norm’ and not the exception.”
Time is now
While the economy looks daunting, Tharstern knows the way forward will differ for each company and the first step is taking some decisive action based on accurate information.
Keegan says, “At Tharstern, we have spent some time considering what this will mean for the printing industry in the next 24 and 48 months. We believe what is going to emerge is a stronger industry and despite a concern for the times ahead, we can’t help but feel optimistic about this new breed of self-aware printer who will weather the storm.
“Our conversations have changed with our customers, and with potential customers. They are motivated to push the boundaries of the software; add to the functionality with new modules to look at business diversification; and best of all, they are actively more aware of the quality of the data they are capturing.”
Keegan says while the companies that possess an awareness of the need for MIS remain in the minority, those that do so can look forward to a better future. She concludes, “About 20 to 25 per cent of the potential customers we’ve seen over the past year fall into the category of truly self-aware organisations. It is refreshing, motivating and it seems as if MIS is truly now coming into its time as these tools that will bring about the revitalisation of company after company. MIS provides a high level of security in moving forward because there are no hidden surprises in dark corners.”
