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Imagine the scenario: you have an urgent print job and scramble around to find a suitable printer via either a google search or the phone directory. You get in touch with a few, settle on what you think is the cheapest one and fax off the specifications. The fax gets lost at the printer’s end. The re-sent specification isn’t understood by the printer and the deadline for the job is missed.

That may be a slightly exaggerated scenario, but with no infrastructure in place to order print, it might be difficult to keep on track of budgets and get a good idea of the best printer for the job. That’s where e-procurement can be used to help. Web-based technology has improved significantly over the past few years and it gives companies far more control over what they are doing when it comes to ordering print.

“I think justifying expensive technology is easier if you are talking about millions of pounds being spent on print,” argues Paul Seabourne, managing director at Polestar Applied Solutions, which sells the e-procurement system Httprint. “If the spend is around £100,000, then you can just get by using spreadsheets. But we tend to find that organisations with bigger budgets, such as large publishing groups, want to have more knowledge – it can give them instant reporting on an individual job.”

Chris Hopwood, managing director at Telekinesys, observes that faxing off an order isn’t ideal. Many buyers now feel the same way. “More print tenders are being carried out through e-procurement – it is more convenient for the print buyer.”
His company markets the Equator e-procurement system, which has seven separate modules. He says that the system’s aim is to start working the moment a campaign begins.

Essentially, the idea of e-procurement is to have all the information online and for anyone involved in the process to view at any time. It can help with deciding on what job you want to do, which printer is best suited for the job, issuing purchase orders, remote proofing and job tracking. “It’s about gluing the process together. Everyone can watch the project as it develops,” adds Hopwood.

TPF Group business development director Dean Smith points out that his company’s systems are designed to produce real-time information, which can reduce management time and improve decision making. “Sche­duling and campaign management technology ensures that complex jobs are delivered or mailed on time,” he says. “This not only eliminates premium and panic costs but can benefit revenue generation by ensuring that mailing and marketing campaign cycles are as short as possible.”

According to Polestar’s Seabourne, there are three stages that have to be considered in the process – sourcing, procurement and tracking. He says that Httprint allows users to have a “good visibility on their spend”.

“By having the information to hand, decisions can be made relating to the process, policy and which suppliers should be on the roster. You can find out which suppliers work or which are failing,” he says.

From the printers’ point of view, Seabourne argues that it isn’t the case that printers are likely to win more work if they embrace e-procurement. But they may provide a better service through e-business especially as now they will be under greater scrutiny in terms of costs and service.

Clear cost structure
It may not always be ideal for printers, but for print buyers it’s the transparency of e-procurement that appeals, particularly if budgets are running into millions. The ability to have a clear idea of where money is being spent is as important as ever especially if print budgets have to be tightened. “Two of our users of Httprint wanted the system to get a visibility on spend,” adds Seabourne.

It’s not just on the print side that e-procurement has a place. Paper merchant Howard Smith Paper has embraced the technology and found that more and more of its customers have followed suit. The company’s Paperworks product allows paper to be ordered at any time and gives users access to around 3,000 product lines.

“It has smoothed out the entire process,” explains Howard Smith Paper commercial IT development and e-business manager Rob Bot-terill. “With it being a price driven business, e-procurement ensures there is transparency. It means that there are no hidden costs.

But does having an e-procurement in place mean having to spend valuable time being trained on how it all works? Seabourne says that Httprint requires a total of six hours training fitted into two sessions. “There will be two or three ‘super-users’ who will go on to train the other people in the team. They will have been guided through the whole process and it’s designed so that you can’t take the wrong route.”

Howard Smith Paper is also designed to be easy to use and a step-by-step guide is on offer for users. And Telekinesys’s Hopwood adds that the Equator system has been developed so that users don’t have to go on a training course at all.
“To use online systems effectively, they have to be simple. It is essential that the navigation is clear,” he argues. “But anyone who tells you that there is no effort needed to use an e-procurement system is lying. You have to put in the effort to get the best results.”

Ultimately, in the long term, e-procurement will save you time and money. By having the process brought together, it can give more control over budgets and let you know exactly how a job is progressing. As Howard Smith’s Butterill says: “The days of ordering by fax are disappearing. You can now order your supplies at the click of a button.”

HOW IT WORKS
Systems can be different depending on the manufacturer, but most of these differences can be subtle. In most cases, a web page allows you to submit the job specification, although an intelligent database can explain to you if the specification is correct – as Chris Hopwood from Telekinesys observes, it is vital to specify the print job correctly.

After that, rate sheets will give you a guide as to roughly how much you should be spending followed by a list of printers on your roster that should be capable of carrying out the job. One or more printers can be contacted, giving them an opportunity to quote the job and give a guide on a deadline.

There are then two ways to go. First you can con­tact the printer you think has come up with the best solution. Alternatively, e-procurement software products do contain an online auction option.

If the printer has the right system, you can then submit artwork and proofs can be viewed and approved remotely while a job tracking module allows you to following the job through its stages. The majority of systems run on a PC with Windows.