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Print Order Management Software: Scaling Your Print Business Orders

Blog | 21 May 2024
Guide to print order management software

Quick Summary: Print businesses adopting modern print order management systems can achieve higher productivity in their operations than those who are still using outdated order management systems. This guide will uncover everything for you to get started with efficient print order management. Enjoy reading!

Global print businesses adopting traditional [print order management processes struggle with many challenges regularly. In such a competitive scenario, leveraging advanced print order management software is the need of the hour, as it helps to streamline tasks and address the changing demands of customers.

Utilizing a powerful software can provide smooth printing operations and boost overall customer satisfaction. Research says that the print industry is evolving continuously and is expected to reach $15.08 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 5.9%.

In this blog, we will unveil all the necessary information that you need to know for getting started with print order management, from benefits, key features, selecting the right solution, implementation steps and a lot more. But first, let’s understand some basic concepts.

On this Page
  1. What is Print Order Management Software?
  2. The Significant Benefits of Print Ordering Management Software
  3. Key Features of Print Order Process Management System
  4. Types of Order Management Software for Print Service Providers
  5. How to Choose the Right Print Order Management Software
  6. Implementation Steps for Print Shop Order Management Software
  7. Post-Implementation Tips for Print Order Management Software
  8. Success Story of OnPrintShop’s Client using Print Order Management
  9. Over to You

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What is Print Order Management Software?

Operating a print business involves handling many intricate tasks related to managing print orders. And this answers the most common question of why to use order management system for growing print businesses.

Here’s a simple definition to make the concept easy for you.

Print order management software (POMS) is a web-to-print based solution that enables print businesses to track the entire print order cycle from order placement to delivery.

How Print Order Management Software Works?

The software enables your team in the prepress, production, and finishing departments to see the current stage of a specific order and work accordingly, thus saving time and ensuring timely production. It also enables your customers to stay updated about their orders at every stage, enabling them to build trust and loyalty for the print business.

The order management process starts right at the moment when a customer places an order and stops once they receive it. This order management workflow consists of numerous stages, including customer order placing, order confirmation, order processing, prepress functions, production, printing, shipping, order tracking, and so on.

Now that we have covered the basics, let’s quickly understand how the implementation can benefit your print business.

The Significant Benefits of Print Ordering Management Software

Print businesses adopting modern print ordering management software can boost their print operations in multiple ways due to the tremendous benefits of print automation. These include -

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1. Improved Order Accuracy and Consistency

Print shop order management software ensures that each order is processed accurately and promptly, maintaining consistent print operations with minimized errors, which ultimately boosts customer satisfaction and repeat business.

2. Streamlined Workflow and Production Processes

By automating complicated manual tasks and providing visibility into the entire print order operations, the print order management software streamlines workflow and production processes, increasing efficiency and reducing turnaround times.

3. Enhanced Customer Communication and Satisfaction

The software enables print businesses to constantly communicate the order status to customers in the form of notifications and regular updates, to keep them informed at every stage of the printing process starting from order placement to delivery, fostering satisfaction, trust and loyalty.

4. Better Tracking and Monitoring of Orders

The software enables print businesses to monitor and track every order, ensuring they are timely produced and delivered to customers and helps resolve issues promptly with the help of data-driven insights gained through analytics.

5. Time and Cost Savings through Automation

By automating estimating, quoting, and other repetitive tasks, print order management software saves time and reduces manual intervention, leading to significant cost savings and increased profitability for print businesses.

You must be wondering that although there are a lot of benefits offered by the solution, why print order management system is necessary and how its key features can help your print business succeed in this competitive era. Don’t worry, because that’s what we will be unveiling in the next section.

Key Features of Print Order Process Management System

Features are an important factor when it comes to investing in any software for your print business growth. Let’s discover the major features that differentiate print order management software from traditional systems, making it an asset for your print business.

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1. Order Tracking and Status Updates

Being timely updated about the status of orders throughout the print order cycle is a crucial factor for customers as well as the print business. A robust print order management solution gives print businesses the flexibility to select, add, update and notify customers about their order status i.e. whether an order is shipped, out for delivery, cancelled or delivered.

2. Automated Quoting and Estimating

Print businesses, commercial printers and brokers who follow traditional methods for confirming quotes with customers require sending multiple emails to them, thus spending a lot of time and effort. A print estimating software with order management capabilities can help you automate the process of sending print estimations and quotations to your registered customers quickly and efficiently.

3. Inventory and Supply Chain Management

Print shop order management software allows print businesses to have control in their inventory management and the available stock levels, allowing customers to have the flexibility for placing orders in large quantity with multiple shipments and timing. The solution also allows to streamline supply chain management that includes tasks from sourcing, manufacturing process like pre-press, printing, post-press, transportation to distribution.

4. Integration with Other Systems

Print order management systems enable integrating with your existing CRM as well as supports extensive third-party integrations for MIS, accounting system, shipping, payment, SMS/email, mailing, etc. The capability to integrate with other applications and systems allows automating tasks such as label creation, assigning unique tracking codes for every order, thus leading to quick order processing, improved customer experience and enhanced overall operational efficiency.

5. Reports and Analytics to Gain Data-Driven Insights

You can gain visibility into the complete order cycle of your printing processes with the help of robust reporting and analytics tools supported by your print order management system. Make informed decisions by leveraging metrics, valuable data and actionable insights like product sales over a specific duration, pending orders, best-selling products, customer preferences, activity logs to see the time spent on specific tasks and much more.

Types of Order Management Software for Print Service Providers

Based on the types of automated print order management, there are three types namely on-premises, cloud-based and hybrid. Let’s understand each of these in detail.

