Workflow
Technique debuts groundbreaking MIS products at Print 09
Friday 11. September 2009 - Technique Group (Booth 6711), a leading worldwide provider of Print MIS solutions to the graphic communications industry, today announced a number of new Print MIS products to be shown at Print 09
New Products
Mobile CRM
Techniques web-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) module has proved extremely successful with print sales teams around the world. The seamless integration with online estimate requests, estimating and quotation makes it the most compelling choice when it comes to a Print-specific CRM system. The new Mobile version allows sales professionals to stay in touch while on the move, with access to areas such as companies, contacts, activities, opportunities and company-wide notes. Advanced features such as contact reminders ensure that key prospects and customers are contacted on a regular basis.
The Mobile version of the CRM is specifically designed to work on a wide array of platforms, including NetBooks and all modern smart phones including Blackberry, Palm, iPhone, Windows Mobile and Google Android. If a mobile device is lost or stolen, the IT department can relax as the built in security ensures that no company or sensitive information is compromised.
The Mobile CRM is not just for the sales team, it can be used by anyone customer-facing members of the organization.
(Screenshot of HTC Touch Diamond with Mobile CRM)
Quick Pricer
Techniques new Quick Pricer provides instant web-based, on-line pricing online order entry.
Aimed primarily at the sales team, the new function allows printers to fully exploit their sales potential, maximize sales return and reduce the burden on the estimating and order processing departments. In addition to calculating real-time prices, full costs are also produced. Streamlining the sales function is not the only benefit: existing customers can be given direct access to their own price schedules via Techniques secure Customer Portal, allowing them to obtain instant on-line quotations and place repeat work orders. The ability for customers to carry out multiple what-if pricing scenarios can also increase revenue. The third aspect of Quick Pricer allows the printer to offer a transparent link via their own website to the general public. This is ideal for storefront operations offering anything from business cards, stationery and other small run printed matter.
Based on Techniques powerful contract price matrix, printers can quickly configure and customise all manner of standard product types and agreed customer price schedules. Hosted within Techniques Management Information System Console, the new module utilizes the very latest in web technology. The innovative icon-lead graphical interface needs little or no training, as it offers a highly intuitive step-by-step guide through the pricing process.
Quick Pricer is revolutionary in comparison to other product offerings and is a real must for all printers.
Book Estimating
Building on Techniques highly successful estimating module, is a new interface, which allows the entire production process to be viewed and manipulated graphically. A graphical representation is critical when dealing with complex manufacturing processes such as book printing, and is one of the cornerstones in Techniques growth in the book market.
The new process starts with the building of Bill of Routing (BOR) templates that allow printers to define and route complex manufacturing processes. These templates are then used to automatically build estimates for rapid costing and pricing. The templates allow independent calculation and adjustment of each process (such as entry of manufacturing waste), thus producing highly accurate estimating models.
The new graphical view helps the estimator to very easily see that all the required production steps are present and to quickly amend any required processes. Manipulating the estimate is now a breeze with simple drag and drop to join one operation to the next. This, coupled with the powerful add, edit, remove and properties functions, plus-one click calculation makes such complex estimates easier than ever. The new BOR templates also lend themselves to simpler product types, such as everyday stitched, bound and press finished products.
The new BOR interface is the most advanced in the print MIS market, and secures Techniques position as a world class leader in cutting edge software.
Shop Floor Data Collection (DMI)
Print 09 will be the unveiling for advanced data collection features.
Multi-machine Connectivity
This function allows multiple SFDC units to share information over a customers LAN. By allowing multiple SFDC stations to communicate in real-time, dispatch and load information can be shared when multiple machines load-balance a single job (for example: 3 stitchers running a single job that ships to 20 locations). Machines can be added or removed from the load sharing at anytime, and the system will automatically adjust and recalculate planned completion times.
The new load balancing function supports synchronized printing of load flags, with the ability to merge pallets from multiple machines onto one single pallet. Additional benefits of the load balancing include improved control over multi-resource configurations, such as tandem presses configurations and multiple roll stands. This reduces installation time and increases fault tolerance.
SFDC Maintenance Manager
As the name suggests, the maintenance manager allows maintenance schedules to be created and monitored for each resource. The SFDC station continually monitors and records impressions and running hours, and then informs operators when maintenance is due.
Maintenance can be scheduled by impression, hours or days, or on specific dates. The SFDC station automatically creates a task on the Technique planning board. In addition, e-mail notification alerts operations managers and engineers to upcoming maintenance. Links to required inventory items will also notify the staff if the parts are unavailable to carry out the work. Maintenance can be tracked by crewmember or engineer. Once the maintenance is complete, any parts used are automatically consumed from inventory.
The maintenance reporting engine allows tracking of actual maintenance against plan, the duration of the maintenance, and the name of the person who performed the work.
SFDC energy monitoring
With the addition of metering of key services, SFDC can accurately record consumption of service (such as gas or electricity) directly against a job. With such information, production staff can make more accurate decision about which machine offers the most economical print route, and at which production speeds a press is most energy efficient.
SFDC Simple
SFDC simple is a new edition of Techniques SFDC software, which does not require and direct machine interface (DMI) hardware. The easy to navigate software allows manual entry and recording of production, while providing real-time feedback to the Technique planning board and dashboards. The simple edition is fully touch screen capable.
SFDC Web events.
Allows web pages to be viewed directly at the SFDC unit. Web pages can be used to show a companys intranet, health and safety procedures, company announcements, etc.
Embedded media capability allows video clips to be added that show personnel how to perform key tasks. This is particularly useful where a high turnover of temporary staff may require constant re-training.
Hand written check-lists can be replaced by web pages that are linked to key events. This enables SFDC to automatically prompt the operator to complete forms, which are then available to be reviewed and re-printed when required.
Business Intelligence
Business Intelligence provides easy access to real-time key performance indicators. The application (using Microsofts ubiquitous SQL Reporting Services technology) permits the creation of intuitive dynamic drill down reports, executive dashboards and score cards. Ease of report and dashboard customization for end-users is provided out of the box along with user configurable subscriptions.
The ability to subscribe to a report and have it delivered by e-mail, in a variety of formats, and on a regular basis ensures timely access to information with no interaction required by the recipient. Such capabilities allow key decision to be made punctually, based on recent, up-to-date data. A suite of numerous multi-lingual reports (using the same translation engine as all other Technique MIS applications) are provided with the application.