Off-the-Shelf Software is no Solution
How to customize a software solution that solves your workflow needs. By David Zwang
An efficient workflow solution needs to be developed
The Front Office - Job onboarding, webshop, FTP, EDI
through a deep understanding of a PSP’s existing and future prod-
The Back Office - MIS, ERP, accounting
ucts, markets and processes. With that understanding it becomes
Process Management and Production or The Plant -
much easier to develop the solutions, supporting structures, and go-to market strategies for the short and long term.
Processing the incoming content into a final deliverable While all of these will ultimately need to be tied together, try-
With the shifting market directions of procurement and print
ing to develop a holistic workflow infrastructure without looking at
production there is a lot to be learned about the new require-
each of these independently will usually result in a dysfunctional
ments, processes and pain points of the customer base.
and inefficient solution.
Much of the current “off-the-shelf” workflow software and
In each of the three overriding processes there is a lot of soft-
professional service offerings are developed around legacy tech-
ware already available in the market. Some of it is print specific,
nologies and markets, and need to be developed and aligned to
and many more are generic business and manufacturing solutions.
support newer and disparate technology and markets. Building a one-size-fits-all solution will usually fall short of those goals. Ultimately, the solution needs to fit the specific needs of a PSP and their customer and partner relationships.
Once you have reviewed and detailed the requirements, you can begin to select the best solutions in each category according to those who have been successful in their implementations. Integration is the new skilled technology requirement.
In an ideal world, you would start with a clean sheet of pa-
When digital file exchange and production replaced the old
per, analyze market requirements, client system states, your plant
analog processes, stand-alone prepress companies disappeared,
needs and build an appropriate infrastructure.
with their skills and processes being split between the creator and
In my experiences and in discussions with many PSPs, the best
the PSP. As we continue the digital journey toward Industry 4.0
way is to start by understanding and reviewing the three overrid-
and more automated and integrated procurement and produc-
ing processes.
tion, new skills are demanded across the value and supply chains.
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WhatTheyThink
Issue One 2023