1. On-Premises

On-premises print ordering management software, or the traditional ones, are installed and operated on the server, utilizing the infrastructure of the print business itself, ensuring better control over data management and security.

Pros

  • The system is scalable and can be modified to the unique business requirements
  • Long-term costs are more predictable as it provides complete control

Cons

  • Requires significant upfront investment as there is no third-party vendor involved
  • Requires ongoing maintenance and updates of the system

2. Cloud-Based

Pros

  • Allows remote access and management of the solution due to internet-based approach
  • Requires minimal upfront investment and is less expensive

Cons

  • Relies on stable internet connectivity and might hinder productivity if issues arise
  • Raises security concerns for sensitive data and information

3. Hybrid

The hybrid print order management solution is a combination of both on-premises and cloud-based solutions which allows businesses to leverage both the deployment methods, ensuring a customizable approach to cost-effectiveness and specific business requirements.

Pros

  • Flexible, as it combines advantages of both models
  • Optimizes resource allocation for cost savings

Cons

  • Requires management of both types, hence complex
  • May have challenges in integration due to multiple processes involved

How to Choose the Right Print Order Management Software

Choosing the right print order automation software is crucial for optimizing your print business operations. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you make the right choice.

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1. Assessing Your Print Business Needs for Order Management

Evaluate your current online order processing system and clearly identify the areas for improvement such as the requirement for a print fulfillment software with order management functionalities. You can set goals and objectives for implementing the new software, ensuring the timeline for the implementation process, key milestones and deadlines.

2. Evaluate Different Software and their Order Streamlining Features

Examine various print shop order management software options in the market to find those that match your business requirements. Look for specific features like managing bulk orders with specific customization requirements, order tracking, automated quoting and inventory management, ensuring scalability for future expansion.

3. Considering User-Friendliness and Ease of Software Adoption

Opt for a software solution that provides necessary resources for training and adoption easily as well as quickly, with the help of demos or trial periods to experience the usability of the print order management software. A user-friendly and intuitive interface reduces training time and facilitates smoother integration into your existing print workflow.

4. Check Integration Capabilities to Boost Print Order Cycle

Evaluate the print order management software's capacity to seamlessly integrate with your current systems, including CRM, accounting, and shipping platforms. Ensuring smooth integration simplifies data management across various systems, reducing manual labor and potential errors.

5. Analyze Spending and ROI of the Order Management Solution

Compare the pricing structures of different print store order management software and consider the overall return on investment based on potential savings in time, labor, and efficiency improvements. While upfront costs are important, also consider long-term expenses, including subscription fees, maintenance, and the overall customization costs.

By adhering to these procedures and conducting a comprehensive assessment of available choices, you can select a print order management software that aligns with your precise business requirements, improves effectiveness, and drives growth.

Implementation Steps for Print Shop Order Management Software

Implementing print production management software for managing orders within a print business requires careful planning and execution to ensure a smooth transition. Here's a step-by-step approach for the implementation.

1. The Right Software Selection for Meeting Business Requirements

As discussed previously, after print assessment and planning, choose a print order management software that aligns with your specific business requirements and goals. Consider factors such as scalability, ease of use, integration features, customer support and other unique capabilities such as solutions for web to pack for a smooth transition.

2. Planning and Execution of Accurate Data Migration

Plan and execute the transfer of current data from your previous system to the new software, guaranteeing the precision and integrity of data throughout the migration procedure. Conduct testing of data migration procedures in a controlled setting to detect and resolve any potential issues in advance.

3. Effortless Integration of Software into Existing Workflows

Integrate the print order management software seamlessly into existing workflows by customizing the software settings and configurations to match your business processes.
Collaborate with the print order management software provider to integrate the solution with third-party applications.

4. Ensuring Effective Staff Training on a Regular Basis

Provide comprehensive training to employees on how to use the new software effectively with timely training sessions, and access to knowledge resources.

Promote transparent communication and address concerns and queries from all team members involved.

By following these best practices and addressing common challenges proactively, print businesses can successfully implement print order management software and experience the benefits of streamlined operations and improved efficiency.

Post-Implementation Tips for Print Order Management Software

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1. Regularly Train Your Print Business Team on a Timely Basis

Regularly train your team members to maximize software proficiency and foster ongoing skill development to adapt with the updates and industry standards.

2. Leverage Advanced Features of the Software for Maximum Productivity

Explore and utilize advanced software features for enhanced functionality and customize settings to align with specific business needs and preferences.

3. Leverage Data-Driven Insights for Continuous Improvement

Monitor performance metrics from reports and analytics to identify areas for optimization. Continuously improve your operations based on the gathered actionable insights.

Success Story of OnPrintShop’s Customer using Order Management

Best Printing USA, a B2B global printer specializing in booklets, magazines and calendars has achieved a 130% increase in online order sales and 80% reduction in manual order management after migrating to OnPrintShop, ensuring heightened efficiency, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

The print business faced issues with delays in price calculation, delivery timelines, not being able to reach a wider audience and complex payment processes hindering their growth.

Read how OnPrintShop helped the company by providing solutions for automated order management, shipping estimations, multi-store management and payment gateway integrations, which ultimately enhanced their customer experience, helped them expand their market across the USA, and streamline payment processing.

Over to YouModern order management systems provide numerous benefits, including order accuracy, quicker production processes, improved communication, and data-driven insights. Print businesses may use innovative print shop order management software like OnPrintShop to optimize their print order cycle, boost client satisfaction, and drive growth through increased efficiency and productivity.Request a demo from OnPrintShop today to see how you can maximize the potential of your print business and achieve long-term success.

FAQs

Is print order management software suitable for small print businesses as well?Accordion Arrow

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